The memory of the Brno Holocaust victims will be commemorated by plaques in the pavement

Brno - The memorial to the victims of the Holocaust will soon be commemorated by memorial stones in the paving of Brno. German artist Gunter Demnig will embed them into the sidewalks in front of the houses where Jews lived before they were taken away to concentration camps by the Nazis. On each stone, a careful passerby will find a plaque with the name of a specific victim. On June 16, Demnig will lay a total of 26 stones in the paving of Brno at seven locations, announced the project guarantor Boris Barak Selinger to ČTK.
      There are about 30,000 such stones already in Europe. They are called stolpersteine, which is a compound of the German words stolpern (to stumble) and stein (stone). "The name expresses the power of the story hidden behind each stone and does not allow one to pass by and continue walking. On the contrary, it forces the walker to stop, reflect, and informally, personally pay tribute to the victim of Nazi tyranny whose name is engraved on the stone," said Selinger.
      Each stone is about ten centimeters wide. It is made of concrete and one side is fitted with a brass plaque. The goal is to lay each stone in front of the house where the person designated for extermination lived, that is, in places they walked daily and walked by even when they last left their home. The project organizers aim to both honor the memory of the victims and warn against the dangers of xenophobia and intolerance.
      The artist Demnig began placing the stones in 1995. The first ones were in Cologne, followed by Berlin and other German cities. Today, the memorial stones can also be found in Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Poland, Hungary, and other countries.
      Next week, stones will be added in Bratislavská, Štěpánská, or Táborská streets in Brno. In front of some houses where entire exterminated families lived, people will find several memorial stones with plaques. Survivors of the victims from the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands will also attend the ceremony.
"Memorial stones will be laid in Brno every year in the coming years. Those interested in laying stones with the names of their murdered relatives can contact the Jewish community in Brno," said Selinger.