Local students awarded Legacy of Hope

Josh Shane, an Eagle Scout majoring in automotive systems engineering at Arizona State University, and Gabrielle Vanderlaan, a senior at de Toledo High School, have been awarded the Legacy of Hope Award for their contributions to the David Labkovski Project.

At the age of 14, Wollschlaeger discovered his father’s role as a Nazi in World War 11. From that time, Wollshlaeger began his journey to learn more about the Jewish people and reach beyond the hatred around him.

The David Labkovski Project advances knowledge of the Holocaust through the art of Labkovski (1906-1991).

Labkovski was a Lithuanian– Israeli artist who left behind a body of over 400 pieces of narrative art depicting Jewish life in his hometown of Vilna, Lithuania, a city that was destroyed by the Nazis, as well as illustrations of Shalom Aleichem characters, stores from Holocaust survivors, his time in a Siberian prison camp and his life in Israel.

Three years ago, the David Labkovski Project was formed under the guidance of Stephanie Wolfson and Leora Raikin. They developed an educational program that uses the artwork to teach students about Jewish history and the Holocaust. Student ambassadors become curators and act as docents of the exhibit to their peers and the community.

In February, the exhibit, along with events, speakers and discussions, will be at Cal State Northridge in a joint project with Hillel 818, supported by the Jewish Community Foundation.

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