I wanted to talk about these because apparently a lot of people outside of germany and the surrounding countries don't know about these. And with the rise of right wing politics in parts of the western world it is important to talk about the victims of the Holocaust.
These are called Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) because while you go about your day to day life you literally "stumble" across these. These stones are on the ground, where everyone walks, in the middle of hundreds of cities all over Germany and a few neighboring countries.
They are in front of the last residencies of victims of the Holocaust. Every single stone is dedicated to one person. They always say "here lived -name-" then their birthday and what we know about what happened to them.
For example this one says:
"Here lived
Georg Rosenberg
Year 1886 (which is the year he was born in, the exact birthday isn't known)
Arrested 1939
Deported 1943
Murdered in Auschwitz"
These are there so that we will never forget what happened and that even when you're doing mundane chores you might stumble across these and remember the victims. This is especially important now that the last survivors, who can tell their stories first hand, are dying.
Every year people get together to clean the Stolpersteine, so that they stay intact and readable.
Remembering and being reminded of the horrible things that happened and remembering the victims is one of the most important parts in preventing something like this from happening again.
So if you ever come to Germany or if you actually live here and have never noticed these, maybe take some time to look down and read about these people's fates
Today marks 77 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, so I thought I would reblog this again, because I think it's important.
Are there plans to protect these stones, from the elements or people? I feel like over time they'll be harder to read.
Every year on Holocaust remembrance day people go out and polish the stones. So most of them stay readable for a long time. If they get too damaged or unreadable they are replaced
Also, if you know about a person not yet remembered by such a stone you can also write the non-profit organization that organizes the making of the new stones etc. And if you want you can become "godfather" to one of the stones and care for it preservation.
According to Wikipedia the Stolpersteine are also in 29 other European countries.
For more infos
I saw these in Germany and in Amsterdam last Summer. I will never forget them.
I walk past 12 Stolpersteine in total on my way to university every single day. A few days ago I stopped to take a photo of these 3, so I could share them.
They say
"Here lived Freerk Engers. (Birth) Year 1883. Flight 1936 Holland. Interned Westerbork. Deported 1943. Sobibor. Murdered 23.7.1943."
"Here lived Margarete Engers. (Birth) Year 1881. Flight 1936 Holland. Interned Westerbork. Deported 1943. Sobibor. Murdered 23.7.1943."
"Here lived Rose Engers. (Birth) Year 1912. Flight 1936 Holland. Interned Westerbork. Deported 1942. Auschwitz. Murdered 3.8.1943."
I'll try to get pictures of the other Stolpersteine I walk by daily next week. I read them while walking by everytime.
