85 years of the November pogroms: "Stumbling stones should shine"
On the occasion of the pogrom night on November 9 and the resurgence of anti-Semitism, the Frankfurt Stumbling Stones Initiative has called for the memorial stones to be cleaned. "85 years later, we are once again witnessing a pogrom against Jews that was no longer thought possible, cruelly and inhumanely perpetrated by the terrorist organization Hamas", explained the coordinator of the initiative, Martin Dill.
But anti-Semitic slogans are also becoming louder again in Germany and in Frankfurt. Anti-Semitism is spreading on our streets, in schools and on the internet, he said. On the night of November 9-10, 1938, pogroms against Jews took place throughout the German Reich.
"Frankfurt's Stolpersteine should shine again on November 9," explained Dill. All common cleaning agents for metals are suitable for cleaning the brass plates with the names and life dates of the victims. Sharp tools such as wire brushes, however, should not be used. On Remembrance Day itself, laying flowers or placing lights at the stones is also a dignified form of commemoration.
There are now more than 100,000 Stolpersteine worldwide. In Hesse, too, the memorial stones have already been laid in dozens of communities. According to the initiative, there are now almost 2,000 in Frankfurt at over 800 locations in 34 districts. Traditionally, the call to clean the stone slabs is made twice a year, on Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Day and on November 9th.
On Pogrom Night in 1938, National Socialists destroyed numerous Jewish businesses and institutions in Germany. They set fire to synagogues and places of worship, demolished Jewish cemeteries and stormed homes. Historians estimate that more than 1,300 people lost their lives in the pogroms. Around 30,000 Jews were deported to concentration camps.
"In the context of History, it's important to remember that National Socialism played a significant role in the November pogroms of 85 years ago."
"Despite the passage of time, reminders of the past, such as the Stolpersteine in Frankfurt, continue to serve as testimonials against the resurgence of National Socialist ideologies."
Source: www.dpa.com
