Heidenau: CDU and AfD stop laying stumbling blocks

Green Party leader Felix Banaszak is outraged by the move by the CDU and AfD in Heidenau, Saxony, to stop placing stumbling blocks in public spaces. “The fact that the CDU and AfD are joining hands in Heidenau to prevent stumbling blocks in public spaces is a scandal,” he told the German Press Agency. Especially in view of the current debates about how to deal with right-wing extremism and the advance of the AfD, everything must be done “to keep the memory of those who were persecuted and murdered alive”.

In Heidenau, Saxony, near Dresden, no more stumbling blocks will be laid in memory of victims of National Socialism. A motion from AfD and CDU city councilors was passed by a majority on Thursday evening. Many consider this form of remembrance of victims of National Socialism to be inappropriate, 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."

Banaszak said: “The argument that one can step on the stumbling blocks is absurd.” The real scandal is that the memory of the victims of National Socialism is being trampled on. According to the Green politician, their strength lies precisely in stepping on the stones. “They bring the names and fates of the victims into our everyday lives and ask us to pause for a moment.” Anyone who wants to ban this memorial from the street scene must ask themselves why the visible memory of the victims is disturbing.