Annual Composition Prize
Paul Seideman Annual Composition Prize
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Background
Paul Seideman was a great supporter of Holocaust education and remembrance in Aotearoa New Zealand. Himself being a Holocaust survivor. As a young Czech Jew, Paul managed to survive the Lodz Ghetto, several concentration and labour camps, including Auschwitz, and a death march, during World War ll. He was liberated at Dachau, aged 17. After liberation, Paul emigrated to Australia, and then New Zealand. Sadly Paul's father and mother died in the Lodz Ghetto, in 1942. and 1941 respectively. To commemorate the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Soviet Army on 27 January 1945, Paul funded an annual Holocaust essay competition for New Zealand secondary students. This was established in 2014 under the administration of HCNZ. Originally for year 10, and years 11 - 13 students, the Paul Seideman Holocaust Essay Competition grew into the Paul Seideman Annual Composition Prize, and students submit entries in a variety of formats to answer the questions posed. HCNZ is honoured to carry on Paul's legacy and continues to administer this competition, which annually engages hundreds of students across the nation in Holocaust education. |
2021 Winners
Year 7 & 8: Sophie Ineson, Yr 8, from Southland Girls High School, Invercargill
Sophie is our second video composition winner with her excellent presentation on the impacts of resisters like Sophie Scholl on her and students today.
Year 9 - 10: Jaymee Davies, Yr 10, from Hauraki Plains College, Ngatea
Jaymee’s composition detailed the different ways in which Jews were able to resist the Nazis and their collaborators spiritually, physically, and mentally.
Year 11 - 13: Eden Li, Yr 12, Westlake Boys High School, Auckland
Eden’s composition was a thorough examination of the ways in which Jews and non-Jews resisted the onslaught of the Nazi war machine. His in depth analysis of the ways in which people resisted the Nazis was researched, detailed, and poignant.
Sophie is our second video composition winner with her excellent presentation on the impacts of resisters like Sophie Scholl on her and students today.
Year 9 - 10: Jaymee Davies, Yr 10, from Hauraki Plains College, Ngatea
Jaymee’s composition detailed the different ways in which Jews were able to resist the Nazis and their collaborators spiritually, physically, and mentally.
Year 11 - 13: Eden Li, Yr 12, Westlake Boys High School, Auckland
Eden’s composition was a thorough examination of the ways in which Jews and non-Jews resisted the onslaught of the Nazi war machine. His in depth analysis of the ways in which people resisted the Nazis was researched, detailed, and poignant.
Well done Sophie, Jaymee and Eden. We look forward to seeing you in Wellington and hearing your presentations on 27 January 2022, UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
2020 Winners
Year 7-8: Maayan Bialik, Year 7, Remuera Intermediate School, Auckland
The winner of the Year 7-8 age category Maayan Bialik, in Year 8 at Remuera Intermediate School in Auckland, wrote about how in her school, teachers work to teach both the bully and the bullied in order to not just stop bullying from happening, but to prevent it from happening in the future. It is her belief that all Kiwis but my brave to stand up against hate and bigotry and embody the values of democracy.
Year 9 - 10: Felix Steiner, Year 10, Rongotai College, Wellington
Felix Steiner, a Year 10 student at Rongotai College won the Year 9-10 category, writing about Holocaust survivors different forms of resilience in the face of Nazi aggression. He highlighted non-violent resilience of continuing to practice their Jewish faith, even in the midst of the the concentration camps. One of the highlights from Felix's submission was the examination of the resilience of survivors in rebuilding their lives, even after the atrocities they were subjected to by the Nazis.
Year 11-13: Leah Burger, Year 13, Rosehill College, Auckland
In her exceptional take on resilience, Leah Burger, Year 13, Rosehill College, Auckland, analysed different literature written by survivors. Through literary critique and imagery explanation, Leah showed how the act of writing their stories and sharing them with the world shows the resilience of survivors. Their willingness to share their experiences, and the details in which they relive those experiences each time they share them with others, is a shining example of the ability of the human spirit to survive in the face of such calamity.
2020 Winners of the Paul Seideman Annual Composition Prize - Maayan Bialik, Felix Steiner, and Leah Burger with Hon Grant Robertson, Deputy Prime Minister (host of the Parliamentary reception), Holocaust survivor and endower of the competition Paul Seideman. UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2021.
Credit: HCNZ & Simon Woolf
Credit: HCNZ & Simon Woolf
On Wednesday, 27th January 2021, Maayan, Felix, and Leah orated their winning compositions at a prize giving at the United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day parliamentary reception, hosted by Hon Grant Robertson, Deputy Prime Minister.
They spoke before an audience of distinguished guests, including Paul Seideman and other Holocaust survivors and descendants, Wellington Mayor Andy Foster, Robyn Baker - Chair of New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon, members of the interfaith community and diplomatic representatives.
Congratulations and well done Maayan, Felix, and Leah!
HCNZ administers this annual competition with much appreciation to Mr Paul Seideman for his endowment of such a successful initiative.
We would like to thank all the students who submitted an entry, and acknowledge the high standard of research and composition. It is heartening to see the youth of Aotearoa engage with topics from the Holocaust with support from their teachers and parents.
They spoke before an audience of distinguished guests, including Paul Seideman and other Holocaust survivors and descendants, Wellington Mayor Andy Foster, Robyn Baker - Chair of New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon, members of the interfaith community and diplomatic representatives.
Congratulations and well done Maayan, Felix, and Leah!
HCNZ administers this annual competition with much appreciation to Mr Paul Seideman for his endowment of such a successful initiative.
We would like to thank all the students who submitted an entry, and acknowledge the high standard of research and composition. It is heartening to see the youth of Aotearoa engage with topics from the Holocaust with support from their teachers and parents.
2019 Winners
2019 Winners of the Paul Seideman Annual Composition Prize - Rosetta Tanner, Orlando Ye, and Sophey Jenkins with Hon Grant Robertson, Deputy Prime Minister (host of the Parliamentary reception), Holocaust survivor and endower of the competition Paul Seideman, and Miriam Bookman, Deputy Chair of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand. UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2020.
