Commemoration in Nümbrecht: Six stumbling blocks laid for Jewish families

Commemoration in Nümbrecht: Six stumbling blocks laid for Jewish families

Last weekend there was a moving event in Nümbrecht: the artist Gunter Demnig laid six stumbling blocks on Marktstrasse to commemorate the Jewish fellow citizens who were persecuted and murdered during the Holocaust. Numerous people gathered on site to witness this act of remembrance. The Stolperstein is not only a work of art, but also a memorial that symbolizes the last known address of the victims and thus keeps their stories alive.

The newly laid stumbling blocks are particularly reminiscent of the Goldbach and Herz families. For the Herz family, stones were laid for Rosa Herz, born in 1879, and her children Paul and Meta Herz. Their fate is tragic: on July 18, 1942, they were picked up by the Gestapo and deported to Maly Trostinec, where they were murdered on July 24. Another stone for Werner Ludwig Herz, who fled to South Africa in 1936, will be delivered later.

Memories of the Goldbach family

The Goldbach family, consisting of the couple Eugen and Sybilla and their son Ludwig, also died in Maly Trostinec on the same day. In his speech, Mayor Hilko Redenius emphasized the importance of such memorial stones for the collective memory of the community. Nümbrecht has been maintaining the tradition of commemoration with stumbling blocks since 2014. The first ones were relocated in memory of the Baer family, and the city is thus acknowledging its history and the victims of National Socialism.

Gunter Demnig also gave a lecture on Friday evening at the Parkhotel Nümbrecht, in which he explained the history of the Stolpersteine's origins. He reported on the Europe-wide distribution of over 117,000 stones and the challenges he is faced with. From destruction of the stones to resistance from homeowners, Demnig is not discouraged. He particularly emphasized the importance of involving younger generations in commemoration.

An art project with global significance

The Stolpersteine ​​are now the largest Holocaust memorial in the world, comprising over 100,000 small brass and concrete markers in countries from Spain to Ukraine. They are placed at the last places of residence of the persecuted and contain information such as names and dates of birth and death. The Stolpersteine ​​Foundation, which coordinates the installation, ensures that the information is verified through careful research. Relatives of the deceased will be contacted before the installation to maintain the respect and empathy Demnig has for each individual victim. Furthermore, as a social sculpture, since their introduction in the 1990s, the Stolpersteine ​​have fostered a network of social interactions by bringing communities together and stimulating engagement with the past.

Remembering the victims of National Socialism will remain important in the future. By August 2024, over 107,000 stones had been laid in almost 1,900 communities, including in countries such as Austria, France, Poland and Germany. Despite some critical voices that challenge the concept, the project remains on track. In Munich, for example, there is a ban on the installation of stumbling blocks, which shows that the discussion about the form of commemoration is far from over.

The video recordings of the laying of the Stolperstein in Nümbrecht will also be sent to the descendants of the Herz and Baer families in Florida in order to preserve the memories and enable further reconnections. The Stolpersteine ​​are a symbol of remembrance in Nümbrecht and beyond - a small stone with a big story.