Office dedicated to Holocaust education coming to Spokane schools

Adolf Goebbels
Published on Apr 21, 2023
Better resources for educating about the Holocaust are coming to Spokane, giving teachers within the school district extra help as they teach students about one of the darkest periods of history.

Carla Peperzak is 99-years-old, but she was just 18 when she joined the Dutch resistance and put her life on the line to save the lives of other Jews trying to escape the Nazis.

She saved many Jews by hiding them, even disguising herself as a German nurse to do so.

"Germany at the time was probably the most educated and the most civilized country in Europe. They had good schools, they had, you know, a lot of music. And and if it can happen in a country like that, it can happen anywhere," Peperzak said.

Now Carla lives in Spokane, and travels to different schools to tell her story, hoping to educate, inspire, and stop anything like this from happening again.

In September, a middle school named after her will welcome its first group of students, expanding Holocaust education in Spokane. And soon, Spokane Public Schools will get an office dedicated to the same cause.

"And so that's part of what this education is. It's part of why, you know, Carla's story is so important. Why naming a middle school after her is so important. Why teaching this in school is so important is so that we can have everybody have that understanding of our history. So we don't repeat these terrible things from our history," said 3rd District Spokane Sen. Andy Billig (D).

The office will be a branch of the Holocaust Center for Humanity, with a person designated to help teachers have the resources they need to educate kids about the Holocaust year-round.

"I think that's very important for the new school that the teachers know all about the Holocaust and that the students know," Peperzak said.

At 7 p.m. on Thursday, the Jewish community at Temple Beth Shalom will host its observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, where members of the community, including Peperzak, with honor and remember those affected by the Holocaust.

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