The People Next Door

This is what it's all about! Received in our inbox this morning. Thanks to Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library for their ongoing partnership to help make it all happen.

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Dear Simon Fund Team,

Thank you for organizing the People Next Door contest and for the meaningful opportunity it provided to our students. The contest challenged them to think deeply and thoughtfully about why studying the Holocaust remains so important today, encouraging both critical reflection and personal connection to history. Your continued commitment to Holocaust education helps students better understand the consequences of prejudice and the importance of empathy and civic responsibility. We are grateful for the recognition our students received, and I have included a photo of them with their certificates and prizes as a small glimpse of how much this experience meant to them. They were thrilled, and the recognition of their talents was deeply meaningful to many of them.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Drake and Amy Elliott
she/her/hers
English Teachers
John Adams High School

Left to Right: Mrs. Amy Elliott, Henry Long (3rd place), Shavonne Smith (1st place), Aubree Tobar (honorable mention), Connor Stankiewicz (2nd place), Emma Filchak (honorable mention), Lemira Hardy (honorable mention), Arianna Jones (honorable mention), Nosipho Mgwaba (honorable mention for poetry), Mrs. Elizabeth Drake

Join us Wednesday for The People Next Door awards & exhibition opening - https://mailchi.mp/8f9de114007a/holocaust-remembrance-day-is-monday-january-6429655

We're excited to see the entries so far. Don't wait to submit yours - contest submissions close Friday! https://mailchi.mp/ad44eee577c3/holocaust-remembrance-day-is-monday-january-6428709

Student artists and writers: submissions are now open!

When we fail to learn from history, we risk repeating it.
Now in its third decade, The People Next Door contest is an opportunity for Michiana students in grades 9-12 to creatively address the history of the Holocaust. Entrants are invited to review The People Next Door video documentary or other related resources, then create an original work of art, poetry, or prose in response.

Submission Deadline: Friday, February 27, 2026.
Exhibition Opening and Awards Ceremony: Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.

See complete contest information, including submission guidelines, at www.peoplenextdoor.org

Made possible by the Kurt and Tessye Simon Fund for Holocaust Remembrance. Thanks to our friends at the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library in downtown Mishawaka for again hosting the exhibition.

Good to see this out in the wild. Thank you Bend Brew Werks! We’re looking forward to seeing this year’s entries. The submission portal ooens soon, and will be open through February 27.

81 years ago, Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops.

The Germans established the Auschwitz camp complex in the spring of 1940 in German-occupied Poland. In just over four years, about 1.1 million people were killed there—including about one million Jews.

Each year on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we remember the victims of the Holocaust and carry forward the messages of its survivors.

Photo: USHMM, courtesy of Belarusian State Archive of Documentary Film and Photography

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we honor the lives lost and reflect on the lessons of history. Resources and stories to support teaching about the Holocaust are available on PBS LearningMedia: https://bit.ly/3wxNPjw

When we fail to learn from history, we risk repeating it.

Now in its third decade, The People Next Door contest is an opportunity for Michiana students in grades 9-12 to creatively address the history of the Holocaust. Entrants are invited to review The People Next Door video documentary or other related resources, then create an original work of art, poetry, or prose in response.

Submission Deadline: Friday, February 27, 2026.
Exhibition Opening and Awards Ceremony: Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.
Complete contest information, including submission guidelines, at www.peoplenextdoor.org

If you know an educator or student in grades 9-12, please share this with them to make sure they're on our mailing list or checking out our website (links in comments.)

Made possible by the Kurt and Tessye Simon Fund for Holocaust Remembrance. Thanks to our friends at the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library in downtown Mishawaka for again hosting the exhibition.

January 27 is Holocaust Remembrance Day - https://mailchi.mp/4476f35c50ea/holocaust-remembrance-day-is-monday-january-6427924

UPDATES: 2026 Student Art & Creative Writing Contest - https://mailchi.mp/b12106af6048/holocaust-remembrance-day-is-monday-january-6427762