Stumbling blocks in Stralsund: Memory of Jewish life full of emotions

Stumbling blocks in Stralsund: Memory of Jewish life full of emotions

Stralsund, Deutschland - On July 9, 2025, five new stumbling blocks were laid in Stralsund, a moving event that was under the motto "Memory of Jewish Life". The initiative to memory of Jewish life in Stralsund and the Hanseatic city of Stralsund organized the event, which was opened by Mayor Alexander Badrow. Numerous descendants of the victims from England and southern Germany were present at the ceremony, which symbolized their connection to the deceased in a touching way.

The contribution of the pupils of the Hansa-Gymnasium, who read from the biographies of the five honored women, was particularly impressive. They include the Holocaust survivors Berta Wilton and Franziska Born, who was murdered in Auschwitz. The new stumbling blocks were integrated into the sidewalk at four different locations in Stralsund. The total number of the stumbling blocks in the city thus increases to 88 and contributes to keeping the memory of the persecuted and disenfranchised during National Socialism.

stumbling blocks as a memorial

The stumbling blocks are part of the artist Gunter Demnig's project, which has been anchored in the names of Nazi victims in the places in which they lived for 30 years. These small paving stones are not only memorials, but also a call to forgetting. The inscriptions of the stones contain information such as names, birth and deportation years as well as fate information. Demnig sees his work as the "largest decentralized work of art in the world", which serves to give the victims back their names and show that they were part of the community. There are currently over 1200 stumbling blocks in Germany and 31 other European countries.

This new installation not only ensures continuity in the memory, but is also supported by modern technology. As part of the event, the stumbling block was presented, which was developed by Dataport in cooperation with the State Center for Political Education Schwerin and the initiative for Jewish life Stralsund. This app enables users to call up information about the biographies of the people for whom the stumbling blocks were laid, and to light digital commemorative candles. The basis of the app forms the website "Gedenkbuch-stralsund.de". Users can easily use a QR code or at kultur.dataport.de/stolpersteine/

A look at the honored women

• Berta Wilton, born Steinfeld, *January 23, 1912, survivor, flight to England 1939.
• Rosa Steinfeld, *02.05.1910, deported on February 12, 1940 to Piaski, murdered 1940.
• Frieda Jensen, born Räsener, *03.12.1884, deported on December 5, 1941 to Riga, murdered.
• Flora Barthel, born Abrahamsohn, *January 27, 1890, deported on January 5, 1944 to Ghetto Theresienstadt, survivors.
• Franziska Born, born Heine, *03.04.1871, deported on May 18, 1943 to Ghetto Theresienstadt, murdered on May 19, 1944 in Auschwitz.

The stumbling blocks are not just a memorial, they are part of a lively memory that works across generation borders. While visitors linger on the new stones, emotions such as grief and respect can be felt - a reminder that will also exist in the coming years. The initiative and technology combine the past and present, so that the stories of Berta Wilton and Co. are not forgotten.

Further information on this important culture of remembrance and the stumbling blocks in Stralsund can be found on the websites of Stralsund , ndr and Deutschland.de .