Art is a way to teach about the Holocaust

 

For four years, University High School art teacher Jennifer Gale Compau invited just her art portfolio class, students on a path to become artists, to enter the Jessica Stein Memorial Art Contest for the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust.

This year, she offered the opportunity to all five of her art classes and arranged to show the 90-minute documentary "Carla the Rescuer" at the school.

Along with other faculty, some on the school board, community members and members of Temple Beth Shalom and Congregation Emanu-El, 450 students viewed it on March 5.

History teacher Paul Schneider, who is a member of Human Rights Spokane, and other teachers also brought their classes to see it. Several other teachers want their classes to view it on another day.

The film connects with the 2025 prompt for the annual art contest, "Survival and Life After the Holocaust."

Previously, there were five to seven entries, but this year 30 students are creating pieces for the 2025 contest, in lieu of other class projects.

"I see how impactful it is for students to research stories and create art. It shows how studying the Holocaust affects the lives of students today," Jennifer said.

The students watched videos—like the documentary on Spokane Holocaust survivor and educator Carla Peperzak—of individuals who lived through the Holocaust and their lives after that. Then they designed an original work of art around these stories and people that impacted them.

When the students watched the documentary "Carla, the Rescuer," they were prompted to look for visual clues to "find something to spark their creativity," she continued.

Jennifer set up some visual clues on the stage during the viewing: 1) a bike tire and bag of sugar—because Carla had traded sugar for a tire, 2) a Dutch resistance armband, 3) a 1940s nurse's uniform from her grandmother—saved by her historian mother Nancy Compau, and 4) scissors and cut paper—Carla cut pieces of paper in half so when people met they matched the paper and knew they were connecting to the right person.

In addition, Jennifer showed them art created by students in previous years.

"Students see the survivors' lives as part of history," said Jennifer, noting that one student said her grandmother was Jewish and grandparents of another had been in concentration camps.

Jennifer said the film, "Carla, the Rescuer," inspired students and they wrote thank you notes to Carla. She shared a few excerpts.

• "Watching the movie about you was touching and heartbreaking. Thank you for being so strong and talking about what happened. I am inspired by how brave you were. It makes me feel I should do the same for people who need help. I can't imagine what it was like to hide Jews knowing you might be caught by the Nazis. I strive to be that brave."

• "I was humbled by the many acts of selflessness displayed by you during such an oppressive, perilous time as World War II. You risked everything to do what you did. Today, you still display that bravery, selflessness and resolve to tell your story to untold generations of people through interviews, school visits and the documentary."

• "Hating someone because of their beliefs, skin color, sexuality or anything that makes them different is one of the most ignorant, cruel crimes. I used to be unkind to people I perceived as different. Now I try to be patient, kind, educated and accepting. I am so sorry people let hatred take over their souls and cause pain and heartbreak for you and so many others."

In addition to teaching art techniques and issues that can inspire art, Jennifer creates her own art to express her visions.

Much of her art focuses on promoting peace and anti-violence—opposing war, gun violence and self-inflicted violence.

She often reprints an image she carved on a wood block during the war in Bosnia on maps of areas of the world. The image depicts an Indigenous woman, holding onto nature and sending up prayers for peace as bombs drop.

When war breaks out, Jennifer prints that image on maps. She recently used maps of Ukraine, Russia, Palestine and Israel and gave prints to refugees and Temple Beth Shalom.

"It expresses prayers of and for every person on each side of a conflict when wars break out and bombs rain down," she said. "Art is prayer."

Jennifer feels a link to Carla, because her grandfather and father worked for the Dutch bank that funded the Dutch resistance. Her grandmother volunteered as a "gray lady" at the veteran's hospital in World War II.

Jennifer first attended Lewis and Clark High School but graduated from Gonzaga Prep in 1983. Then she moved to Portland to study art and design. She married and lived in Scottsdale, Ariz. She then ran contemporary art galleries and worked as an art curator.

After she divorced, she returned to Spokane, where she worked for the Cheney Cowles Memorial Museum and raised her three children. She earned a bachelor's in fine arts and art history at Gonzaga University and a master's in teaching at Eastern Washington University. She then taught art and humanities there. She also earned a master's degree in organizational leadership at Gonzaga University and worked at the Center for Organizational Reform.

Jennifer taught at-risk high school students at Contract Basic Education and then at Mica Peak and School to Life before coming in 2017 to teach art at University High School.

Recently, she asked the 171 students in her five classes if they had previously studied the Holocaust. Only one or two from each class had.

"The void in understanding history is daunting," she said.

That was hard for her to comprehend having grown up in a family—she is the fifth generation in Spokane—that has valued their ancestors. Her mother, a historian, and her father, an attorney, were committed to social justice and welcomed international exchange students in their home.

Her family attended Presbyterian churches, and she attended the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane for many years. She is now active in Faith Leaders and Leaders of Conscience, as an outlet for her belief in the inherent worth and dignity of people and the inclusion of all people.

She also studied Buddhism with the Dalai Lama's teaching but has returned to focus on Jesus. She is now learning Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, and studying the Lord's prayer, Psalms and Beatitudes in Aramaic.

"I'm inspired by Jesus' teaching and disappointed how some use Jesus' story in ways that are the antithesis to his life and teachings," she said.

"My parents and grandparents connected with history and advocated for people all over the world," she said. "In elementary school, I volunteered with my mother at CROP Walks and World Relief. I grew up with students from Japan, India, Italy and France in my home, so when I raised my children, we also hosted international students," she added. "Through global understanding we realize people have more in common than anything that divides them."

Jennifer, who works for peace at a community and personal level, believes inviting students to participate in the Holocaust Observance art contest as a way to continue that commitment.

When the students create their own art pieces about the Holocaust, it's more than a lesson, she said.

"Art is a universal language that puts voice and shape to things," said Jennifer, who supplies resources and tools for students to use to express what they find.

"Special ed students can express themselves in art. I hold the time and space for each student to create something original of their own," she said.

"I love to see students grow in a way that changes who they are as they make art to submit to the Holocaust art contest," Jennifer commented.

Some of her previous students were excited to learn that their art pieces were shown in the documentary and will have an impact on those who view the film.

For information, call 747-3304 on the observance or email vflats.af@gmail.com.