Assembly Members Pérez and Nestande Honor Holocaust Survivor Mike Resmo
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- Created on Monday, 16 April 2012 13:18
- Written by Imperial Valley News
Sacramento, California - Today, Assemblymembers V. Manuel Pérez (D-Coachella) and Brian Nestande (R-Palm Desert) honored Holocaust Survivor Michael Resmo at a special legislative session for California Holocaust Memorial Week. The Palm Desert man, together with his wife Barbara, traveled to the Capitol for the day’s ceremonies.
Michael Resmo was born in 1928 in Kolozsvar, Translyvania. At age 14, Mr. Resmo and his family were imprisoned by the Hungarian Iron Guard in June 1943. Resmo became a laborer, forced to tunnel into the Alps, blasting holes and carrying out rocks. Inside the Nazi death camps, Resmo often found himself at the mercy of Josef Mengele, notorious for human experimentation. A survivor of four camps, Resmo lost his mother, father, and five sisters to the gas chambers at Auschwitz. Over 50 years later, Mr. and Mrs. Resmo reside in Palm Desert and Colorado. They have three children and two grandchildren.
“Mr. Resmo’s experience is one that should not be forgotten,” said Pérez. “I am very pleased that our two offices could work together with La Quinta High School student Colby Tarsitano to ensure his story is shared with future generations.”
“It is an honor to commemorate the Holocaust with this special ceremony,” Nestande said. “I would like to commend Mr. Resmo for his bravery and courage to share his experiences with us, so that we may learn from and remember the Holocaust.”
Working with the Tolerance Education Center in Rancho Mirage, Pérez and Nestande were able to connect with Mr. Resmo, who generously shared his story. La Quinta High School student Colby Tarsitano volunteered to assist the Memorial Project by conducting an interview with Mr. Resmo.
“It was an incredible experience to meet and work with such an amazing person as Mr. Resmo,” said Miss Tarsitano. “He was so welcoming and warm towards me and generous in his sharing of some very personal and tragic experiences. I consider it an honor to have had the chance to meet him and be a part in preserving his story for future generations.”
California Holocaust Memorial Week recognizes Holocaust survivors, children of survivors, and World War II veteran liberators and gives remembrance to the millions who lost their lives at the hands of the Nazi Regime. The California Assembly undertakes a Memorial Project, wherein students record survivor and liberator stories to create a firsthand understanding for future generations of the history and impact of the Holocaust. The video interviews are compiled into one shared story that is then distributed to Members, participants and the public. The culmination of the Project is an Assembly Floor Ceremony during which survivors, children thereof, and liberators are honored and a collective voice is raised against genocidal violence.