Blue Team Holocaust Memorial Quilt

Overview: As a team, we are going to create a memorial to the victims, survivors, and heroes of the Holocaust.  Usually, a memorial would pick out one of these groups to honor, but since our montage approach is going to allow us a great deal of diversity, we should be able to include all three groups. Similarly, our creation will reflect a variety of themes rather than the usual single themes of most memorials.  The end product will be necessarily eclectic, reflecting both general and individual expressions of what the people of the Holocaust mean to us.
The Creation: Our memorial "mock quilt" will be composed of individual 8 1/2" by 11" tiles created by each student of the Blue Team.  The tiles will be created horizontally on a standard sheet of computer paper or equivalent sized sheet of construction paper and then displayed side-by-side on the wall in the back of our classroom as one complete work of art.
Requirements & Evaluation Criteria:
  • a thumbnail sketch planning your tile - remember, all tiles must be horizontal
  • the use of colors, shapes, & imagery as symbols; no words are allowed - only your last name should be clearly but unobtrusively written in the bottom left hand corner of your tile
  • (alternate) a short use of quotation or original phrase to convey a message
  • aesthetic quality - view-ability, neatness, vividness, avoidance of clutter, good use of space
  • ultimately, the entire evaluation is based on the tile's ability to convey a clear theme - if we can guess your theme based on your symbolism, you have done your job
Creation Process
  • Step 1: Review the principles of color and shape as symbols.
  • Step 2: Thumbnail sketch your tile - don't forget to write in your colors or even use colors to sketch.
  • Step 3: Ask a friend for advice: "Do you get my theme?"  Remember, the true test of your tile is whether we can pick up your theme without a single word being exchanged. See if they get it - if they do, then you've done it!  Probably wouldn't hurt to ask about its artistic quality too (as painful as that can be).
  • Step 4: Make your tile. Computer paper, construction paper, markers, etc. are at your disposal.
  • Step 5: On the back of your tile, write an explanation of the colors, shapes, and symbols on your tile. (Be careful when you tape your tile up in the next step - don't tape over your explanation!)
  • Step 6: Turn in your tile by going to the back of the room and hanging it up.  You may position your tile anywhere you like as long as it is touching another tile inside the boundaries.  Maybe you want to hang it next to a friend's or maybe you think your tile's colors would look good next to a certain other tile or maybe you want to try to hang your tile next to one with a similar theme - give it a little thought.
Helpful Hints
  • It might help to focus on a specific group first - figuring out what to "say" might be easier if you know your audience
  • Keep your purpose in mind - to memorialize or commemorate
  • Here are some themes that might work for the various groups: survival, faith, selflessness, endurance, remembrance, homage, praise, vigilance, gratitude, sympathy, empathy
Ideas for this project: “A Holocaust Monument.” A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust. March 2005. Florida Center for Instructional Technology. <http://fcit.coedu.usf.edu/holocaust/activity/912plan/monument.htm>.