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 project itself comes from the German artist Gunter Demnig, who had the idea in 1992.
The block and the plate
The concrete block sits in the ground, and the brass plate lies on top, flush with the pavement. Outdoors, brass tarnishes: it turns brown and then dark. In busy streets, shoes polish the stones. Elsewhere, they need cleaning by hand. Anyone may clean a Stolperstein, and no permission is needed. Stones should be cleaned at least once a year.
What is written on the stone
The inscription usually begins with ‘HIER WOHNTE’ in German, ‘HIER WOONDE’ in Dutch or ‘ICI HABITAIT’ in French. Each means ‘here lived’. Then come the name, the year of birth, and what happened to the person: for example the date and place of arrest or deportation, and the place and date of death. Variants exist, such as ‘here worked’, ‘here studied’ or ‘here practised’. Sometimes a stone lies in front of a workplace or school instead of a home.
Who requests and pays for a stone
Stones are requested and paid for by private people and local groups: relatives, residents, schools, local foundations and history societies. A sponsor pays for a stone. Costs and waiting times differ by country and organisation. Before a stone is laid, local volunteers research the person's life in archives and look for relatives. Then they ask the municipality for permission, because the pavement is public ground.
The laying
A stone is laid in a small ceremony, often with relatives, neighbours and schoolchildren. Names are read aloud, and flowers are often laid. For many years Gunter Demnig laid most of the stones himself.
To see where stones lie near you, use the map on Stolpersteine.app.
Read on
Where is a Stolperstein placed, and why in front of that house?
A Stolperstein lies in front of the last home the person chose freely, before they were forced to move, go into hiding or were arrested.
Who gets a Stolperstein, and which victims are commemorated?
Stolpersteine honour people persecuted by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945, including Jews, Sinti and Roma, and people persecuted for political reasons.
How many Stolpersteine are there, and in which countries?
There are more than 100,000 Stolpersteine, in about 30 European countries. In the Netherlands and Belgium together there are more than 15,600 of them.
