The Brandenburg Action Alliance criticizes the Stolperstein ban in Heidenau

From the perspective of the Brandenburg Action Alliance, banning stumbling blocks commemorating victims of National Socialism from the cityscape is the wrong approach. At the request of the CDU and AfD, no more stumbling blocks should be laid in Heidenau, Saxony.

Alliance: Memory must be visible in the city

The memory must remain visible in the cityscape, said Maica Vierkant from the German Press Agency's Action Alliance Against Violence, Right-Wing Extremism and Racism. She manages the office. “This belongs in everyday life and in the public space where people live.” Remembrance should not be relegated to cemeteries, said Vierkant. But there have been discussions about the forms of memory for a long time.

Outrage over the decision in Saxony

The Stolperstein ban in the small Saxon town of Heidenau sparked nationwide outrage. Federal Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) spoke of a “scandal.” Anyone who wants to push places of remembrance of Jewish life into cemeteries is making Jews “invisible once again,” she said.

A corresponding motion from AfD and CDU city councilors was passed by a majority on Thursday evening in Heidenau near Dresden. Many citizens, relatives and initiatives do not consider this form of remembrance of the victims of National Socialism to be appropriate, the application said. Instead, the commemoration should preferably take place in the city's northern cemetery, so that "direct entry into the memorial elements is excluded."

Around 1,500 stumbling blocks laid in Brandenburg

According to the alliance, there are almost 1,500 stumbling blocks in Brandenburg. “It is a form of commemoration that is received positively,” said Vierkant.

The small stones are laid at the last known place of residence or work of victims of National Socialism. Their names and dates of life are on the top.

Vierkant estimated that an average of around 80 such stones would be added to Brandenburg every year. Stolpersteine ​​were laid for the first time in Neuruppin in November 2003.

Stones stolen

However, there was also damage and the theft of stones. In August, several brass plates were forcibly removed from the ground in Spremberg and Forst in Lausitz. The state security agency responsible for politically motivated crimes investigated.