At Grandview High School, members of the Jewish Student Society created an art installation of 2,000 butterflies to honor the memory of the 1.5 million children who were killed in the Holocaust.
The art installation is part of the Butterfly Project, a national organization dedicated to educating the public about the Holocaust through art. Holocaust Remembrance Day is May 6.
Members of the Jewish Student Society invited fellow students throughout the school participate by decorating a butterfly during advisory period. In total, over 2,000 butterflies were contributed by students and now hang near the entrance at Grandview High School, a point of reflection and remembrance for the Holocaust.
Naomi Frishman, a Grandview junior and member of the Jewish Student Society, said the project is really important today because people need to learn about the Holocaust.
“With the rise of antisemitism, we need to teach people about the harms of antisemitism,” she said.
Dolev Leshem, a sophomore at Grandview, said each butterfly represents a child who was killed in the 
Holocaust. His hope is that the visual representation of lives lost has a powerful impact on people who see the art.
“It is incredibly important to remember all the lives lost during the Holocaust because we never want to repeat that mistake ever again,” Dolev said. “We want to hear all those stories from Holocaust survivors and raise awareness about antisemitism and just look back at how tragic and horrific the Holocaust really was.”
Sarah Humphries is the Grandview social studies teacher who oversaw the student project. She said she was proud of her students for the work they put into making this project a success.
“Since the display has been put up, it has been very impactful to see students throughout the building take a moment to stop and look at the butterflies and reflect on the large impact that the Holocaust has had on society,” she said.
