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Mar. 18, 2006 Recently I re-watched “Schindler’s List.” It reminded me of a documentary I had watched on Comcaast, On Demand through HBO Productions. The name of this documentary was “Paper Clips.” In Whitwell, Tennessee, eighth grade history students studied the Holocaust. One child asked what six million of something looks like. Their teacher had no idea of what a million of something looks like. So they decided to collect paperclips in order for the children to know what six million at least looked like. The school put out requests for paper clips; little did they know what was about to flood in. With each paperclip came a letter with a story about whom the paperclip represented. It was a school project for 4 years and the students studied the Holocaust in depth during that time. Before long, they had collected over 20 million paper clips. The student met a couple who had immigrated from Germany after World War Two and they told their stories of what being Jewish in Germany meant. When the couple heard about the children collecting all those paper clips and the letters that came with them. They traced down an actual cattle car that had been used to transport the Jewish race, Gypsies, Homosexuals, Political Prisoners and Jehovah’s Witnesses to the concentration camps. The couple had the cattle car transported to Whitwell, Tennessee. The town got involved in the project. Carpenters supported as much of the original wood as possible. A construction company built deck walkways for the people to walk up into the car and out of it again. A local artist painted butterflies on the sidewalks of the memorial. Carpenters made showcases for the paperclips, pictures, and a briefcase that the children had obtained. Today, the children that built this memorial are the teachers of the Holocaust. Today, those with out a voice have a voice. They have a new generation that is giving them a voice. They have a generation that is trying to keep the memory alive and to remind us all what hate and ignorance can bring. We must learn from the past to keep the future different. But it did happen again. Another Holocaust has happened, this time in Iraq. I guess the world didn’t learn any lesions from World War Two and the Regime of Hitler. The saddest part is that the world my not learn from any of the holocausts and there will be another. ------------ About the author: Kaycee Nilson has completed her first novel, "Night Falls on Chicago." The first two chapters can be viewed at http://www.KayceeNilson.com. Besides writing columns for Useless-Knowledge, Kaycee is currently working on two more novels, "From the Mind of a Vampire", and "I'll Love You Til You Die." If you have enjoyed what you read, or would like to leave Kaycee a message, please visit her message board at http://www.KayceeNilson.com/Board Email: Kaycee@kayceenilson.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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