Stumbling Stones (Stolpersteine) for My Family
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ต.ค. 2024
- On June 19, 2012, stumbling-stone memorials, or "Stolpersteine," were installed at ten locations in Berlin, Germany for twenty seven Jews who were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust, including six members of my family. This twenty seven minute film documents the highlights of that day.
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Maybe you are happy to hear that everywhere in Berlin today Stolpersteine were cleaned by volunteers and roses/flowers were placed next to them and the names read aloud. Your relatives are not being forgotten. The young generation cares!
Rosa, I am very glad to hear that today's young generation of Germans cares about remembering and honoring the millions of innocent people who lost their lives during the Nazi times. Thank you very much for letting me know!
Why do I stumble across this video just now? This is just heart breaking...
I love that the stumbling stones were established mostly all over Germany. I'm a native German living in Hamburg and on the street were I live, there is one stumbling stone that I'm polishing at least once a year, lay flowers down beside it and light a candle.
My Grandfather was forced to join the Wehrmacht when he was 16 and he told me how he called in sick at least 3 times when his submarine was about to leave. He was in the navy and still, until his death, there was always some unfinished business between us. He died at the age of 95 and you could tell how bad he felt about everything that happened. He knew about the guilt, even though he always despised Hitler and the Regime.
What I am trying to say: This touches me so, so, so much. I loved my grandfather and I hate the fact, that he had to grow up during those times.
I hate the fact, that we even had to lay out stumbling stones, to remember the millions of lives that have been taken for a horiffic idea of a world in which minorities are "worth less" then another group you make out to be "superior".
I remember visiting the concentration camp Dachau on a school trip and it shook my whole body... we were in Munich and the trip to Dachau wasn't mandatory. I remember the rest of the class having fun that night, drinking, making jokes.... but the few of the class, including me, who came back from visiting Dachau were just sitting spread out across the room of the Hotels Cafeteria, talking to no one and just being alone with our thoughts of what we just witnessed a couple of hours ago.
I'm really scared about todays politics, scared about Trumps politics in the past and the germans AfD's politics in the present. I lost my train of thought while riding this comment, but this is a topic that never gives me a chance to keep my cool nor my train of thought.
Thank you for doing this, thank you for being here with us, be assured that I keep polishing the stumbling stone on my street every year and everything else that's needed to say can be seen on a memorial stone for those who lost their lives during this tyranny right after the entrance of the concentration camp Dachau:
NEVER AGAIN!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings with me. I am sorry that so many years later, at age ninety-five, your grandfather was still suffering from what he observed and experienced as a Wehrmacht soldier. I am sure that if there was anything you could have done to ease his suffering you would have done it. I would also like to thank you for honoring the memory of the person whose stumbling stone was installed on your street by polishing it yearly, and for caring so much. I welcome any additional comments you would like to post here.
Best regards,
Howard Shattner
@@Howardlbca Thank you so much for your kind reply, Howard. I really appreciate it! I love the fact that there are people like you, caring so much and honoring the memories of those who can't talk about it anymore. I'm sorry for my late reply and my bad english.... I feel very humble that you took the time and thought to reply to my comment that way. Thank you!
My thoughts exactly as a fellow German whose grandfather had a similar fate with being forced into the Wehrmacht! I couldn't have phrased it any better and knowing that one day I will be among the last to have personally known an eye-witness I will make sure to pass on the responsibility of making sure of "never again" as good as I can.
@@CHarlotte-ro4yi Thank you for your lovely comment, Charlotte! It always soothes me to know, that there are kind hearted people like you out there who are rational and know that there is an undeniable responsibility to never ever let any extremist groups run this country.
I wish you a pleasant day! :)
@@CHarlotte-ro4yi thank you for doing that! 😊
Howard - I have just returned from Geinsheim where Gunter Demnig place 4 Stolpersteine for my grandparents, father and aunt. All but my Grandfather (who died in 1934, probably due to harasment, stress and bullying), the rest made it to NYC. I was able to met the folks who are now taking care of their home. It was a most memorable experience, never to be forgotten. We were treated with kindness, friendship and truly are sorry for the events of the Nazi era and hope that future generations of German, never forget the past horrors.
Monroe Kahn
Monroe Kahn Hi, Monroe, I just discovered your message. I am glad that you had such a positive experience during your visit to Geinsheim. As you saw in my film, I had a very similar experience on the day Stolpersteine were installed in Berlin for members of my family three years ago. Best regards, Howard
Thank you so much for your comments about my film. I'm very proud of it!
Please feel free to share the link with your friends and family, or anyone whom you think would be interested in seeing it.
Best regards,
Howard
A very touching video. I've walked past your grandfather's stumbling stone many times, I'll make sure to take an extra minute next time I'm in the area.
I can’t imagine why someone would dislike a video like this. It’s a great way to pay respect to the victims and remember the history
Xiao S thanks for your supportive comment. I appreciate it!
Incredibly moving personal account of installation of Stolpersteines for your family and others-- Thank you so much for doing this, and keeping the memory and history alive with filming and sharing with others.
Thank you for this beautiful, very informative, and moving documentation of an equally beautiful effort both on your part and of Gunter Denmig's conception. What a superb idea and, now, reality.... Again: beautiful.
Euracaille, thank you for watching my film and for your wonderful comment! Would you mind telling me in which country you live?
In the US-Washington State, specifically.
Dear Howard, thanks so much for making and sharing this very moving video. I have just sent it around to a group of families and friends in several countries. We have started to plan our own "Stolpersteine" event this March in Berlin. Your video is very helpful in getting an idea of how this all works, and also gave us some ideas and inspiration. I was particularly touched by your idea to have hearts made and put them under the stones - it makes a lot of sense to me to create a personal, tangible connection between you and the Stolpersteine. All the best to you and Vielen Dank! Daniela from Berlin/ New York
Dear Lotte,
Thank you so much for your kind comments about my film and for sharing it with others. I would enjoy hearing from your friends if they would like to write to me after viewing the film. My email address is HowardLBCA@aol.com. There was a very interesting article written about the Berlin Stolpersteine and published in a magazine called "Intelligent Life" last year. It's available at the following address: moreintelligentlife.com/content/places/andreas-kluth/stumbling-over-past. I hope that the Stolpersteine event in March goes well for you and is as meaningful for you as it was for me. By the way, I made the copper hearts you saw in the film. I have one or two left over. If you like, I can send you one.
Best regards,
Howard Shattner
Thank you for sharing these emotional moments! May be forever unforgotten what never should have happened, what is often to cruel to understand. I think these stones make it a bit more understandable by showing that 6 million people are not only a number but also our neighbours and someones family. May they rest in peace!
Thank you for your kind comments. I appreciate them.
So very very sad heartbreaking. God bless them all. I have never heard of this. So thanks for this.
Sandra Rock thanks for viewing my film. How did you discover it?
@@Howardlbca I was on a site remembering and it tells you what happened. There was a story about the . So I looked it up and got you singing a song about it.
Thank you for sharing this video. I am showing it to my Sunday school class as part of our Holocaust curriculum.
Hi, Jill. Thanks for letting me know. I would be happy to answer your students’ questions about the film or my experience installing the Stolpersteine in Berlin. I can possibly do that live via Zoom, or in writing if that would be of interest.
@@Howardlbca Hi Howard, this is a very moving tribute. I am an anthropologist, and a researcher about stolperstein, and I would like to include elements of your film in my analysis. I would like to know some more about the small copper hearts. I've also contacted you with my email through your facebook. thanks, Ruth
What a wonderfully moving video! Its the things we can't see that make the difference. Its amazing how long a wound can remain unhealed buts it equally amazing and encouraging, how it can be mended again after so long a time. The healing is not so much felt at the time but afterwards you look back and see how you were before the ceremony (or ceremonies) and then you know you have been healed. Thank you for such a beautiful story Howard! Thank you. Peter in Dublin
Todah.Gracias
You are welcome.
Thank you for making and sharing this sad, but very important video!
thank you for viewing my film, Irene.please forward the link to your friends and family and anyone who you think would be interested in seeing it.best regards, Howard
Thank you for sharing this film. I had never heard of these memorials. This is an educational and moving piece. Have you entered it into any film festivals?
Deeply moving, Howard! With this documentary, you have created your own "Stolpersteine" for the world to see.
Thank you for sharing your film tonight.
You are welcome!
Vielen Dank Herr Shattner!
Laying Stolpersteines (Stumble-Stones) in concrete does indeed make the holocaust more 'concrete.' Creating a space in the sidewalks naturally opens up a space in those who pause over them, and remember...
gez devlin Thank you for viewing my film, and for your very perceptive comment.
A moving video which captures the importance of remembrance and the resilience of the human spirit. It was great to hear the comments from the families and from others including the men who laid the stones and others from the present Berlin community to hear what they thought too. I think it is impossible for people to fully imagine the scale of murder during the time of the Nazi regime, but reminding ourselves and the world that this mass murder was about millions of individuals is important.
Steven,
I just discovered your message. Thank you for reading the Economist article, and for viewing my film. If you wouldn't mind sharing, I am interested in your reaction to both.
Best regards,
Howard
Good job all around, Howard!
You covered a lot of ground in one day!
Nice touch showing the die-punching preparation of the tablets.
The film must have been segmented because it stopped after 12:39 and I had to
restart it. After that, it ran without incident to the full 27 minutes.
Many regards -
Strat
Very moving. I was in Berlin a couple weeks ago to witness stolpersteine installed for my dad and grandmother. They were deported to Theresienstadt and both survived, despite my dad spending two years there from aged 7-9. It's tough to realize each of these markers was a life. Most murdered. 😢
Hi Erik. Your grandmother and father were so fortunate to have survived! Very few children did. What year were they deported? What was their address in Berlin? Thanks for viewing my film and for your comment..
@@Howardlbca they lived at vorbergstraße 15, and were deported June 30, 1943....a week before my dad turned 7. There were already two stolpersteine there, but they didn't survive their sentences. About a dozen people showed up to watch the installation and we all went to eat lunch afterwards and visit. It was incredibly moving.
Erik, I found only one Stolpersteine at that address for Dr. Anna Hirscberg, on the Berlin Stolpersteine website. She was deported from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz on May 16, 1944, the very same day my aunt Jente Schattner made that trip. Perhaps they were confined together in the same rail car and were both murdered upon arrival at Auschwitz. About seven thousand Jews were transferred from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz at that time in preparation for the visit of a representative of the Danish Red Cross in order to decrease the overcrowding and make the place seem more livable.
Interestingly, your grandmother and father lived just 2.5 km from Bambergerstr 3, where my grandparents and aunt lived. I didn't realize in 2012 when the Stolpersteine were installed there for my grandfather and aunt that it wasn't their freely-chosen address. Their apartment, where my father and uncles lived as well, was ransacked during Kristallnacht and they were forced to move.
A good friend of mine in Berlin is a volunteer for the Stolpersteine program in Schöneberg. She may have attended the installation for your relatives. I will ask her about that.
I am sure your experience was incredibly moving as it was for me. Feel free to write to me at Howard.Shattner@gmail.com. I would like to know more about what it was like for you.
Lovely film. I live in Berlin and always stop to view the stones.
Dear Marien,
Thank you for watching my film, and for your comment. In February of 2019, three more stolpersteine were installed in Berlin for members of my family, all survivors - my father, Meschulim Schattner, and my two uncles. They are located at Fugger Str. 31. Perhaps you will pass by there some day.
Best regards,
Howard
First of all I have to say that I'm extremely sorry for everything that happened during the holocaust. Whenever I see a Stolperstein and I have a little bit of extra time I stop and read what's written on it. And then I always wonder how humans can treat other human beings like that. I've visited Theresienstadt in 2008 and it was just incredible what happened there. And Theresienstadt was officially not even a concentration camp so I honestly don't even want to imagine what happened in places like Auschwitz. No matter what we look like or what we believe or who we love etc. we are all human beings and I really hope we can make sure something like this never happens again.
Thanks for your comment.
Hi Julie, thank you for viewing my film. I did enter it into a number of Jewish film festivals, unfortunately, it was not accepted at any of them. I was very disappointed about that.
Howard Shattner Sorry to hear it was not accepted. I wonder if you would have luck at more general film festivals. I'm not sure what the timeline is for these - if it has to be produced within a certain time period. Well, it's an important documentary and I'm glad many folks can see it on TH-cam.
Thanks, Julie.
I saw 4 stolpersteines outside the apartment I was visiting last month in Berlin on Schonhauser Allee. Its remembers the Epstein family who lived at number 41. Deported 29.10.1941 to Lodz Ghetto, then to Chelmno extermination camp where they were murdered in May 1942. Every time I entered or left the building, the family were in my thoughts. Did they even live in the room I used for a few days? As I walked the local streets where most white people looked the same, it made me think, the only thing that made this family different was their faith. For this, they were eradicated from society. Wrong, so, very very wrong. Thanks for your wonderful film Howard, your an incredible man.
amc3 I appreciate your comments. Thank you.
I have heard of these, but never saw them “installed.”
What is the round thing put into the ground first?
Those are hearts I made out of copper, with the Hebrew word for "life" embossed on them. They represent love and life, and they are a special gift I made for those innocent victims, my way to connect with them. The twenty seven Stolpersteine you saw being installed in my film are the only ones in the world that have them.
@@Howardlbca *hearts*, ok. They looked like circles to me, must be the camera angle (NOT judging!).
Ah, yes, “L’Chaim!”. Those are the only ones with them, ok, yes, i understand about “connection.”
I met a survivor, in the summer of 1994.
I was sharing a meal at an indoor food court with a female acquaintance.
An older gentleman walked by our table, the female acquaintance knew him, stopped him for a chat.
After about a minute, he crossed his arms at his waist, left arm on top.
Without a break in their conversation, he angled his body so that i could get a better look at the tattoo (he must have seen my eyes widen with his peripheral vision).
I think he was surprised that a 20something knew what it was, but he covered it well.
Me, as i touched it, “which camp?”
Him, “Auschwitz.”
Me, “how many in your family were murdered?”
He, “74.”
He didn’t want to accept my condolences, but the acquaintance knew me well enough to say, “she means it.”
I had read the Diary of Anne Frank at roughly the same age as she was when she wrote it.
I saw the movie “Schinder’s List” the summer before the above encounter, I must have been the youngest in the audience by at least 20 years.
What attracted you to my film?
@@Howardlbca partly because i put in “stolperstein” in the search bo for TH-cam, partly because i had seen/heard/read about them, but never saw them installed, and these are for your family.
Ein sehr bewegendes Dokument, das deutsche Wirklichkeit zeigt, dieses Mal eine sehr positive. Auch ich habe mit anderen in meiner Heimatstadt Stolpersteine gesäubert. „Das Geheimnis der Erlösung heißt Erinnerung.“ Ich gehe oft an Stolpersteinen vorbei und denke manchmal an den Menschen, der ermordet wurde. Oft nur für einen kurzen Moment. Trotzdem wichtig. Und ganz konkret. Es hilft auch uns deutschen Nachgeborenen, mit dieser schrecklichen Vergangenheit umzugehen. Wir fühlen uns dem ja meistens hilflos ausgeliefert.
Dear Marita, thank you for viewing my film and for your comments. Installing the Stolpersteine was a wonderful experience for me because I met so many kind and caring Germans. It's true that the past can't be changed, but if you live your life with kindness and compassion, that will have a beneficial effect on the future. Best regards, Howard Shattner.
Dear Howard, thank you for your answer. I try to translate: it’s a very affecting document that shows this time a very positive German reality . I’ve also cleaned Stolpersteine in my hometown together with neighbors.I often pass the Stolpersteine and sometimes, I think of the person who was murdered. Often only for a short moment. Nevertheless important , and concrete. It helps us to handle with our terrifying past, normally we are helpless . “The secret of salvation is called remembrance.”
All the best to you, greetings from the Rhineland Marita
Thank you, Marita. Greetings from California!
Thank you. I appreciate that very much!
Best regards,
Howard Shattner
What do the hearts placed under the stones say?
Hi Kitty. I embossed the Hebrew word for life, chayyim, on each copper heart. The hearts represent, symbolically, the gift of love and life for each person whose Stolpersteine was installed that day. What was your reaction to watching my film?
@@Howardlbca Hi Howard! Thank you for your response! I was beyond moved, I can't find any other way to put it. I started with doing a school project on the Stolpersteine and I couldn't stop thinkin about it, even though I visited the ones here in Stockholm, I NEEDED to see how it was done. And I cried. What a powerful thing, this project is. Bless the souls of those you lost, of those we all lost. God bless Gunter. And God bless you and your family, Howard!
@@kittysteffan3684 Dear Kitty. Thank you for sharing the thoughts and feelings you had after viewing my film, and for your kind words. You must be a very empathetic and big-hearted young woman to be so powerfully affected! I am pleased to know that even though ten years have passed since I installed Stolpersteine for six members of my family in Berlin, my film is still touching people from around the world as I hoped it would.
Earlier this year I discovered that I have a Swedish relative named Kaj Fried, a professor at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. That was quite a surprise! We exchanged several emails and I learned that his parents were both Holocaust survivors who were sent to Sweden by the Red Cross after the war, and settled there. His 98 year-old mother, Hedi Fried, is a well-known Holocaust educator and author. You may be interested in reading one of her books. In English it’s called “The Road to Auschwitz,” in Swedish it's called “Skarvor av ett liv. Vagen till och fran Auschwitz.” Please feel free to write to me again at Howard.Shattner@gmail.com
Why are they called stumbling stones? I want this to be a good memorial.
If I am walking along the street, does this stone stick up a little (or down a little) so that I would trip and maybe fall? It doesn't take much to make me trip. I don't want to cause anyone else to trip and fall either. If it trips people, I can't advocate it. Please show a picture of how it looks so I can see whether it would trip me (or others like me).
Hymie, the stones do not stick up a little. They are installed flush with the surrounding cobblestones or sidewalk. The name "stumbling stones" is a little misleading in that sense. Perhaps that's due to the translation from the word in German to English.
The bright shining metal makes your eyes "stumble" over them. In German "stolpern" can be used figureatively as well (like to stumble over a thought in a text - something to make a think, stand still, evaluate).
60000 Steine á 120€, tolle Geschäftsidee..!!
nothing but lies!
What do you mean by this?