Demnig has been laying down stumbling blocks throughout Europe since the 90s, having put down ‘Stolperstein’ in more than 1,000 locations throughout the continent. These small brass plaques are designed to remember the victims of Nazi Germany. The plaques are laid down in the pavements in front of homes of victims, whether they fled, were deported, or arrested.
Each plaque is engraved with the words ‘Here lived...’ alongside a few lines of the person’s biography. The name refers to the purpose of stumbling over a plaque and discovering the victim. The Berlin artist has laid a total of 75,000 plaques with the latest block laid in a Bavarian town. The 72-year-old artist told the Augsburger Allgemeine that once his knees stop playing ball, he’ll fit other plaques with a wheelchair and a built-in hammer.
Similar plaques to Luxembourg’s victims of the Holocaust have been laid down in order to pay tribute to those who died. There are stumbling blocks in Grevenmacher and on Rue de l’Alzette in Esch-sur-Alzette.
Luxembourg’s history: The deportation of Luxembourg’s Jewish community during WWII
