Purpose and Mission
The Stolpersteine project aims to honor and commemorate the the victims of Nazi WW2 genocide. A permanent tribute is paid to murdered Jews, Roma and Sinti, gays, resistence fighters, physically and mentally disabled and Jehova’s wittnesses through the commemorative stones carrying the victim’s name and fate.
Stolpersteine is a compositeof German words stolpern (to stumble) and stein (stone). The name expresses the power of a story behind each of the Stolpersteine, which does not allow us to just pass by without noticing and continue walking. It forces the walker-by to stop and bow both symbolically and physically to the victim whose name is imprinted on the Stone.
Each Stone is made of concrete, it is a 10 x 10 x 10 cm cube with a brass plate on one of its sides, which carries an imprinted sign. The Stolperstein is placed as part of the pavement in front of the house which was a last residence of a person deported by the Nazis to death. The Stones, placed ina public space, become a permanent reminder of a crime committed by the Nazis and their helpers. In accordance with the present day trend in the education about the holocaust, the Stolperstein stands for a fate of a human being – a fellow citizen who lived in the same places where we live our lives today, and who was murdered for no reason. The Stolpersteine thus provide an exceptionally strong possibility to identify with the victims of Nazi persecution and warn against the danger and consequences of intolerance and xenofobia. Their location in the street of course also expresses the stand-point of the Municipality and its leaders towards the war mass murder, racism and other forms of xenofobia.