"Here lived ..." Small engraved brass plaques embedded in the sidewalk in front of where a person lived before being exported & exterminated by the Nazis

"Stumbling Stones” was inspired by German artist Gunter Demnig to remind us of the Jewish victims in Amsterdam before they fell victim to Nazi terror. The words Hier wohnte ... ('Here lived ...') are written on most of the plates, emphasizing that the victims of persecution did not live and work at any anonymous place, but "right here."

Each plaque was installed at the last place the person's name, dates of birth, deportation & extermination. I was first introduced to "Stolperstein" while my husband and I were on a walking tour in Koblenz, Germany. There was one grouping of plaques placed for a family. Terrifying.

“Here lived Ida Rosenberg, b 1870, deported 1942,

murdered in Theresienstadt on 8/9/42.”

In Judaism, placing pebbles on a gravestone is a custom to show respect for the departed.

Flowers and pebbles were recently and lovingly placed by a family member or friend on these newly polished plaques.