By Noah Price, Media & Marketing Program Associate
This International Holocaust Remembrance Day marks 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Since then, artists have created numerous types of memorials to recognize the more than six million Jews and several million other people killed in the Holocaust. The most widespread – and perhaps most subtle – is Gunter Demnig’s Stolperstein or “Stumbling Stones.”
What are the Stumbling Stones?
The Stumbling Stones are a unique memorial in that they do not rest in a single place. Instead, these “stones” are small, brass plaques installed into the sidewalk in front of the former homes and businesses of those who died in the Holocaust.
The stones usually contain little information. Typically, the engraving lists the honored victim’s name, their birth year, their deportation camp, and their death year. If there are multiple victims from the property Demnig places the stone at, each victim receives their own stone.
Gunter Demnig installs the vast majority of the stones himself. However, those requesting the installation of the stone are the ones who perform the research and pay the 120 euros cost. Today, Demnig has installed the stones across more than 1,200 places in Europe. In 2017, Argentina became the first country outside of the continent to have a stone installed.
Individual Remembrance
Perhaps the most sincere way to remember a person is to list their actual name. There are countless variations of Holocaust memorials that are both beautiful and meaningful in their own ways. However, the direct identification featured in Stolpersteine provides recognition to every victim rather than grouping them into a mass.
By taking on the massive effort to recognize each Holocaust victim as an individual, Demnig created a monument that transcends space. He emphasized the importance of their decentralization in creating a conversation about the history of the Holocaust. It is only in this way that someone can simply be walking through a normal street before they “stumble” over the space. Deming explained, “You don’t trip on a Stolpersteine, you stumble with your head and your heart.”
Replication
Demnig’s project for the Holocaust is now being replicated for other atrocities around the world. In Chile, the Chilean Museum of Memory and Human Rights is creating their own Stumbling Stones to recognize victims of their past dictatorship. Although the program is relatively new and remains small, it is expected to grow.
Further, it is worth considering that Demnig’s project may influence more groups. Unfortunately, the Nazi Holocaust is hardly the only genocide in world history. Considering the relative affordability of the project and the lack of public space it takes away, many other groups can consider this as a method of memorialization.
The Stumbling Stones as a Monument of Reconciliation
The Monuments Toolkit primarily examines oppressive monuments that ought to be changed, whether through removal, reinterpretation, or relocation. However, it is equally important that the Toolkit highlights monuments that work to correct oppressive history as well.
The Stumbling Stones are an excellent example of how monuments can work to reconcile the past. Although nothing can be done to undo the actions of the Holocaust, monuments and memorials such as this provide an opportunity for us to learn, reflect, and promise to never commit such atrocities again.
Learn more about how to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.