Address: 1440 Spring St. NW
Pricing: Adults $10, seniors $6, students $4, children $2
Phone: (678) 222-3700
Hours: Monday–Thursday 10 a.m.– 5 p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.–3 p.m.; Sunday 1–5 p.m.; closed Saturday
How To Get There:
Located in midtown at the intersection of Spring and 18 streets, next to the Center for Puppetry Arts.
Parking:On-site
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Breman museum celebrates Jewish heritage
Published: Apr 22, 2009
It’s said that history forgotten is doomed to be repeated. The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta remains determined not to let that happen.
Opened in 1996, the Breman was named for William Breman, a local humanitarian and philanthropist who wanted to help celebrate and preserve Jewish heritage and history. The museum includes a well-organized resource library, archives, genealogy tools and an education center work and three galleries.
The museum structure centers on three main exhibition galleries: “Absence of Humanity: The Holocaust Years, 1933–1945;” “Creating Community: The Jews of Atlanta from 1845 to the Present” and, finally, “The Marlene J. and William A Schwartz Special Exhibitions Gallery,” which showcases traveling exhibits throughout the year.
The Holocaust exhibit's12 sections detail chronologically the rise and fall of the Nazi regime. Beginning with the tortured history of the Jewish people, the exhibit walks visitors through concentration camps (actual railroad tracks to Treblinka death camp are on display), the resistance and rescuer movements, displacement camps and the beginning of new lives for survivors.
Gut-wrenching documents, memorabilia, photographs and presentations by actual survivors bring immediacy to the story of the Holocaust. The exhibit was conceptualized and designed by Holocaust survivor Benjamin Hirsch, who wanted to take visitors on a journey. Every step — from walking beside a ghetto’s 11-foot brick wall to stepping into a boxcar replica — brings a new understanding of the historical tragedy endured by the Jews.
The “Creating Community” exhibit delves into the establishment of the Jewish community in Atlanta and its impact. (For example, Jewish-owned Jacob’s Pharmacy first introduced the world to Coca-Cola.) Items on display include political posters, a dollhouse depicting the life of an Atlanta Jewish family and even a replica of an early Jewish market (where kids can go “shopping” for plastic food).
The museum is closed Saturdays and most Jewish and federal holidays.
HelloAtlanta readers will receive $2 off admission at the door if they mention this article.
- by Christine Foster, Atlanta Reporter for HelloMetro
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