Bella Arnett (née Froman) was born on September 6, 1917 in Warsaw, Russian Empire (now Poland). She had three brothers and two sisters. Bella’s father, Chaim,
was a shoikhet, performing the ritual slaughter of animals according to Jewish tradition. He observed Ger Hasidism and was a respected member of the local community. Before the war, Bella attended a Polish school and received Jewish education at home.

Professor Péron is a senior lecturer in the French and Francophone department at the University of Pennsylvania’s College of Arts and Sciences, where she received the Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by Affiliated Faculty.