by B. B. James

Created on: September 15, 2009

Atlanta has the largest Jewish population in the South (except for Florida, which is geographically, but not culturally, the South). So it's appropriate that Atlanta is home to the informative, welcoming, and highly moving William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum.

Visiting the Breman will give you an understanding of more than 150 years of Jewish life in Atlanta. Attractive exhibits and informative text panels explain that Jews first settled in Atlanta prior to the Civil War as merchants. As in so many other cities in the South, Jews came to be leading businessmen in the town, even as they struggled to gain full acceptance and religious equality. The first merchants worked out of pushcarts or wagons. The most successful of them opened permanent stores that began to define Atlanta's downtown in post-Civil War era. Old photos, diaries, and mementos in the museum show an age and era that has long since passed, but which fills us for nostalgia about simpler times.

However, as we move into the 20th century, the message gets darker - and the Breman does not shy away from sharing the ugly truth. The Breman's exhibit about the Holocaust is deeply moving. It tells the stories of Holocaust survivors who moved to Atlanta, often helped by the kindness and generosity of those merchants who had established themselves decades earlier. The stories that these immigrants share are harrowing, despite their ultimate triumph of survival. For a person who hasn't had the opportunity to learn about the Holocaust through a visit to a larger Holocaust museum (Washington, DC, Los Angeles, or in Germany and other places in Europe), the exhibit will be shocking.

The post-World War II material in the museum changes regularly. It looks at various themes in our modern era. Over the years, these have included a look at the modern merchants and bankers and the buildings they have built; the contribution of Jewish citizens to the civil rights movement in the 1960s; discrimination that Jews faced from the KKK and other hate groups; and the changing forms of Jewish worship that have evolved in America. These exhibits are history lessons, often infused with fascinating video clips and interviews.

A visit to the Breman will take 1-2 hours, and it costs $6-$10. It's not a huge museum. It is located in the "midtown" area of Atlanta, near the Georgia Tech University and an emerging arts district. Parking at a meter on the street is usually very easy to find, and inexpensive lots are available within a few blocks. There are few restaurant choices nearby, so plan on driving to another part of town, such as Virginia Highlands, which is about 2 miles away.

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