Carla Peperzak- Resistance and Respect

Carla Peperzak is a speaker and Holocaust Survivor who was a member of the Dutch resistance during World War II.

Carla was raised in a Jewish family in Amsterdam. Her father was born Jewish, and her mother, though not Jewish by birth, had been adopted by a Jewish family and embraced Judaism from a young age. Carla graduated from high school in 1940, the same year Germany invaded the Netherlands.

In 1941, all Dutch Jews were required to register with the state and were issued identification papers marked with a “J.” Somehow, Carla’s father arranged for the “J” on her papers to be removed, possibly with the help of a sympathetic official or due to her maternal ancestry. This difference in her papers would prove crucial as she began resisting the Nazi regime.

At just 18, Peperzak joined the Dutch Jewish resistance. She successfully hid her aunt, uncle, and two cousins in a farmhouse and later disguised herself as a German nurse to rescue a young cousin from a train bound for the Westerbork transit camp. Throughout the war, she found hiding places for Jews, created fake identification papers and ration cards, and helped publish an underground newspaper that reported on Allied military activities.

After the war, Carla married agronomist Paul Peperzak. His work for the World Bank and the United Nations took the couple and their four children to Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States. Carla worked as a paralegal, in real estate, and as a community volunteer. When the couple retired in Colorado Springs, she began to share her wartime story, but only after decades of silence.

For many years, Peperzak kept her past to herself. “In the beginning, people weren’t interested,” she said. “We wanted to go on with life and we wanted to forget. But of course, the forgetting part was impossible.” It wasn’t until 1992 that she began speaking publicly, realizing how important it was to educate others so history would not repeat itself. “Never Again,” she vowed.

Peperzak is especially concerned about young people’s knowledge of the Holocaust. “Germany before the war was a highly educated, culturally advanced country,” she said. “Yet Hitler was able to rise to power, setting in motion the horrors of the Holocaust. If that can happen in a country like Germany, it can happen anywhere.”

Since moving to Spokane, Washington, in 2004, much of her speaking work has been in schools. She often ends her talks with a single word: “Respect.” As she explained in testimony to the Holocaust Center for Humanity in Spokane, “If you respect somebody else, even if you don’t like them, you don’t understand them, you don’t agree with them, if you respect, you cannot kill.”

Raymond Sun, a professor of history at Washington State University specializing in Holocaust and genocide studies, connected with Peperzak and helped bring her story to wider audiences. She visits his classes every year, and Sun nominated her for an honorary doctoral degree from WSU, which will be conferred in May. “I think it’s a wonderful school,” she said. “The students I’ve connected with are very nice, and of course Ray Sun is very special.”

In November 2023, Peperzak celebrated her 100th birthday at the newly opened Carla Olman Peperzak Middle School in Spokane, named in her honor. She also holds an honorary doctorate from Gonzaga University and was named Washingtonian of the Year in 2020.

Peperzak is grateful for the recognition but keeps her focus on the bigger picture. “It’s not about me. It’s about the Holocaust,” she said. “Hopefully people will be informed so it doesn’t happen again.”

References:
“Carla Peperzak - Netherlands.” Holocaust Center for Humanity, www.holocaustcenterseattle.org/carla-peperzak.
“Carla Peperzak Full Testimony.” YouTube, Holocaust Center for Humanity, 22 Oct. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2IJmdproHk.
“Carla Peperzak’s Story and Honors Have One Goal: Never Again.” WSU Insider | Washington State University, news.wsu.edu/news/2024/03/07/carla-peperzaks-story-and-honors-have-one-goal-never-again/.
Epperly, Emma. “‘It Means Everything’: Holocaust Survivor Carla Olman Peperzak Celebrates 100th Birthday at Middle School Named in Her Honor.” Spokesman.Com, The Spokesman-Review, 7 Nov. 2023, www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/nov/07/it-means-everything-holocaust-survivor-carla-olman/.

Key words:
Civil Rights, Wartime, Courage, Perseverance, Freedom, Responsibility, Take Risks for Others, Stand Up for Your Beliefs