California class commemorates Holocaust

December 16, 2005

A junior high language arts class from Manteca, California in the US is commemorating the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust by collecting six million paperclips. During World War II, the Norwegians wore paperclips on their shirts to protest the Nazi slaughter of Jews and other ethnic groups.

Led by junior high language arts teacher Mrs. Aryel Saldate, the class has already collected over 7,000 paperclips. Mrs. Saldate had the idea when she saw a special on the television network HBO about another teacher who did the same thing and actually collected 6 million paperclips. Although it took the other class five years to achieve this feat, it helped her students realize just how widespread the Holocaust was.

Mrs. Saldate can be reached by e-mail at asaldate@sjcoe.net. The official website for the cause is listed below.

Please send your paperclip contribution to:
 * 8th Grade Language Arts
 * c/o Sequoia School
 * 710 Martha Street
 * Manteca CA 95336