SAN DIEGO — A Holocaust exhibit that has traveled across San Diego for the past six years has a new home at the downtown library — and a permanent future location has been announced.
"Ruth – Remember Us the Holocaust" opened at the San Diego Central Library Tuesday morning and will remain there for two years.
A permanent San Diego Holocaust Museum is planned for the Arts District at Liberty Station, under a 3-year lease with a 10-year automatic renewal.
"This is a dream come true," curator Sandy Scheller said.
The exhibit has been a passion project for Scheller, with ABC 10News Anchor Jared Aarons following through along the way.
It began at the Chula Vista Library to highlight South Bay Holocaust survivors, including her mother, Ruth. Since then, it has traveled to Rancho San Diego and La Jolla, growing with new artifacts and new stories along the way.
Moises Fleitman, CEO of RUTH, said the permanent location marks a major milestone for the organization.
"We are very excited to announce that we have signed with Liberty Station, the arts district, to have our permanent museum at Liberty Station," Fleitman said.
The planned Liberty Station museum will span 5,300 square feet of interactive exhibits, focused on survivors.
"The survivors will be, in a way, your docents, your guide to the new museum," Fleitman said. "As they tell their stories, the artifacts will provide the evidence, the museum will provide historical context. But the stories of the survivors will take you through the whole narrative of what happened to them in a very personal, human way. "
Fleitman said the timing of the museum's expansion is no coincidence.
"We are facing a historical time that needs a larger space, a larger message. Because we need to speak to more people for a longer period of time with a more developed educational program," Fleitman said.
Central to that message, he said, is learning to identify the warning signs of hatred and authoritarianism.
"Most importantly, the lessons to recognize hate, to recognize authoritarianism. Like we always say, the message of Never Again," Fleitman said.
"Most importantly, learning the message that hatred can't be tolerated. And if we're going to have this never happen again to anyone, anywhere, we need to learn about it," he said.
Scheller said the exhibit is also meant to draw a connection between the past and the present.
"We're trying to build a bridge, to show kindness. To show understanding. To show that we care," she says. "The border situation has been quite a topic. I don't want to get into the politics of it. But what I do want to do is to show what happened 80 years ago."
The downtown library location is seen as an ideal setting, in part because of the foot traffic it draws and its connection to local schools.
"What's really cool is there is a school that's here. The coordination of the library reaching out to other schools and letting them know, by the way, we have a holocaust exhibit," Scheller said.
Organizers hope to open the new permanent museum in the summer of 2028. In the meantime, the downtown exhibit is free to anyone who visits the library.
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