Debate about stumbling blocks in Saxony: City council decides on memorial culture

In the cross-party resolution motion together with the “Upper Elbe Alliance for More Democracy,” representatives of the AfD and CDU called for such stumbling blocks to be rejected “in public streets and sidewalks” in the future. 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."

“We want to actively address the question of how we can create a worthy place of remembrance in our city and keep the memory of the victims of war, terror, dictators, expulsion and especially National Socialism visible and further develop it,” says Oertel. The mayor emphasized that it is self-evident in a democratic society that there are different opinions on this topic. She called on people to keep talking to each other and to discuss the various options objectively and openly.

Outrage over the decision in Saxony

The decision caused outrage nationwide. Federal Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) spoke of a “scandal.” Anyone who wants to push places of remembrance of Jewish life into cemeteries will make Jews “invisible once again,” she said.

"I think it's wrong to banish the stumbling blocks from our everyday life and memorial culture to the outskirts of the city," explained SPD state parliament member Albrecht Pallas. He accused the AfD of wanting to relativize National Socialism. Pallas asked the city council to reconsider the decision. "It's not too late yet." The SPD parliamentary group is ready to sponsor and cover the costs of three stumbling blocks, it was said.

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, says Vierkant. There has been discussion about the forms of memory for a long time.

The Stolpersteine ​​form of commemoration has been around since the 1990s - and is now in many European countries. “It is a form of remembrance 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.