ONE STONE - ONE NAME - ONE PERSON.

"Stolpersteine" (lit. “stumbling stones”) are an art project that commemorates the victims of national socialism, keeping alive the memory of all Jews, Roma and Sinti, homosexuals, dissidents, Jehovah’s Witnesses and victims of euthanasia who were deported and exterminated.

The artist Gunter Demnig remembers the victims of National Socialism by installing commemorative brass plaques in the pavement in front of their last address of choice. There are now more than 38,000 STOLPERSTEINE in over 610 places in Germany as well as in Austria, Hungary, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Norway and Ukraine.

Gunter Demnig cites the Talmud saying that "a person is only forgotten when his or her name is forgotten". The Stolpersteine in front of the buildings bring back to memory the people who once lived here. Each “stone” begins with HERE LIVED…

The brass plaques are handmade by the artist and are installed by him personally. For 120 euros, anybody can sponsor a stone, its manufacture and its installation.

The Stolperstein project in Burghaun was realized in the course of four installations, the first one on 27th September 2011, followed by a second one on 29th May 2012, and a third on 5th September 2012. The last installation took place on 9th November 2012. The art project was made possible by the initiative “Stolpersteine in Burghaun”, founded by Elisabeth Sternberg-Siebert in autumn 2010, in cooperation with the Burghaun municipality and major Alexander Hohmann. Due to numerous sponsors from in- and outside the Burghaun municipality all in all Stolpersteine for 50 victims of the Nazi dictatorship could be embedded in the pavements. May the Stolpersteine in Burghaun keep the memory of the wrongs of the past alive and remind the passers-by of their responsibility to not let any new injustices happen.

"THE SECRET OF REDEMPTION IS COMMEMORATION"

Biography of Gunter Demnig

- 1947 Born in Berlin- From 1967 Art education studies and Industrial Design Studies in Berlin, Art education studies at the University of Kassel, - 1974 First State Examination to teach in secondary schools; sculpture and works- From 1985 Arts Studio in Cologne- 1990 First project commemorating the deportation of Sinti and Roma from Cologne - 1993 Design of the STOLPERSTEINE project- 1997 First installation in Kreuzberg, Berlin (without permission, legalised later)- From 2000 STOLPERSTEINE in Germany

Gunter Demnig Received Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (highest national award) from the hands of Horst Köhler (German President) in 2005, he also received many other awards for his work.

http://www.stolpersteine.eu/en/home/

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Fotos and texts are from the brochure "Stolpersteine" published by Marktgemeinde Burghaun, and from the internet sites "Stolpersteine in Burghaun" and "Auf den Spuren jüdischen Lebens im Hünfelder Land" by Elisabeth Sternberg-Siebert, and the homepage of Gunter Demnig (see link above).

Translations into English by Martin H. Siebert, Roswitha Smitt-Blouin and Andrea Sternberg.

Design of the virtual walk by Andrea Sternberg

No copyright infringement is intended.