ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION In 1994 artist Gunter Demnig began a memorial project to remember and honor victims of the Holocaust including Jews, homosexuals, mentally disabled, and others targeted by the Nazis. Demnig designed and installed stumbling blocks, stolpersteine, outside the homes or offices where the victims lived or worked. The blocks look like small brass plaques that are placed into the brick or stone sidewalk (see Figures 8.2 and 8.3). There are now over 13,000 stumbling blocks across Germany, Austria, Hungary, and the
CHAPTER 8
3 4 5 6EEE 7 8 9 10111 1 2 3 4EEE 15111 6 7 8EEE 9 20111 1 2 3EEE 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40111 41 2 3 4 5
The Stolpersteine project is a microcosm of monuments and memorials covering many events and people all over the world. The stumbling blocks remember and honor those who prematurely lost their lives, promote individual reflection, and echo values and norms from the time period in which they were created. They serve as a European collective memory of the Holocaust. In addition, like many monuments, the Stolpersteine project generated controversy. Some people believe it is demeaning to the victims to walk on stones with victims’ names. Others say that those who stop and look and have to stoop low to read the names are helping to remember the victims in a positive manner. While most German towns and cities are receptive to the stones, the mayor of Munich rejected the project, saying the city already had many memorials. Numerous monuments and memorials face similar controversy over their location, physical appearance, purpose, and meaning.
