The first Stolpersteine in the Netherlands were laid in Borne in 2007. According to Stichting 18 September, the Netherlands and Belgium together have more than 15,600 of them. Each stone lies in front of the last home that the person chose freely, before being forced to move, go into hiding or be arrested.
Since when are there stones in the Netherlands?
The German artist Gunter Demnig, born in 1947 in Berlin, had the idea in 1992. On 16 December 1992 he set a first stone in front of the historic town hall in Cologne. The first stones for individual people were laid in Cologne in 1995 and in Berlin-Kreuzberg in 1996, at first without official permission. From 2000 the city of Cologne gave permission, and the project grew from there. In the Netherlands the first stones were laid in Borne in 2007. Belgium followed in 2009.
How many are there?
There are more than 100,000 Stolpersteine in about 30 European countries, including the Netherlands and Belgium. Together, those two countries have more than 15,600. Since 2019, Stichting 18 September in Eindhoven has kept a database of the stones in both countries, together with local organisations.
Why do they lie where they do?
Of the roughly 140,000 Jews living in the Netherlands in 1940, about 102,000 were murdered. Most were deported through the transit camp Westerbork in Drenthe to Auschwitz and Sobibor. Auschwitz and Sobibor were places of mass murder. Westerbork and Vught were Nazi camps, and their names often appear on the stones.
The stones do not commemorate Jews alone. They also recall Sinti and Roma, people persecuted for political reasons, resistance members, homosexual men, Jehovah’s Witnesses, victims of the so-called euthanasia murders of sick and disabled people, forced labourers, deserters and conscientious objectors, and others persecuted by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945.
Private people and local groups request and pay for stones, such as relatives, residents and schools. Stones are also laid for people who survived, for example by fleeing or going into hiding, so that families are shown complete. Families get stones side by side, so they are together again in front of their home.
To see which stones lie near you, use the map on Stolpersteine.app.
Read on
Stolpersteine in Belgium: since when, and whom do they recall?
Belgium’s first Stolpersteine, or pavés de mémoire, were laid in 2009. They recall people persecuted by the Nazis, including Jews and Roma.
Why are Stolpersteine the largest decentralised memorial?
Stolpersteine are often called the largest decentralised memorial in the world. It means the stones are spread over many places, not gathered in one.
What is a Stolperschwelle (stumbling threshold)?
A Stolperschwelle is a long brass strip with one text for a whole group of victims. It is used at places where very many people were victims.
