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"A person is not forgotten until his name is forgotten." 

Quote from the Talmud

Even though the name seems to say so, no one will literally cross the Stolpersteinen stumble over. These special paving stones lie too neatly in the pavement for that. However, they do ensure that passersby 'stumble' with their heads and hearts over the gruesome fate that Jews, Roma and Sinti, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses and resistance fighters suffered under German occupation during World War II. Meanwhile, in several European countries, you can encounter the squares of shiny brass in the sidewalk in front of residential houses, placed there in memory of the deported residents.

Already while studying art education and industrial design in Berlin, the German Gunter Demnig devised sensational actions in public space. In 1968, for example, as a protest against the Vietnam War, he provided his window frame in Kreuzberg with an American flag with skulls instead of stars. On December 16, 1992, on the occasion of the 50ste commemoration of Heinrich Himmler's order to deport Roma and Sinti, he placed a small, square stone in front of Cologne City Hall. On it were inscribed in brass the first lines of Himmler's order. This was followed three years later by the very first Stolperstein. First illegally and from 2000 onwards with permission. Meanwhile, throughout Europe many thousands of Stolpersteinen laid (some 95,000 by 2024, including 539 in The Hague). This makes the Stolpersteinen the largest memorial worldwide.

Demnig's Stolpersteinen are handmade cubes of concrete. On top is attached a brass plate measuring 10 by 10 cm. On it, in addition to the name and date of birth of the person being commemorated, the date of deportation and the date and place of death are inscribed with striking letters. One stone for each victim. Where the National Socialists of Hitler Germany turned people into numbers, Demnig gives people back their names and individuality.

Click for a current overview and more information on the following links:

https://www.joodserfgoeddenhaag.nl/stolpersteine-struikelstenen-in-den-haag/

https://map.stolpersteine.app/nl/den-haag/locaties

https://www.denhaag.nl/nl/meldingen/stolperstein-laten-plaatsen/