A Stolperstein is a concrete block with a brass plate on top, set flush with the pavement. Many Dutch people call it a struikelsteen. The artist Gunter Demnig meant that you stumble with your head and your heart, and that you have to bow to read the name. Below are the Dutch words that most often appear on the stones, with their meanings.
How the text is built
The text usually begins with HIER WOONDE, which means “here lived”. Then come the name, the year of birth, and what happened. That can be the date and place of arrest or deportation, and the place and date of death. Variants exist too, such as “here worked”, “here studied” and “here practised”.
Words about life and persecution
- geboren or geb.: born. The year of birth is in the text.
- overleden: died. The place and date of death follow.
- gearresteerd: arrested.
- geïnterneerd: interned, held in a camp or another closed place.
- gedeporteerd: deported. The person was forced to another place, often a camp.
- vermoord: murdered.
Hiding, fleeing and resistance
- ondergedoken: went into hiding. The person hid to avoid being arrested.
- gevlucht: fled. The person left the country or place to escape persecution.
- verzet: resistance. The person took part in the resistance against the occupier.
Survival and liberation
- overleefd: survived. Stones are also laid for people who survived, for example by fleeing or going into hiding, so that families are shown complete.
- bevrijd: liberated.
Gunter Demnig often quotes a saying from the Talmud: a person is only forgotten when his or her name is forgotten.
Where very many people were victims, there is sometimes a Stolperschwelle, or stumbling threshold: a long brass strip with one text for the whole group.
Stones are requested and paid for by private people and local groups, such as relatives, residents, schools, local foundations and history societies. Local volunteers research the person’s life in archives, look for relatives and ask the municipality for permission, because the pavement is public ground.
On the Stolpersteine.app map you can find a stone by name, street or city.
Read on
What do the German words on a Stolperstein mean?
German stones use short words such as Jg., deportiert and ermordet. This guide explains what they mean, so you can read the text on a Stolperstein.
What do the French words on a pavé de mémoire mean?
French stones use words such as né, arrêté, déporté and assassiné. This guide explains what they mean, so you can read the text on a pavé de mémoire.
What was Westerbork, the name on so many Dutch Stolpersteine?
Westerbork was a transit camp in Drenthe, through which most Jews from the Netherlands were deported to Auschwitz and Sobibor. Here are the figures.
