Stolpersteine: Stumbling Stones — Honoring the Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
What are Stolpersteine? Here is the explanation from www.stolpersteine.eu/en/:
The artist Gunter Demnig remembers the victims of National Socialism by installing commemorative brass plaques in the pavement in front of their last address of choice.
There are now STOLPERSTEINE (lit. “stumbling stones or blocks”) in at least 1200 places in Germany, as well as in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.
Gunter Demnig cites the Talmud saying that “a person is only forgotten when his or her name is forgotten”. The Stolpersteine in front of the buildings bring back to memory the people who once lived here. Almost every “stone” begins with HERE LIVED… One “stone”. One name. One person.
Trevor Sage in Prague started an initiative to maintain the Stolpersteine there. He wanted to ensure that the names would not disappear as the brass plaques become tarnished.
Listen to his brief explanation now.
Trevor has compiled an amazing book of the Stolpersteine installed in Prague from 2008to 2021: PRAGUE’S STOLPERSTEINE –STUMBLING STONES: DEFIANT IN THEIR MEMORY. He includes photos and information on each of the people who are remembered by the stones. When he cleans a stone, he likes to have the photo of the person in front of him as he cleans. The proceeds of his book go to support this initiative, and he plans to write a second book as more stones are being installed.
(While most Stolpersteine are for victims of the Holocaust, Stolpersteine can be installed for survivors.)
Link to map of Stolpersteine in Prague — created by Trevor Sage.
More information about the Stolpersteine in Prague.
The inspiration for Trevor Sage’s Stolpersteine initiative in Prague was this brief BBC report on Gerhard Geier in Salzburg, Austria.
And in Munich Terry Swartzberg leads the Stolpersteine initiative. Here is an interview with Terry from the NEVER AGAIN IS NOW podcast.
Terry also notes that, as of May 2023, there will be 100,000 Stolpersteine in 1800 cities in 31 countries — the largest commemorative project ever undertaken.
And he adds — here are the people for whom Stolpersteine are placed:
- Jews
- Sinti and Roma
- LGBT+
- “Euthanasia” victims
- Political opponents
- Other religions – such as Jehovah’s Witnesses
The 2016 book STUMBLING ON HISTORY: AN ART PROJECT COMPELS A SMALL GERMAN TOWN TO FACE ITS PAST by Fern Schumer Chapman recounts one such installation.