Stolper Steine/Stumbling Stones Project

Our group met last night to talk about the project. We discussed our thoughts/reactions to the Stolper Steine in general as well as to what drew us to this project. Because the meeting was very much a brainstorming session, the notes are in bullet form:

• Reminds us of a history that should not be forgotten.
• A memorial present in every day life, on the streets we walk on and the walls we walk past.
• It is simultaneously a very visible (in the middle of the sidewalk) and invisible (we walk right past them without noticing) memorial
• The people who passed away/were killed should be honored/remembered
• The stones can serve as a memorial for the families of the dead
• The people who were killed in concentration camps do not have individual grave sites. In a way, these Stolper Steine are their head stones
• When we first heard of the project, some of us thought it was referring to the hand/footprints of famous people on Mariahilferstrasse
• Conversation about the stones on the ground vs on the walls of houses:
• plaques on houses are often there to indicate that someone famous lived there
• is one location (wall/ground) more respectful? 
• Stones on the ground are in some way poetic because you can imagine the individuals walking exactly over that spot during their lives. It is also presumably the path they took when they left home for the last time. On the other hand people walk on the stones without looking at what they are.
• Walls are where we hang things we are proud of/want to honor (ex. diplomas/photographs). You don't walk on a grave site (if we see the Stolper Steine as grave markers/headstones)

These were some of the points we discussed. We look forward to presenting more on this project to you all throughout the semester!

- Agnes, Hanna, Erica, & Mike