Why do some Stolpersteine say 'survived'?

Some Stolpersteine are laid for people who survived, for example because they fled or went into hiding. This shows the family complete. Some stones use the word “overleefd” in Dutch or “überlebt” in German, which both mean “survived”. Gunter Demnig, a German artist, started the project in 1992. There are now more than 100,000 Stolpersteine in about 30 European countries.

Why survivors have stones

Families get stones side by side, so that relatives are together again in front of their home. Each person has a stone of their own, including those who survived. As with other stones, the laying takes place in a small ceremony, with residents, neighbours and sometimes schoolchildren.

Where a survivor’s stone lies

As with other stones, it lies in front of the last home the person chose freely, before they were forced to move, went into hiding or were arrested. Sometimes it lies in front of a workplace or school instead.

Other words on the stones

Stones can use other words to show what happened. Dutch stones can say ondergedoken (went into hiding), gevlucht (fled), bevrijd (liberated) or overleefd (survived). German stones can say Flucht (flight), befreit (liberated) or überlebt (survived).

Researching a person

To research a person, you can use archives such as the Joods Monument, the Oorlogsgravenstichting, Netwerk Oorlogsbronnen, the Arolsen Archives or Yad Vashem. The map of Stichting 18 September, a foundation in Eindhoven, shows the stones that have been laid.

Search the map by name, street or city to find stones near you.