Erfurt is setting an example: 15 stumbling blocks commemorate Nazi victims!

Erfurt is setting an example: 15 stumbling blocks commemorate Nazi victims!

Next Thursday there will be a significant step for the culture of remembrance in Erfurt: 15 stumbling blocks will be installed in the city area. Michael Panse, the representative for Jewish life in Thuringia, has already praised this step in advance. The stumbling blocks not only commemorate the Holocaust victims, but also break the city's previous negative attitude towards this form of remembrance. 15 years ago, the city council decided to reject stumbling blocks in order to avoid “trampling” the memories of the victims, which has proven to be impractical, as Panse criticizes, because previous attempts to install “thinking needles” ultimately failed to convince. Deutschlandfunk Kultur reports on the importance of this change, especially in today's political situation.

In Erfurt there are many local victims of Nazi persecution whose memory must now be honored. Panse emphasizes that the laying of the stumbling blocks not only honors the personal fate of Karl Klaar, a Jewish businessman, but also of many others who lost their lives during the National Socialist era. The first stumbling block for Klaar was set in May 2024 after he was dispossessed in 1936 and later murdered in the Bernburg killing center. [Evangelisch.de].

Stumbling blocks: A sign of remembrance

The stumbling blocks themselves are small memorial plaques that are embedded in the sidewalk and remind us of the victims' last voluntary place of residence before they fell victim to Nazi terror. This project was initiated in 1992 by the artist Gunter Demnig and has since grown into one of the largest decentralized monuments in the world. By June 2023, 100,000 of these 10 cm concrete cubes had already been laid, which commemorate not only Jewish victims, but also Sinti, Roma, people with disabilities and other victim groups. Wikipedia explains that the Stolpersteine ​​can often provoke emotionally charged discussions, especially in cities like Munich, where they can only be placed on private property.

The upcoming relocation in Erfurt not only represents an active step towards remembrance, but also a social change. The place of the stumbling blocks in the remembrance landscape of the Federal Republic is becoming increasingly relevant. With this commemoration, the people of Erfurt are taking part in a collective process of remembrance that affects us all and reminds us not to forget the lessons of history.