Exhibitions inspired by an act of kindness: Naomi & Arthur

Oxfordshire has a close connection with the liberation of Bergen-Belsen through one of its county regiments, the Oxfordshire Yeomanry, who would be one of the first British Army units to enter the camp in April 1945. 80 years on, Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum commemorated this through a series of projects, events and a new educational programme and resources for schools, exploring these events through a very human story of kindness during the darkest of times.

Naomi Kaplan, a Polish Jew who had already survived time in the camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, was amongst those liberated from Bergen-Belsen. Having lost much of her immediate family to the ghettos and camps already, she was desperate to try and make contact with surviving relatives living in Houston, Texas, USA. Approaching many of the British Army personnel taking over the camp, she found one man willing to write to her relatives: Oxfordshire Yeoman Arthur Tyler.

His simple act of kindness eventually reunited her with family and enabled her to rebuild her life in Houston. Closely involved with the establishment of Holocaust Museum Houston, Naimi dedicated much of her later life to educating generations on the dangers of discrimination and dehumanisation through her personal experience. With support from the Warren Family, Naomi's descendants today, and HMH, we continue her legacy.

Letters from Liberation: Responses to the End of the Second World War

Exhibition 24 October - 9 December 2025

An exhibition of powerful artwork by Level 3 Art & Design Students of Abingdon & Witney College. The exhibition, open until 9 December 2025

The exhibition forms part of the museum’s wider commemoration of the Holocaust and marking 80 years since the Oxfordshire Yeomanry played their part 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 explains, ‘Our learners are encouraged to think, create, and collaborate like professional artists from their first day at College.’

Life Lines

Exhibition 9 August - 5 October 2025

In August 2025 open a brand-new exhibition created by local artists and inspired by the story of a simple act of kindness during the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945.

The Oxfordshire Yeomanry, a Territorial Army regiment serving as an Anti-Tank battery of the Royal Artillery at the time, were among the first troops to enter the Bergen-Belsen camp when it was handed over to British forces. Just ordinary soldiers, they were not prepared for what they would find inside – camp survivors were starving while typhus was spreading rapidly, made worse by cramped conditions, poor sanitation and lack of clean water, as well as around 10,000 dead left unburied.

Amid efforts to relieve the survivors, control the spread of disease, and arrest the camp guards and commandant, cam a simple act of kindness. Survivor Naomi Warren, a Polish Jew, was desperate to make contact with her surviving family, having already lost many while held at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and approached her liberators for help. Oxfordshire Yeoman Arthur Tyler came forward to offer help.

‘I met very many British soldiers and I asked everybody to write about me to my family, but nobody did it – only you.’ - Naomi Kaplan, letter to Arthur Tyler

Arthur Tyler began writing letters to her uncle and sister living in Houston, Texas. This simple act would eventually see Naomi reunited with them, and ultimately settling and rebuilding her life in the USA.

The new exhibition combines artwork and film created in response to the story of Naomi and Arthur. It is the culmination of the Lifelines community art project which brought together a group of artists from diverse backgrounds and a shared interest in the transformational power of creativity. Inspired by this story of a light of hope in a time of darkness, the work on display explores the themes of witnessing, kindness, vision and positivity.

A group of four women artsists gathers around a table laid out with art material as well as photos and objects to draw inspiration from

One of the Lifelines art workshops earlier this year

Suzanne Maria Hamber is an artist who works with plaster, sculpture and paint alongside evanescent material like plants and flowers to explore themes of time, change and memory. She became involved in the project as it resonated with her own family history – her mother came to the UK from Austria as a ‘Kindertransport’ refugee in 1939, escaping the Holocaust. Like Naomi, her mother lost many of her relatives, including her parents, to camps like Bergen-Belsen.

“The project has been moving and emotional. Seeing the horrors of Bergen-Belsen but also appreciating how there can be survival and redemption and ultimately positivity, from that experience. A kind act by Arthur Tyler opened a world of possibilities for Naomi and for us." - Suzanne Maria Hamber

The museum would like to thank both the Warren family and the Holocaust Museum Houston for their support for the project, the museum, and the exhibition. Naomi Warren spent much of her later life using her experiences to educate on the Holocaust, leaving a lasting legacy which this latest exhibition aims to honour and continue.

A letter of thanks to Arthur Tyler from Naomi's sister in Houston, currently on display at the museum

80 Candles for 80 Years

Touring Exhibition, Tuesday 12 - Saturday 30 August 2025

Lifelines coincides with the Holocaust Memorial Trust’s 80 Candles 80 Years display visiting the museum on its tour of the UK in the run up to Holocaust Memorial Day 2026.

The 80 Candles for 80 Years project has involved 80 communities and organisations across the UK who have created unique candleholders, each one inspired by the life story of Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust, and other individuals targeted by the Nazi regime.

The people and organisations who created and contributed candleholders to this exhibition come from a diverse cross-section of society, including educational institutions, prisons, the public sector, faith and interfaith groups, local authorities, inclusive communities, charities, museums and heritage organisations.

Find out more about 80 Candles for 80 Years and the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.