Stopping stumbling blocks in Heidenau causes sharp criticism

In Heidenau near Dresden, no more stumbling blocks will be laid in memory of victims of National Socialism in the future - the city council's decision is causing discussions. Criticism comes from the SPD in the Saxon state parliament.

“I think it is wrong to banish the stumbling blocks from our everyday life and memorial culture to the outskirts of the city,” explained SPD member of the state parliament 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.” It was said that the SPD parliamentary group was prepared to sponsor and cover the costs of three stumbling blocks.

Luise Neuhaus-Wartenberg, spokeswoman for the left-wing parliamentary group for memorial culture in the Saxon state parliament, was horrified by the decision. “With the ban on further stumbling blocks in the public area, a special form of remembrance is being pushed out of Heidenau’s everyday life.”

How will commemoration take place in the future?

A corresponding motion from AfD and CDU city councilors was passed by a majority on Thursday evening. In a cross-party motion for a resolution together with the “Upper Elbe Alliance for More Democracy,” representatives of both parties called for stumbling blocks “in public streets and sidewalks” to be rejected 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."

Dresden Green Party member of the Bundestag Kassem Taher Saleh also criticized the decision. In Saxony, many people were committed to keeping the memory of the victims of the Nazi regime visible. “It is unbearable that the CDU is joining forces with the AfD on this issue of all things.”

In Munich, for example, no stumbling blocks are laid on urban property. Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, vehemently rejected the stumbling blocks and advocated, in her view, more worthy alternatives.