Six new stumbling blocks: commemorate the victims of the Goldbach and Heart families

Six new stumbling blocks: commemorate the victims of the Goldbach and Heart families

Nümbrecht, Deutschland - Today, on June 7, 2025, six other stumbling blocks were laid in Nümbrecht, reminiscent of the victims of National Socialism. These memorial plates were placed by the Cologne artist Gunter Demnig in front of the houses on Hof 3 and Marktstraße 4. The mayor of Nümbrecht, Hilko Spezenius, took part in the ceremony and underlined how important it is to keep the memory of people alive who were harassed, expelled and murdered due to their faith. These stumbling blocks are not just simple plaques, they are the result of intensive research on the fate of the Goldbach and Heart families that came to light through the Federal Archives. Stumbling blocks for Rosa Herz (born Ermann) and their children Paul and Meta were laid in Marktstraße 3. The stone for her son Werner-Ludwig is used at a later date.

The historical stories behind these commemorative plaques are shattering: 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 ghettohaus in Cologne-Ehrenfeld before their deportation. Ludwig was only 19 when he was detained in the Dachau concentration camp. Tragically, the entire Goldbach family came to an end on July 24, 1942 in Minsk/Maly Trostinez.

a living memory

The stumbling blocks are in places where people once lived and where their life stories started. These small plates are much more than memorabilia; They pay respect to the deported and murdered Jewish people, Sinti and Roma, politically persecuted, 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 plaques in 33 countries. He himself had started in front of the Cologne town hall with the relocation of the first stumbling block on December 16, 1992 - then without permission, but with a great heart for the victims.

It is particularly noteworthy that this project is now considered the largest decentralized memorial in the world. Over 90,000 stumbling blocks were placed in Europe alone, and their number increases steadily. Gunter Demnig wants to give the victims their names and thus also their memory. With his stumbling blocks, the artist pursues the goal of keeping the memory of the victims of National Socialism alive. On memorial days like November 9, many people come together to carry out cleaning actions together and thus keep the stumbling blocks in a reasonable condition.

criticism and support

Despite the broad support, there are also critical voices that find the project inappropriate. Some Jewish communities, such as Charlotte Knobloch, see the relocation of the victims in the laying of stumbling blocks. Daniel Killy from the Jewish Community of Hamburg even describes the project as a "million-dollar business". Nevertheless, the majority of society is in solidarity and recognizes the importance of memory of the darkest chapters of our history.

Thanks to the "Stumbling Stone Germany" app, which has been available since November 2022, interested citizens have the opportunity to find out more about over 35,000 memorial stones. Stumbling blocks are and remain a lively testimony of our history, which asks us to keep the memory awake.

For more information on this moving topic, you can report the reports of Oberberg Aktuell href = "https://www.ndr.de/geschicht/stolpersteine-erinnernen-an-opfer-des-nationalisma-stolpersteine123.html"> ndr and Tageschau read.