In 2006, The Butterfly Project was co-founded at San Diego Jewish Academy by educator Jan Landau and artist Cheryl Rattner Price as a new approach to teaching the Holocaust through a hands-on activity. The Butterfly Project found inspiration from the poem The Last Butterfly, which was written by Pavel Friedmann- a prisoner in Terezin concentration camp located in the former Czechoslovakia. In our 8th grade classrooms, students participated in The Butterfly Project to memorialize the 1.5 million children murdered during the Holocaust and honor the survivors by creating beautiful butterflies. After learning about the Holocaust and hearing personal and profound stories from survivors, each student created a butterfly that contains hand drawn images, which represents the Holocaust’s complex history and emphasizes the power of hope and empathy. Our 8th grade teachers, Mrs. Georgelos and Mr. Mamolella, reached out to the The Butterfly Project and in return, they sent our scholars ceramic butterflies to design and display in our school. These ceramic butterflies not only symbolize resilience and empathy, but they emphasize the importance of gratitude.
