LA JOLLA, Calif. (KGTV) - A Holocaust memorial exhibit that's made its way across San Diego since 2020 will open at a new home on Sunday: The La Jolla Library.
"RUTH: Remember Us the Holocaust" features stories of survivors living in San Diego. It also has pictures from concentration camps and artifacts from World War II that showcase the persecution of Jews.
"When you look at it, you're in touch with it," says exhibit curator Sandy Scheller.
ABC 10News has been following Scheller's effort for a permanent Holocaust museum and memorial in San Diego since 2020, when she opened her first exhibit at the Chula Vista Library. It was focused mainly on her mother's experience surviving the Holocaust.
In 2023, she rebranded the exhibit at RUTH to focus on all of the survivors living in San Diego.
Now the exhibit features more artifacts and memorabilia from the war.
Scheller says she has nearly 1,000 pieces in her collection.
"[ABC 10News] was able to help us reach out to the community, to get the items that people no longer wanted but had historical value," she says. "They realized you can donate a Nazi flag. You can donate somebody's boots. You can donate Holocaust memorabilia. The collection grew."
In addition to the physical collection, the exhibit now has a digital aspect. QR codes next to pictures of some of the survivors let visitors "talk" to them virtually. Through AI and pre-recorded interviews, people can ask the survivors questions and hear their answers on their smartphones.
The exhibit will be on display at the library through December. Scheller says she already has a handful of schools lined up for tours and educational programs.
But Scheller says she still believes this exhibit needs a more permanent home.
"We're trying to wake people up to let them know we must have a Holocaust museum," she says. "It wasn't just about people that were Jewish. (Hitler's victims) were black. They were Roma. They were Jewish. They were Gay. They were political. They were Jehovah's Witnesses. They were disabled. They were children. It didn't matter... It's not about being Jewish. It's about some mad dictator who decided he was going to rule the world."
Scheller says she's already had conversations with San Diego City leaders about finding a permanent home for the exhibit. She hopes to make it happen within the next few years.
In the meantime, she'll keep collecting and displaying stories of survival and artifacts from the Holocaust, to make sure no one ever forgets.
