East Valley sophomore wins Holocaust observance art contest

These are the top three placers of the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust art contest, high school division for 2017.

Tenth-grader Elisabeth West, of East Valley High School, won first place with “Their Blood Cries Out” in the high school division of the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust art contest. This is West’s description of the piece:

“Because of the emotional impact of the Holocaust, I have decided to create my piece of art into a sculpture. This catastrophic event not only showcased brutal tactics of mass killing, but also humiliation to ones who they saw as “unfit to live.” One example is when the Nazi’s gained enjoyment out of cutting Jewish men’s beards, often before they met a dire fate. My sculpture represents those lives taken in the past, those who were presently being taken, and those who would be taken. The world leader I portrayed is Neville Chamberlain; like many leaders and influential people, he tried to appease what could not be appeased. And their blood cried out.”

Second place

Hannah Henriksen, a senior at East Valley High School, took second place with “Every Second, Every Minute, Every Hour, Every Day.” This is her description:

“Every second, every minute, every hour, every day, lives were affected by the Holocaust. My artwork is a series of four paintings that are all occurring at the same moment in time. My first painting shows war, weapons, deadly experiments, and the word strong, showing the open eyes of a fighting child. My second painting shows women who were taken from their towns or concentration camps forced to become sex slaves. My third painting shows many families getting off the train with angels fluttering the darkening sky. The forth picture represents hope.”

Third place

Celine Doser, senior at Shadle Park High School, took third place with “Anne Frank’s Shaving.” This is her description:

“My piece represents the scene when prisoners of the concentration camps get their head shaves. The hairs are used to fill pillows or other things. The girl in the picture is Anne Frank, a Dutch Jew who fled from her home to escape Nazi Germany. She hid in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where she wrote her diary that was later published and became very famous. Her family and another family were found by Nazis and brought to different concentration camps. Anne Frank died February or March 1945, she was 15 years old.”