First Frankfurt Stumbling Stone laid 20 years ago
There are now almost 2,000 Stolpersteine in the Frankfurt city area, the first of which was laid in the Main metropolis exactly 20 years ago. The impetus for this came from a citizens' initiative, as Martin Dill from the Frankfurt Stumbling Stones Initiative explained. On November 11, 2003, three stones were laid in the Nordend district in memory of Karl, Klara and Günter Kaufmann, who were murdered in Auschwitz.
"Over the past 20 years, the Stolpersteine have offered various people and groups from the city's society the opportunity to actively participate in our city's culture of remembrance", said Dill. For example, schoolchildren would take part in the laying of the stones. Residents or homeowners are concerned with the fate of former residents. In addition, hundreds of citizens regularly take care of the stones as "cleaning sponsors".
The Stolperstein project is the brainchild of Berlin-born artist Gunter Demnig, who now lives in Alsfeld in central Hesse. It is intended to commemorate the victims of National Socialism and is considered the largest decentralized memorial in the world. The stones, which bear small brass plates with the names of the victims on the top, are laid in the sidewalk in front of their former homes - often by Demnig himself. He wants people to stumble across the Nazi terror in their immediate surroundings.
Demnig laid his first Stolpersteine in the 1990s. Stones have since been laid in numerous European countries, as well as in many Hessian municipalities. In Frankfurt, according to the initiative, there are currently 1992 stones in over 800 places in 34 districts.
Over the course of the 20 years, many hundreds of relatives, descendants and friends of the victims of National Socialism have come to Frankfurt from all over the world to lay the stones, explained Dill. "For the families of the victims, these Stolpersteine are not only a touching form of very personal family remembrance." They are also perceived as a strong gesture of reconciliation from the civil society of today's Frankfurt.
The Stolpersteine project, initiated to commemorate the victims of National Socialism, has allowed various individuals and groups in Frankfurt's society to engage actively in the city's culture of remembrance for the past 20 years. Gunter Demnig, the creator of the Stolpersteine, firmly believes in the importance of these brass stones, as they are laid in the sidewalk in front of the victims' former homes, serving as a stark reminder of the Nazi terror in their immediate surroundings.
Source: www.dpa.com
