Heidenau bans new Stolpersteine in memory of victims of Nazism
Quick Look
The town of Heidenau in Saxony voted on September 24 to ban new Stolpersteine, paving stones commemorating the victims of Nazism, a decision carried out by elected officials from the AfD and the CDU which sparked a national controversy in Germany.
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Why It Matters
The Stolpersteine are concrete paving stones covered with brass installed in front of the last place of life or work of the victims of Nazism, there being tens of thousands in Germany and Europe.
In Heidenau, the names of the victims of Nazism will no longer be written in the stone covering the sidewalks. This small town in Saxony, located in the east of Germany, has decided to ban from its public space the installation of new “Stolpersteine”, these paving stones scattered by tens of thousands across the country - and throughout Europe - in memory of the people persecuted by the Nazi regime. A highly symbolic decision, carried out jointly by local elected officials from the far-right AfD party and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The vote on this municipal motion on September 24 provoked heated controversy across the Rhine, against a backdrop of a historic surge by the far right in recent regional elections.
The small town of Heidenau, in the Saxony region, has five of these small concrete cubes of around ten centimeters, embedded in front of the last place of life or work of a victim of Nazism. These paving stones are all covered with a brass plate…
Open Questions
- What will be the legal consequences of this ban for the Stolpersteine already established in Heidenau?
- Will this decision be subject to legal appeal?
- Will other cities follow Heidenau's example?
