Paper Clips

Who would have guessed that a small school in rural Tennessee could have started project that ended with world-wide participation? I purchased the DVD from Blockbuster the day it became available (November 1, 2005). I had heard good comments about the movie, but was unable to find another retail or internet outlet that offered it for sale.

I found myself holding back tears as the movie documented death camp survivors telling their stories to the folks of Whitfield. This story is very heart warming and gives hope that todays jaded children can be inspired to make a difference and learn from the past. And the teachers themselves were effected by the project to self-introspection of their attitudes towards people "different" than themselves.

I hope to someday visit the exhibit that resulted from the paper clip project.

This entrancing documentary details the story of how the students of Whitwell Middle School, a little town in Central Tennessee, started with a school assignment that snowballed into a one-of-a-kind Holocaust memorial gaining world-wide attention.

Whitwell is a former coal mining town with only a handful of minorities. The small town is almost totally Christian. Faculty at the school wanted to teach their children about the Holocaust as a means of showing them how intolerance of others can be fatal.

To give them a visual idea of what six million looks like (the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust), students began collecting paper clips. As news of the project began to spread, paper clips began pouring into the little school. Students did research and projects. They began to understand the not everybody was just like them. Jewish Holocaust survivors came to the school to share their stories and were embraced by the community.

Today a rail car formerly used to transport Jews to concentrations camps houses the paper clip collection on the grounds of Whitwell Middle School. Students give tours for other schools and answer questions.

This story is told with grace, humor and sensitivity. It will give you renewed hope in today's youth and an understanding of how the Holocaust must never be forgotten, lest it be repeated.

I saw this film at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in early 2004, and am thrilled that it is finally being released. It moved me to tears with its touching realities, and i tell everyone i know to see it as soon as possible. It is informative, inspiring, and breath-taking...and, for you Hollywood types, it has a "happy ending". I seldom want to travel anymore, but were the wanderlust bug to bite me again, i think that i would head to that little own in Tennessee, to witness this miracle first-hand. Go see this film. Don't think about going or analyze whether it is for Jews-only. Just go...and be a better person for the experience.

This is an amazing movie about amazing people and an amazing project. It moved me to tears, especially because I had relatives die in the Holocaust. The people of Whitwell, Tennessee, deserve world-wide recognition as humanitarians and for their outstanding efforts. This film restores faith in human kind and the goodness in people. The story starts out simple enough, but soon it escalates and we witness an enormous undertaking that is highlighted by dedicating a memorial to the 11 million people that died in the Holocaust. It was thoughtful to give recognition to the 5 million other victims that also perished. Bravo to the film makers, bravo to the people of Whitwell!

This amazing document merits a view because it shows how a school project got children involved in understanding the fate of millions of human beings that perished during WWII because of the evil doing of a mad man. In fact, "Paper Clips" should be required viewing in schools as it clearly shows how hate and prejudice is so wrong in this society, and in the world.

Whitwell Middle School's principal, Linda Hopper, tells us about the town's history and racial make-up. Whitwell is basically a white lower middle class community. In fact, this impoverish town could be the perfect ground where prejudice could erupt, based on ignorance and how they perceive other people of different background and religion than theirs.

It's a credit to the teachers and the young students that got involved in the project to come to the realization about the horrible fate the Jews suffered during a period of modern history that shouldn't have happened. By collecting paper clips, a Norwegian symbol about their opposition of the senseless killings, the children get an education about something most hadn't been exposed to.

Elliot Berlin and Joe Fab deserve praise for bringing this uplifting documentary about tolerance and acceptance. Ultimately, the people of Whitwell, and especially the teachers that motivated their students to participate in the project are the clear winners for having gained knowledge about how to respect races and other cultures.