Stumbling blocks return: memory of Jewish families in Zeitz

Stumbling blocks return: memory of Jewish families in Zeitz

A shocking incident in Zeitz: At the beginning of October, ten stumbling blocks that reminded of Jewish victims of National Socialism were torn out and stolen in a shocking act. These small plaques anchored in the ground are not only remembrance places, but also symbols of the collective memory. The theft caused great dismay in Germany and even horrified the artist Gunter Demnig, the initiator of the Stumbling Stone Project. He spoke of an act of hatred that occurs with the memory of the victims with feet.

But there is hope: On Thursday, November 28, 2024, the stolen stumbling blocks will be relocated in a solemn ceremony. The commemoration of Kramerstrasse 5/6 begins from 10 a.m., where three new stones will honor the Jewish family Mendelsohn. District Administrator Götz Ulrich, Mayor Christian Thieme and representative of the Stumbling Steine Initiative for Zeitz will take part in the ceremony, to which all citizens are cordially invited.

public memorial celebrations

The laying of the other stumbling blocks is also accompanied publicly. At around 11.30 a.m. the stumbling blocks of the Blumenthal family are inaugurated at the Roßmarkt, followed by a memorial stone for Auguste Lewy am Neumarkt 12 at around 1 p.m. At 2 p.m. the Stumbling Stone of the Flörsheim family at Leipziger Straße 46 is moved, and at around 3 p.m. the memorial stone for Siegfried Fürst am Eulengrund 3 is brought in. These events offer an important opportunity to commemorate together and to set an example against forgetting.