Exhibits inside the Breman Museum and Cultural Center in Atlanta are shown. English department co-chair Meghan McNeeley took 21 Holocaust and Genocide Studies students to The Breman Museum and Cultural Center for a field trip on Nov. 4 and found it to be helpful for the students. “We’re really fortunate to have a Holocaust museum and a center for Jewish people in (Atlanta). Taking (the Holocaust and Genocide Studies students) there to see an experience, the layers and the actual items is so worth it,” McNeeley said. Photos courtesy of Meghan McNeeley
CCHS Holocaust and Genocide Studies students attended a field trip to The Breman Museum and Cultural Center on Nov. 4 to expand their knowledge of the Holocaust.
On Nov. 4, English department co-chair Meghan McNeeley took 21 Clarke Central High School Holocaust and Genocide Studies students on a field trip to the Breman Museum and Cultural Center.
The elective Holocaust and Genocide Studies taught by English department co-chair Meghan McNeeley was added to CCHS during the 2022-23 school year as a vehicle to educate students on the Holocaust found in social studies classes. Since then, McNeeley has led three trips to The Breman Museum and Cultural Center for students to find a greater meaning within the class.
“Academically, I want (the students) to have a deeper understanding behind what we study. I would love to pique more levels of curiosity, so they want to go out, explore, read or learn on their own. I hope (the field trip) gives them a sense of place in our world,” McNeeley said. “I think there are some pretty real-life moralistic and human lessons to be learned.”
“It’s helpful for (the students) to get another voice personalizing (the Holocaust) through the story of the survivor (or) the survivor’s parent. That’s incredibly important.”
— Meghan McNeeley,
CCHS English department co-chair
The permanent Holocaust exhibit at The Breman Museum and Cultural Center, “Absence of Humanity,” narrates the history of the Holocaust through photographs, memorabilia, documents and interviews with survivors.
“They always pair our visit with a speaker. We have had two speakers that are second-generation survivors, so their parents are actual survivors (of the Holocaust). They tell very compelling stories (and) that’s always been really powerful for (the students) to hear from the speakers,” McNeeley said. “It’s helpful for (the students) to get another voice personalizing (the Holocaust) through the story of the survivor (or) the survivor’s parent. That’s incredibly important.”
Holocaust survivor Penina Weisz speaks about her escape from Auschwitz. Clarke Central High School sophomore Celina Walden, who is in the Holocaust and Genocide Studies class, gained further knowledge of the Holocaust from the field trip. “I learned the extent of (the Holocaust), the extent of people trying to get their stuff back, how many heroes there were. And along the way, we look at some of the perpetrators, and we look at some of the heroes,” Walden said. “You really learn and you feel the feelings without having to be there.” Video fair use of The Breman Museum and Cultural Center
CCHS sophomore Celina Walden attended the field trip and found the experience meaningful and a way to discover her future path.
“(On the field trip) you start to understand more about what happened, who it happened to (and) who feels it the most,” Walden said. “ I think, truly, when we went to the museum is when I found my passion for what I wanted to do out of high school, (to) be a docent there and speak on (the Holocaust).”
