You can use Stolpersteine in a lesson or school project. Start with one stone, preferably near the school. Read the text with the class, look up the address on the map, and then research the person in the archives. In this way the class sees that the stones commemorate real people who lived in a real street.
Read the stone
Read the inscription together. Most stones begin with “HIER WOHNTE” or “HIER WOONDE”, followed by the name, the year of birth and what happened to the person. Ask pupils to write down the words they do not know. Then look up the address on the map. There you can search by name, street or city, and see who is commemorated at an address. A photo of the person is shown when one is available. Not all stones lie in front of a home. Some lie in front of a school or workplace, which can be a good starting point for a lesson.
Research in the archives
Local volunteers research the person’s life in archives, look for relatives and ask the municipality for permission. A class can do the same with the archives named on the links page:
- Joods Monument
- Oorlogsgravenstichting
- Netwerk Oorlogsbronnen
- Arolsen Archives
- Yad Vashem
- Kazerne Dossin
- stolpersteine.eu, Gunter Demnig’s own site
Cleaning and attending a laying
Anyone may clean a stone, and no permission is needed. Use a brass polish on a soft cloth, not directly on the stone, and an old toothbrush for the letters. A kneeling pad helps. For heavy dirt, use an all-purpose cleaner and a scouring sponge first, and vinegar for limescale. Do not use steel wool, wire brushes or harsh acids, because they scratch the brass. Stones should be cleaned at least once a year. Common cleaning days are 27 January (International Holocaust Remembrance Day), 4 May (Remembrance of the Dead in the Netherlands) and 9 November (anniversary of the November pogroms of 1938).
Layings are often attended by relatives, neighbours and schoolchildren. Names are read aloud, and flowers are often laid.
Search the map by street or city to find the stones near your school.
Read on
What are the golden stones in the pavement?
The shiny squares are Stolpersteine, memorial stones for people persecuted by the Nazis. Each lies in front of the last home the person chose freely.
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.
