Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, in Woodstock, is hosting a powerful new exhibition of artwork by Level 3 Art & Design Students of Abingdon & Witney College. The exhibition, open now until 9 December 2025, marks 80 years since the end of the war and since the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by Allied forces.
The exhibition forms part of the museum’s wider commemoration of the Holocaust and the Oxfordshire Yeomanry’s role in liberating Bergen-Belsen.
The project has seen students respond to deeply personal stories and artefacts from the museum’s collection – among them, those of Holocaust survivor Naomi Kaplan and Oxfordshire Yeomanry soldier Arthur Tyler. Arthur was approached by Naomi and wrote letters to her family in the US, eventually leading to her reuniting with them, and the start of a new life in Houston, Texas.
Through creative interpretation, the students have produced thought-provoking works that explore memory, loss, hope, and resilience – offering a new generation’s response to this historic event.
Naomi dedicated much of her later life educating on the holocaust and the dangers of discrimination, leaving a legacy which continues to this day through the Holocaust Museum Houston and now in the UK through Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum and projects like this one.
Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum would like to thank the Warren Family (Naomi’s descendants) for their support of its arts and educational programmes.
Letters from Liberation stands as a poignant testament to the power of art to bridge generations, connect communities, and highlight history’s most vital lessons.
Abingdon & Witney College explain, ‘Our learners are encouraged to think, create, and collaborate like professional artists from their first day at College.’
