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Exploring and art holidays in Berlin from Berlin Exploring

Berlin Exploring

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Berlinsider's Blog - March 2008
March 10th 2008.Stumbling blocks. In German, they are called Stolpersteine, and on the streets of Berlin you are quite likely to find them every now and again. At first you might not notice what they are and you will only see a brass square embedded into the traditional cobbles. But then if you look closely you will see a name, a date of birth and the place where this particular Berliner was murdered during Germany’s National Socialist era. One reads: “Here lived Wanda Frank, born Levy. Deported on 9.7.1942 to Theresienstadt. Murdered in Treblinka”. “A person is only forgotten when their name is forgotten”, says Günther Demnig, the artist responsible for starting this project. The stumbling blocks were started as an art project for Europe. The aim of Demnig’s project is to keep alive the memory of the expulsion and annihilation of Jews, gypsies, the politically persecuted, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and victims of euthanasia. The stones, laid outside the buildings which were to be the last residence of choice of these Nazi victims, number about 12,500 across Germany and Austria. In the summer of 2008 the first stumbling blocks will be laid in Paris. For 95 euros, anyone can commission a stumbling stone and have it laid outside their building to commemorate the Nazi victim who was once a resident. The German website for the stumbling stones is at www.stolpersteine.com	Stumble Stones
	Stolpersteine
Stumble stones (Stolpersteine) on the streets of Berlin. A poignant reminder of the darkest chapter in the city's history.