The Ruth: Remember Us: The Holocaust exhibit has been on display at the La Jolla Library since January. On Sunday, the exhibit’s curator, Sandra Scheller, added a new piece of history: a patch that came from one of the millions of victims of the Holocaust.

The patch was worn by prisoner 20266, a man by the name of Christian Prager, who had an accompanying pink triangle on his uniform. The pink triangle was how the Nazi Party labeled members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The United States Holocaust Museum estimates that Prager was one of the 100,000 people arrested and persecuted during the Holocaust for being homosexual.

“This particular person, Christian Prager who was 12-years-old when he was in the Hitler Youth. By the time he was 16-years-old, he was now imprisoned because of finding himself with his sexuality,” said Scheller.

June marks the 56th anniversary of Pride, in recognition of the Stonewall Uprising of 1969. The patch now stands as a testament to the adversity that has been overcome since that time, and how the symbol has been reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community over the years.

“In 1967 was when homosexuality was legal, so we could have been arrested because in the 1960’s they arrested, in this city and all over California, you could be sent to a mental hospital by the stroke of a pen by your parents,” said Nicole Murray Ramirez with the San Diego Human Relations Commission.

Scheller has been working with San Diego leaders and organizations toward finding a permanent home for the exhibit. That process, however, can take a long time and has no definitive timeline, according to the San Diego Museum council.

“We for the first time have the city behind it, we have the county behind it, and the Museum Council. So it will happen,” said Bob Lehman, the Executive Director of the San Diego Museum Council.

The exhibit is currently raising funds to bring a full uniform with a pink triangle from Poland to San Diego. It is the only uniform of its kind known to still exist today.

The exhibit has been renewed at the La Jolla Library, and will remain on display until June of 2026.