At the Unknown Child Foundation, we seek to educate audiences about the 1.5 million children (of the 1.6 million in the area at the time) who perished during the Holocaust and empower current and future generations to value and hold all children safe, regardless of their ethnic, social, economic or religious background. Click here to learn about the “Pennies Project,” the middle school class project that served as the impetus for our organization.
The work of the Unknown Child Foundation is funded by donations from individuals and companies sharing our commitment to keeping the memory of these children alive. All proceeds go to Unknown Child Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization and are tax-deductible. Please make us a part of your charitable giving plans.
The Memorial
The idea? Create a world-class destination that will keep alive the memory of the child victims of the Holocaust. Inspired by a very special classroom project, plans are for the memorial, designed by architect Doug Thornton featuring a sculpture by Canadian artist Rick Wienecke, to be housed at the Circle G Ranch in Horn Lake, MS.
The Pennies Project
It all began in the fall of 2009 during a discussion by teachers from Horn Lake Middle School, whose passion for increasing awareness about the Holocaust sparked the idea for their students to collect one penny to represent each of 1.5 million children killed during the Holocaust.
Place a Penny
We’ve created a unique resource that allows you to learn more about the children who perished during the Holocaust. You can search through a detailed list of thousands of children and – for an $18 donation – place that child’s penny on the Unknown Child Holocaust Memorial walls.
The Sculpture
An abandoned child leans against the inside of a crematorium door, a replica of the oven doors at Auschwitz. In his mind, he reaches an arm through the closed door, desperately grasping for a place where he will be safe. Created by Canadian-born artist, Rick Wienecke, the sculpture will be surrounded by the 1.5 million pennies collected by students.
Never forget
“By preserving the memory of the Holocaust and its moral lessons, we tell the world that such atrocities should never happen again to Jews or to any other people in the world. I don’t want my past to become anyone else’s future.” – Holocaust survivor Friderica Beck Saharovici
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August 19, 2021
January 28, 2021
