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The 70273 Project

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I don’t remember where I first heard about this project, but I was immediately drawn in. It was founded by Jeanne Hewell-Chambers. You can followalong and find out more on her blog. Here is what she has to say about how she came to start this:

Between January 1940 and August 1941 (before the Holocaust began), 70,273 physically and mentally disabled people – men, women, teens, boys, and girls – were murdered by the Nazis. Though they never even laid eyes on the disabled person they were evaluating, the Nazi doctors read the medical files and, if from the words on the page, the person was deemed “unfit” or an “economic burden on society”, the doctor placed a red X at the bottom of the form. Three doctors were to read each medical file, and when two of them made a red X on the page, the disabled person’s fate was sealed. Most were murdered within 1-2 hours.

I will commemorate these 70,273 voiceless, powerless people who were so callously and casually murdered by gathering 70,273 blocks of white fabric (representing innocence and the paper the doctors read), each bearing two red X’s (representing one person), and I will stitch them together into quilts. 

She soon realized she could not accomplish this alone so she reached out to the world via the internet for help. She has specific dimensions and some instructions, but how you make the red x’s is up to the maker. Here are my first 3 in the 3 different sizes. I fused some red linen x’s to white cotton.

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I then stitched them down.

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Here is one of the quilts that Jeanne has made.

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This is a big deal and a lot of work. I do hope that some of my readers will jump in and help with this. Just go to her blog. In the sidebar, you will find every thing you need to know.

I have finished one HRC hat and am working on the second one.

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I am busy cleaning, packing, purging and moving my studio. Most every thing but the furniture has been moved. The furniture will get moved on Sunday. Then Mr C and I have to clean and paint the old studio so that I can get my deposit back.

 

One Response to “The 70273 Project”

  1. Mary Helen in OR says:

    I’m so very impressed at how you and your new joint are doing….Cleaning and painting the studio?? Last May this would never have even crossed your mind. So glad you are doing well. Thanks for sharing the 70,273 project. So good that we all remember and try to keep it from happening again. Cheers