History with Chutzpah: Remarkable Stories of the Southern Jewish Experience
The 250+ artifacts, documents, photographs and oral histories in the exhibition, reveal stories from the generations before us and offer you a journey into Jewish culture unlike any other. Enhanced by personal interviews, oral history excerpts and interactive screen displays, Jewish Southerners adapted to, adopted or affected the society that surrounded them, while simultaneously retaining and celebrating their unique cultural heritage. Some had bold ideas that led to innovation and change, and some held values that impelled them to rebel against ‘the way things were,’ and others accepted the culture and customs of the South.
History with Chutzpah
gives voice to many people…past and present…whose experiences, achievements and perceptions are reflected in The Breman’s vast archival collections, initiated by a seed gift from Erwin Zaban in 1985. The exhibition is divided into six sections as follows:
• Courage & Conformity
• Hope & Survival
• Success & Loss
• Patriotism & Perseverance
• Benevolence & Community
• Murder & Mayhem
Together, these micro galleries will recount the stories of Jews in Georgia and Alabama through more than 250 objects, documents, photographs and oral histories. The interpretive themes of resilience, adaptation, courage and advocacy seem to mirror what the world is experiencing now through the pandemic and its rippling effects into every corner of society.
