A Stolperstein is literally a stumbling stone, or stumbling block.
More specifically, it is a 4x4” concrete cube bearing a brass plate which you can find on the sidewalks in German cities. These are inscribed with the name, life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. These started being placed in 1992 by German artist Gunter Deming in Köln, I believe, and now there is a project in every city in Germany. The majority of these stones commemorate Holocaust (but others as well) who were victims and are placed on the sidewalks outside the homes where they lived. Once you see them, you see them all over.
Now, research about future Stolpersteine are done by local school children and their teachers, victim’s relatives and more using online databases and such to document the names and residential addresses. (Some of this info is thanks to Wikipedia)
I find this immensely powerful. You can completely see that the forced removal of Jews from their homes was certainly not a secret, nor something that went unnoticed.
This project is considered the world’s largest decentralized memorial. These were just a few we found while walking around Lübeck. Say their names.
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