Holocaust survivor recognized in Rancho Mirage
Every year the California Legislative Jewish Caucus honors Holocaust survivors and their families statewide. A local woman is among the 39 people being honored this year. The Tolerance Education Center in Rancho Mirage held a special ceremony today to honor local child Holocaust survivor, Rose Peppin.
“I believe as a child survivor that I represent the million and a half children who did not survive,” said Rose Peppin.
Palm Springs Resident Rose Peppin is a child survivor of the Holocaust. Born in Poland, she lost several family members to the Nazis. Her older brother died by a combination of starvation and her father was left to die in the street.
“When I was about six months old my father was working and he was going home, said Peppin. “He was one of those Jews that you read about. He was walking down the street and was stopped by a German soldier, told to get on his knees, and shot in the back of the head.”
Rose and her mother escaped to Siberia, Russia before moving to America in 1949.
“We actually came to America into Detroit on the fourth of July 1949. In Detroit I went through elementary school, high school, I was the first one in my family to graduate high school.”
On Friday, Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia and the Tolerance Education Center in Rancho Mirage honored Peppin for being a Holocaust survivor. Peppin is a teacher and shares her story with students at the center.
“She plays an important role in educating the community about tolerance, about community, about caring about others and seeing the good in people,” said Eduardo Garcia.
“We are here to teach tolerance, to teach acceptance, to teach the students and the community at large that every single individual is a whole world,” said Talia Lizemer-Hawley, a teacher at the Tolerance Education Center.
Peppin told the audience her most important lesson to her students is to survive and succeed.
“No matter what your background is, where you’re from, what obstacles you face in life, you have a choice to survive and succeed, its a choice.”
If you’d like to learn more about Rose Peppin or visit the Tolerance Education Center in Rancho Mirage visit this website: Tolerance Education Center, Rancho Mirage
