Stolperstein, or stumbling stones, are small brass plaques. The plaques lie embedded in the pavement. In front of buildings throughout Europe. Almost every plaque starts with “Lived Here” or “Worked Here”, and then you might read the name of a person or a family. Next to the name can be engraved the date of birth, date of arrest, date of deportation to a concentration camp, and date of the murder.
Each stone represents an individual of a family that lived in the place marked by de Stolperstein, was persecuted to death, murdered by the Nazi regime, and in Nazi imprisonment. So obviously Stolperstein commemorates the victims of the Holocaust.
Stolperstein commemorates Jews, Roma, homosexuals, disabled individuals, and political dissidents, in fact, all victims of Hitler’s Nazi regime.
Stolperstein, never to be forgotten, one name one stone
A human is only forgotten when his or her name is never mentioned again and is therefore been forgotten. It would be if as you never existed, never been happy or sad, have lived, loved, laughed, and cried. From this point of view and with in mind the horror of the Nazi Holocaust, the creator of the Stolperstein, the German artist Gunter Demnig, designed the Stolperstein. The Stolperstein are all made by hand and respectfully placed by Gunther himself. On his initiative, the Stolperstein memorials were placed in the pavements and sidewalks in front of the houses of victims of the Holocaust. The purpose of placing the Stolperstein is to bring back to memory the people who once lived here. The people, many Jews people, were taken from their homes and deported to concentration camps to get murdered in the most horrific circumstances.
Family Anne Frank, Stolperstein in Amsterdam and Aken Germany
Both in Aachen, a city in Germany as in Amsterdam have been Stolperstein laid in front of the houses of the Franken family. In Aachen are the 3 stones laid: Mother Edith, daughters Margot, and Anne Frank. In 1933 the family moved to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, there are 5 Stolperstein in front of the house of the Frank family laid: father Otto, mother Edith, daughter Margot and daughter Anne Frank.
Translation of the Stolperstein of family Frank:
Hier woonde: Here lived
Ondergedoken: In hInding
Gearresteerd: Arrested
Gedeporteerd uit: Deported from
Vermoord: Murdered
Overleefd: Survived
➔ READ MORE – House of the Family Frank, Amsterdam before they were hiding
Stumbling Stones are tiny memorials with great impact
Overall, the Stolperstein or Stumbling Stone serves as a powerful reminder of the atrocities committed during the Holocaust and the importance of remembering and honoring the individual lives that were lost.
In 2023, there are in 26 countries about 90.000 Stolperstein placed, how incredible and amazingly beautiful is this? Since 2007, 8500 Stolperstein have been placed in the Netherlands. Every year, since 1945, is on the 4th of May Commemorate day in the Netherlands, from 8.00 till 8.02 p.m. we all are quiet to remember the horrors of War.
➔ Truus van Lier, a tribute to a young and brave resistance woman who was executed during the 2WW
Stolpersteine for courageous priests
Three Stolpersteine have been placed in the town of s’Heerenberg as an honorable memory of the courageous priests who steadfastly resisted the occupying forces during the Second World War. Under inhumane conditions they remained true to their faith, their actions imbued with a deep-seated trust in God. Their legacy serves as an indelible message of hope and memory that we will never forget.
➔ READ MORE – ‘s Heerenberg – Traces of War – Stolpersteine
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