SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A campaign is underway to bring some rare Holocaust artifacts to a San Diego exhibit, with organizers hoping the acquisition could lead to a permanent museum site.
The "Remember Us The Holocaust" exhibit, which first opened in Chula Vista in 2020, is now seeking to purchase several unique artifacts from the family of Heinrich Mueller, a survivor of Flossenburg concentration camp.
For Scheller, each piece in the current exhibit at La Jolla-Ridford Branch Library has a story to tell.
The collection could soon include Mueller's story. The survivor's family has put several items up for sale, including Mueller's camp uniform with an inverted pink triangle used by the Nazis to identify gay prisoners, a photo of Mueller wearing the uniform, and a document confirming his ‘voluntary’ castration at the camp.
"It's very rare," Scheller said of the artifacts.
Over FaceTime from Poland, collector Norbert Podlesny showed the items Mueller's family is selling.
"It's a long coat," Podlesny said, describing the uniform as "one of a kind."
"One tiny piece of history speaks volumes that Nazis could do that to other people," Scheller said.
The price tag for the items is $125,000. After donations from private donors, Scheller hopes to raise the remaining $40,000 through a GoFundMe campaign.
The exhibit has moved to various locations since opening in Chula Vista. Scheller hopes securing the uniform will attract more interest, donated artifacts and funding that could lead to a permanent museum.
"This uniform will open up the door to show we really want to get a building, a museum, that we can carry on the legacy," Scheller said.
Scheller believes the legacy will grow along with the space.
Letters written from camps are among hundreds of items she's unable to fit in the current exhibit.
"A permanent museum would be a place to continue the education for generations, to make sure it never happens again," Scheller said.
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