Stolpersteine - Stumbling stones

The aim of this project is to collect profiles of persons for whom Stumbling blocks ('Stolpersteine' in German) have been installed in many countries in Europe.

History

Gunther Demnig, an environmental artist from Cologne, Germany, developed the idea for these memorials in 1993 after having created several Holocaust memorial projects in Europe starting in the beginning of the eighties. Mr. Demnig was inspired to create his project by words in the Talmud: “A man is not forgotten until his name is forgotten.” Demnig installs the stone into the sidewalk at the front entrance of the residence where the victim last lived before being deported by the Nazis. The 10x10x10cm concrete blocks with a brass face plate with the text (in the local language of the country in which the Stolperstein was installed): "Here lived [name] born [year] [fate] [date of death]".

Any victim, Christian, Romani, Sinti, Jew, Homosexual, Jehovah Witness or any other target of the Nazi terror, can be remembered by a Stolperstein in front of the last residence he occupied by free will.

And this includes people who survived the regime too. Our concern is to "bring families together" in commemoration. This is why living family members (for example children who were brought to safety or family members who were able to escape) can also have a STOLPERSTEIN laid for them. Source: http://www.stolpersteine.eu/en/technical-aspects/

Mid 2012 more than 35000 Stolpersteine have been installed foremost in Germany and the Netherlands, but also in increasing numbers in: Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and others. The Stolpersteine project is therefore the largest environmental, decentralized memorial of the world.

July 3, 2013 the 40000th. Stolperstein will be installed in the Netherlands (Oss).

Links

• The official Stolpersteine website (English)
• Gunter Demnig
• Wikipedia - Stolperstein
• Stumbling Blocks to Remembrance
• Welcome to the Czech chapter of the Stolpersteine project
• Stumbling Upon Memories (PHOTOS)
• "Stolpersteine" als Orte des Erinnerns
• STUMBLING OVER THE PAST

There is also a second project at Geni:

• STOLPER-STEINE

(We should merge both projects -Tobias Rachor, German Curator)

Video - Movies

• Stolperstein (2008) 73 min - Documentary - 6 November 2008 (Germany) Director: Dörte Franke
• YouTube Stolperstein Doku – 2 min 54 - Uploaded Jun 6, 2010
• Stolpersteine' (stumble blocks): Tracks and paths: Gunter Demnig at TEDxKoeln - (in German) 5-14-2013

Locations of Stolperstein installations by country

• List of cities by country that have Stolpersteine
• Lijst van Stolpersteine in Nederland
• Stolpersteine-Online Interactive GoogleEarth map showing many locations in mostly big cities in Germany

El Male Rachamim Holocaust Prayer - אל מלא רחמים, תפילת אזכרה לקרבנות השואה