Stolpersteine

     Gunter Deming is changing the sidewalks and doorways in cities throughout Europe. Citing the Talmud, he said, "a person is only forgotten when his or her name is forgotten." Deming, a German artist, started the Stolpersteine Project for this reason. His organization installs bronze plaques for the victims of the Nazi attrocities in front of the building where they last resided. Stolperstein literally means "stumbling stone" in German. The intent is for people to stumble over the stones. When one looks down at the cause of the near tumble, one sees a square bronze plaque, with the words, Hier wohnt...."(Here lived) One stone, one name, one person, one life. These stones are being laid all over Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Belgium. More recently, the project has extended to Poland, Austria, the Ukraine, Hungary, Argentina, and Mallorca. The plaques are visual reminders of what transpired at a specific location.
     This is another example of reparations--recall, remembrance, responsibility-- by a German organization to the victims, and their families, of the genocide perpetrated by the Nazis. Few Americans seem to know about the program, which is a mystery to me. The plaques are everywhere Americans travel, but one has to look down occasionally.
     To quote Inge Rhein, an American citizen born in Germany and a friend of mine, "Recently I thought if there were one such stone for every person(Jews, Roma, homosexuals, people with disabilities, political adversaries, journalists) Germany's streets would be paved with gold."