Stolpersteine Initiative Heidelberg

Welcome to the Stolpersteine Initiative Heidelberg! We are delighted by your interest in our project!

The Stolpersteine Initiative meets every second Tuesday of the month at 7 PM at the Volkshochschule Heidelberg. The respective room number can be found on the notice board. There are no meetings during school holidays.

The laying of Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) is a process in which everyone can participate. Therefore, everyone who is interested in our work is warmly welcome.

Anyone can sponsor a Stolperstein (cost for production and laying: 120 euros).

Laying Stolpersteine as Part of the "Culture of Remembrance" in Heidelberg

Since March 2008, there has been an initiative in Heidelberg consisting of citizens who regularly meet at the Volkshochschule and are committed to ensuring that Stolpersteine are also laid in this city to commemorate persecuted and murdered former citizens.

Stolpersteine are small memorial stones laid in the pavement in front of the former homes of Nazi victims. The 10 x 10 cm brass plaques are engraved with the names, life dates, and references to the fate of each victim. Since 1996, these stones have been laid on the initiative of citizens together with the Cologne artist Gunter Demnig.

In more than 600 communities in Germany and neighboring countries, over 28,000 such stones have been laid so far— in Berlin, Freiburg, and Hamburg, but also in our region, e.g., in Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Ladenburg, Hemsbach, and Weinheim.

We acknowledge that the city of Heidelberg has already done a lot to remember the victims of the Nazi era. Stolpersteine are intended to complement this remembrance work.

They are signs of life traces in everyday life and remind us of the crimes of the National Socialists at the places where the persecuted and murdered lived, in the middle of the city. They commemorate individual people and, through their decentralized distribution, show how the persecuted were part of society. They raise awareness of the "fragility of civilization" (Jutta Limbach). The laying of Stolpersteine is a process in which many can participate. In the preparatory work on individual biographies examples from other communities show that the involvement of youth groups or students with their teachers can become a lively and impressive history lesson.

When laying Stolpersteine, consideration should also be given to Nazi victims who have received less public commemoration so far (e.g., Jehovah's Witnesses, trade unionists, and so-called "antisocials").

A Stolperstein is laid when someone takes on the sponsorship, i.e., covers the costs for production and laying (120 euros). Therefore, the city incurs no costs. The initiative has already received commitments for sponsorships to support further memorial stones, commemorating former citizens of Heidelberg.

Of course, Stolpersteine are not laid against the wishes of relatives of victims.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to all supporters of the project for their commitment over the years.