Ohio students use paper clips to mark 6M slain in Holocaust

COLUMBUS (AP) — Visualizing 6 million is difficult.

One hundred? Easy. Count students in the crowded hallways of Gahanna Lincoln High School.

One hundred thousand? Anyone who has been to an Ohio State University football game in the ‘Shoe can picture that.

Much more than that is too big to envision, said Gahanna Lincoln history teacher Jennifer Candor.

To drive home the enormity of 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, Candor sought to give the students taking her World War II class some tangible way to count.

Last year, Candor started the paper-clip project, with a goal of eventually collecting 6 million.

As of earlier this month, the paper clips in jars and bins around the room totaled 226,330, including last year’s haul. The 26 students in the first-period class have collected 22,388 since early September, and the 29 students in third period have collected 40,047.