Paul Seideman Scholarship for Yrs 7-13
PAUL SEIDEMAN SCHOLARSHIP 2024 AWARDED ON INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY, IN PARLIAMENT, 27 JANUARY 2025
Marking eight decades since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, a pivotal moment in human history, the 10th annual Paul Seideman Scholarship prize was awarded at Parliament on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, 2025. Hon. Nicola Willis hosted the ceremony. Entries were of the highest calibre and the judging committee was pleased to see so many submissions in honour of Paul Seideman z"l and Holocaust remembrance.
WINNERS
Year 7 – 8: Raphe Dacre, from Medbury Preparatory School. [poem]
Year 9 -10: Esther Hoyt, from Hillview Christian School. [painting]
Year 11 – 13: Mason Drylie, from Westlake Boys High School. [essay]
Congratulations and well done Raphe, Esther, and Mason!
Year 9 -10: Esther Hoyt, from Hillview Christian School. [painting]
Year 11 – 13: Mason Drylie, from Westlake Boys High School. [essay]
Congratulations and well done Raphe, Esther, and Mason!
[L to R] MC Deb Hart, HCNZ Chair, Raphe Dacre, Esther Hoyt, Mason Drylie, and The Honourable Nicola Willis, Deputy Leader National Party. International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2025. Photography by Woolf.
Students presented their winning entries to a packed banquet hall of officials (MPs, councillors, members of the diplomatic corps), Jewish community members (including Holocaust survivors, and descendants), interfaith leaders, their parents, and members of the public.
HCNZ proudly presents this annual competition, a vibrant legacy endowed by the late Paul Seideman z"l. We extend our deepest gratitude for his vision and generosity in establishing this remarkable initiative. We look forward to launching the 2025 round later this year.
A huge thank you to all the talented students nationwide who submitted their incredible work! We were truly impressed by the exceptional standard of research and composition, spanning a diverse range of artistic mediums – from captivating art and moving music to thought-provoking poetry, insightful essays, and compelling films.
From the heart of Aotearoa, a new generation rises, embracing the lessons of the Holocaust. Their commitment to understanding fuels their journey to become changemakers, a tribute to the guiding hands of their teachers and parents.
The 2024 Topic Was:
“Get it all on record now - get the films, get the witnesses - because somewhere down the road of history some b****** will get up and say that this never happened." - Dwight D. Eisenhower, Allied Commander and former President of the United States.
It has been 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and the end of arguably the worst war in human history. Since the end of World War II, the ways in which we commemorate the Holocaust have evolved. As we quickly approach a point where there will be no living survivors of the Holocaust, the ways in which we commemorate the Holocaust will change. Evaluate how Holocaust commemoration has changed over time and how you envision commemorating the Holocaust will be like in the next 80 years.
Your entry should show how you view Holocaust commemoration as well as the importance of such events. Your entry can be in the form of an essay, movie, artwork, poem, or medium of your choice so long as it speaks to the topic posed.
It has been 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and the end of arguably the worst war in human history. Since the end of World War II, the ways in which we commemorate the Holocaust have evolved. As we quickly approach a point where there will be no living survivors of the Holocaust, the ways in which we commemorate the Holocaust will change. Evaluate how Holocaust commemoration has changed over time and how you envision commemorating the Holocaust will be like in the next 80 years.
Your entry should show how you view Holocaust commemoration as well as the importance of such events. Your entry can be in the form of an essay, movie, artwork, poem, or medium of your choice so long as it speaks to the topic posed.
Honourable Mentions
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Eva Gluckman
Year 7, Kadimah School Irene Arora
Year 10, Botany Downs Secondary College |
Victoria Lettink Year 8, Selwyn House Annabelle Lee
Year 13, Macleans College |
Daisy Coop
Year 8, Selwyn House Sarah Waddington
Year 12, St Andrew’s College |
Neha Babu,
Year 10, Botany Downs Secondary College Violetta Dacre, Year 11, Rangi Ruru Girls’ School
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BACKGROUND
Holocaust survivor Paul Seideman was a great supporter of Holocaust education and remembrance in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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 mother and father died in the Lodz Ghetto, in 1941. and 1942 respectively.
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Soviet Army on 27 January 1945, and to encourage students in Aotearoa New Zealand to engage in Holocaust studies, Paul funded an annual Holocaust essay competition for secondary students, administered by the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand. This was established in 2014, as a 500-word essay on “The Holocaust and its lessons for New Zealand”, and inaugurally awarded on 27 January 2015 at the UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration at Parliament.
Originally for year 10 and 11 students, the Paul Seideman Holocaust Essay Competition grew into the Paul Seideman Annual Composition Prize, with students from Years 7 to 13 submitting entries in a variety of formats to answer the questions posed, awarded in three categories - Years 7-8, Years 9-10, and Years 11-13.
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, and has now become the Paul Seideman Scholarship.
For more information on this or any other educational activities of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand please contact the Centre's Education Director, Kris Clancy at [email protected]
2023 Winners
Remembering by Olivia Cammell.
This image and all above: Photography by Woolf
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L to R: The Honourable Nicola Willis, Deputy Leader National Party, Naomi Roberts, Victoria Lettink, Olivia Cammell, Zlata Shapran and Assoc. Prof. Giacomo Lichtner, Deputy Chair, Holocaust Centre of New Zealand. UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration and prize giving, 28 January 2024. Photography by Woolf
Year 7 - 8: Victoria Lettink, Year 7, Selwyn House School, Christchurch
Year 9 - 10: Naomi Roberts, Year 9, Hillview Christian School, Christchurch
Year 11 - 13: Olivia Cammell, Year 11, Hauraki Plains College, Ngatea
Year 11 - 13: Zlata Shaparan, Year 12, Nga Tawa Diocesan School, Marton
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The topic for 2023 was :
“Whoever listens to a witness, becomes a witness." - Elie Wiesel
Nearly 80 years after the end of World War II and the Holocaust, we are quickly reaching a point where first-person accounts of the events surrounding this horrific time in history will be gone. With ever-increasing reports of rising antisemitism worldwide and in Aotearoa New Zealand, many question how Holocaust education will change when the last survivors pass.
Examine the way in which the loss of the first-generation survivors will impact Holocaust education.
Your entry should show how you view the need for continued Holocaust and antisemitism education as well as the importance of such education in creating a more just society.
“Whoever listens to a witness, becomes a witness." - Elie Wiesel
Nearly 80 years after the end of World War II and the Holocaust, we are quickly reaching a point where first-person accounts of the events surrounding this horrific time in history will be gone. With ever-increasing reports of rising antisemitism worldwide and in Aotearoa New Zealand, many question how Holocaust education will change when the last survivors pass.
Examine the way in which the loss of the first-generation survivors will impact Holocaust education.
Your entry should show how you view the need for continued Holocaust and antisemitism education as well as the importance of such education in creating a more just society.
2022 Winners
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L to R: Miriam Bookman, Deputy Chair, Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, Jaymee Davies, Meredith Williams, Amelie Thorpe, and the Honourable Minister Grant Robertson. International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2023. Photography by Woolf Year 11 - 13: Jaymee Davies, Yr 11, Hauraki Plains College, Ngatea
Year 9 - 10 : Amelie Thorpe, Yr 10, Hillview Christian School, Christchurch
Year 7 - 8 : Meredith Williams, Yr 8, Queen Margaret College, Wellington
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TOPIC: “Through if be to die, we will fight....We will fight, not for ourselves, but for future generations” - Yitzhak Katsenelson, dramatist and Warsaw Ghetto fighter
While the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ultimately failed to stop the Nazis and their collaborators from deporting the last remaining Jews, it has inspired generations since to honour the humanity of the victims. Examine the way in which the memory of the ghetto uprising can be shown through poetry, art, music, dramatisation, or personal memoirs. Your entry should show how you honour their humanity and their memories, and how it will continue to shape future generations.
While the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ultimately failed to stop the Nazis and their collaborators from deporting the last remaining Jews, it has inspired generations since to honour the humanity of the victims. Examine the way in which the memory of the ghetto uprising can be shown through poetry, art, music, dramatisation, or personal memoirs. Your entry should show how you honour their humanity and their memories, and how it will continue to shape future generations.
2021 Winners
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L to R: Jaymee Davies, Hon Grant Robertson Deputy Prime Minister, Eden Li and Sophie Ineson.
27 January 2022, prize-giving at Parliament, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Photography by Woolf Year 11 - 13: Eden Li, Yr 12, Westlake Boys High School, Auckland
Year 9 - 10: Jaymee Davies, Yr 10, from Hauraki Plains College, Ngatea
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Year 7 & 8: Sophie Ineson, Yr 8, from Southland Girls High School, Invercargill
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2021 TOPICS:
Years 9—13: “Brothers! It is better to fall as free fighters than to live by the grace of murderers. Resist! To the last breath!” -They Shall Not Take Us Like Sheep to the Slaughter! by Abba Kovner, Holocaust survivor. Resistance to the Nazis came in many forms, and from different avenues. Examine the different ways in which groups targeted by the Nazis were able to resist them and their collaborators.
Years 7—8: “Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone.” -Sophie Scholl, White Rose resistance member.
Power is often exercised by those who are behind closed doors, away from the eyes of the public. Student groups like the White Rose challenged the power of the Nazis, very publicly. Examine how student actions during the Holocaust have impacted students and their actions today.
Years 9—13: “Brothers! It is better to fall as free fighters than to live by the grace of murderers. Resist! To the last breath!” -They Shall Not Take Us Like Sheep to the Slaughter! by Abba Kovner, Holocaust survivor. Resistance to the Nazis came in many forms, and from different avenues. Examine the different ways in which groups targeted by the Nazis were able to resist them and their collaborators.
Years 7—8: “Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone.” -Sophie Scholl, White Rose resistance member.
Power is often exercised by those who are behind closed doors, away from the eyes of the public. Student groups like the White Rose challenged the power of the Nazis, very publicly. Examine how student actions during the Holocaust have impacted students and their actions today.
2020 Winners
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L to R: Maayan Bialik, Felix Steiner, Hon Grant Robertson, Deputy Prime Minister (host of the Parliamentary reception) Leah Burger, and Holocaust survivor and endower of the competition Paul Seideman z"l. International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2021.
Photography by Woolf YEAR 11 - 13: Leah Burger Year 13, Rosehill College, Auckland
YEAR 9 - 10: Felix Steiner Year 10, Rongotai College, Wellington
YEAR 7 - 8: Maayan Bialik Year 7, Remuera Intermediate School, Auckland
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2019 Winners
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L to R: Rosetta Tanner, Hon Grant Robertson, Deputy Prime Minister (host of the Parliamentary reception), Miriam Bookman, Deputy Chair of the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, Sophey Jenkins, Orlando Ye, and Holocaust survivor and endower of the competition Paul Seideman z"l.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2020. Photography by Woolf Year 11 - 13: Sophey Jenkins, Tararua College, Pahiatua
Year 9 - 10: Orlando Ye, Botany Downs Secondary College, Auckland
Year 7 - 8: Rosetta Tanner, Somerville Intermediate School, Auckland
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2018 Winners
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L to R: Mark Seddon, Ginny Andersen MP (host of the parliamentary reception), Holocaust survivor and endower of the competition Paul Seideman z"l, and Georgia Wong.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2019. Photography by Woolf Year 10: Georgia Wong, Columba College, Dunedin
Year 13: Mark Seddon, Westlake Boys High School, Auckland
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2017 Winners
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Prizes were awarded by host MP Chris Bishop at the International Holocaust Remembrance Day event on 26 January 2018.
L to R: Senior winner -Anna Sue, Mt Roskill Grammar School, Auckland, MP Chris Bishop, Paul Seideman z"l, and Junior winner - Seb Bartley, Cambridge High School, Cambridge. Photography by Woolf |
2016 Winner
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L to R: Aisha Fariz, Macleans College, Auckland, with Paul Seideman z”l, and Minister Chris Bishop. International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2017. Photography by Woolf
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2015 Winner
2014 Inaugural Winners
Awarded on International Holocaust Remembrance Day 27 January 2015
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The prizes for the inaugural Paul Seideman Schools Essay Competition of 2014 were presented by the then Minister of Arts and Culture Hon Maggie Barry, Parliamentary reception host, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 27 January 2015.
L to R: Winners Susannah Hansen, Year 10, of Woodford House, Havelock North, and Jessica Strick, Year 10 of St Peters College, Cambridge, with Hon Maggie Barry and Paul Seideman z”l.
Photography by Woolf |
