The shiny squares in the pavement are Stolpersteine. The word is German for “stumbling stone”, and many people in the Netherlands say struikelsteen. Each stone is a memorial for one person persecuted by the Nazis. The metal is brass, not gold, but it looks golden once it has been polished.
What is a Stolperstein?
A Stolperstein is a concrete block of about 10 by 10 by 10 centimetres with a brass plate on top. The text is stamped into the brass by hand, letter by letter. Since 2005 the stones have been made by hand by the sculptor Michael Friedrichs-Friedlaender in Berlin. The German artist Gunter Demnig started the project in 1992.
There are stones for all the groups the Nazis persecuted between 1933 and 1945. These include Jews, Sinti and Roma, people persecuted for political reasons, resistance members, homosexual men, Jehovah’s Witnesses, victims of the “euthanasia” murders of sick and disabled people, forced labourers, deserters and conscientious objectors, and others. Stones are also laid for people who survived, for example by fleeing or going into hiding, so that families are shown complete.
Why are they in the pavement?
A stone lies in front of the last home the person chose freely, before they were forced to move, go into hiding or were arrested. Sometimes it lies in front of a workplace or school. The stones lie flush with the pavement, so you do not trip over them physically. To read the name, you have to bow. Demnig’s point is that you stumble with your head and your heart. Families get stones side by side, so they are together again in front of their home.
Why do they shine?
Brass tarnishes outdoors. It turns brown and then dark. In busy streets, the shoes of passers-by polish the stones, so they shine. Elsewhere they need cleaning. Anyone may clean a Stolperstein; no permission is needed. Stones should be cleaned at least once a year. Read how on the cleaning page.
How many are there?
There are more than 100,000 Stolpersteine, in about 30 European countries. In the Netherlands and Belgium together there are more than 15,600, according to Stichting 18 September. Private people and local groups request the stones and pay for them, among them relatives, residents, schools, local foundations and history societies.
On the map you can search by name, street or city, and see who is commemorated at an address.
Read on
Brass plaques in sidewalks in Europe: what do they mean?
The small brass plaques in European sidewalks are Stolpersteine, memorial stones for people persecuted by the Nazis. They lie in about 30 European countries.
What does ‘Hier woonde’ mean on a stone?
‘Hier woonde’ is Dutch for ‘here lived’. It usually opens the inscription on Dutch Stolpersteine, which mark the last home a person chose freely.
How do you read the inscription on a Stolperstein?
The inscription on a Stolperstein usually follows one order: ‘here lived’, then the name, the year of birth and what happened. Read it from top to bottom.
