Six new stumbling blocks: Remembering the victims of the Goldbach and Herz families

Six new stumbling blocks: Remembering the victims of the Goldbach and Herz families

Today, on June 7, 2025, six more stumbling blocks were laid in Nümbrecht to commemorate the victims of National Socialism. These memorial plaques were placed by the Cologne artist Gunter Demnig in front of the residential buildings at Am Hof ​​3 and Marktstraße 4. The mayor of Nümbrecht, Hilko Redenius, took part in the ceremony and emphasized the importance of keeping alive the memory of the people who were harassed, expelled and murdered because of their faith. These stumbling blocks are not just simple memorial plaques, they are the result of intensive research into the fate of the Goldbach and Herz families, which came to light through the Federal Archives. Stumbling blocks for Rosa Herz (née Ermann) and her children Paul and Meta were laid at Marktstrasse 3. The stone for her son Werner-Ludwig will be installed at a later date.

The stories behind these memorial plaques are shocking: Rosa, Meta and Paul Herz were transported to Cologne-Deutz on July 19, 1942 and deported to the extermination camp in Minsk/Maly Trostinez, where they were murdered four days later. Her son Werner-Ludwig brought it over to South Africa, where he died in Florida/USA in 1992. The Goldbach family was also honored: Eugen and Sybilla Goldbach and their son Ludwig lived in a ghetto house in Cologne-Ehrenfeld before their deportation. Ludwig was only 19 years old when he was imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp. Tragically, the entire Goldbach family met their end on July 24, 1942 in Minsk/Maly Trostinez.

A living memory

The stumbling blocks stand in places where people once lived and where their life stories began. These small plaques are much more than memorabilia; They pay their respect to the deported and murdered Jewish people, Sinti and Roma, politically persecuted people, homosexuals, forced laborers, Jehovah's Witnesses and victims of “euthanasia”. Gunter Demnig has now expanded his project, which began in Cologne in 1992, to more than 117,000 memorial plaques in 33 countries. He himself began laying the first stumbling block in front of Cologne City Hall on December 16, 1992 - without permission at the time, but with a big heart for the victims.

What is particularly noteworthy is that this project is now considered the largest decentralized memorial in the world. Over 90,000 stumbling blocks have been placed in Europe alone, and the number is constantly increasing. Gunter Demnig would like to give the victims back their names and thus their memories. With his stumbling blocks, the artist aims to keep the memory of the victims of National Socialism alive. On memorial days like November 9th, many people come together to carry out cleaning activities and thus keep the stumbling blocks in an appropriate condition.

Criticism and support

Despite the broad support, there are also critical voices who find the project inappropriate. Some Jewish communities, such as Charlotte Knobloch, see the laying of stumbling blocks as a disrespect for the victims. Daniel Killy from the Jewish Community of Hamburg even describes the project as a “million dollar business”. Nevertheless, most of society shows solidarity and recognizes the importance of remembering the darkest chapters of our history.

Thanks to the “Stolpersteine ​​Deutschland” app, which has been available since November 2022, interested citizens have the opportunity to find out about over 35,000 memorial stones. Stumbling blocks are and remain a living testimony to our history that calls on us to keep the memory alive.

For more information on this moving topic, you can read the reports from Oberberg Current, NDR and daily news read up.