"Erasing" the Holocaust: In Germany, the commemoration of victims is being pushed off the streets

The German city of Heidenau has banned the placement of Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) commemorating Nazi victims in public spaces, led by the far-right AfD party. The decision, which drew sharp condemnation from the education minister and Holocaust survivors, stipulates that the stones will be moved to the cemetery, claiming this form of commemoration is inappropriate.

The city of Heidenau in the state of Saxony, Germany, has banned the placement of Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) in public spaces. The decision was passed by the city council with a majority of votes from representatives of the far-right AfD party, classified by German intelligence as right-wing extremist, along with members of the conservative CDU party. The official reasoning: citizens feel this form of commemoration is inappropriate, and the stones should be moved to the Nordfriedhof cemetery to prevent direct stepping on the memorial elements. German Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) sharply condemned the decision, saying that those who banish the stumbling stones from public space to the cemetery prefer death over life and make the Jewish people invisible again. Charlotte Knobloch, a Holocaust survivor and president of the Jewish community in Munich, expressed shock that a democratic party would support a transparent maneuver by AfD extremists. Gunter Demnig, the artist who initiated the project, noted that given the AfD's recent electoral successes, something like this was expected. The article presents the event from a perspective condemning the decision, using sharp quotes from its opponents.