Germany, 2022

The Stolpersteine or “stepping stones” monument acknowledges and documents the sites where Jews, Sinti, and Roma were taken from and imprisoned by the Nazis in World War II.

Roughly 4” x 4” in size, each stone is brass-covered, set in pavement, and etched with the names and fates of those killed. A project by the artist Günter Demnig begun in Germany in 1994, Stolpersteine is an ongoing memorial that has worked with descendant families to install more than 100,000 markers across Germany and Europe.

The juxtaposition of these small stones, each marking one person’s story, set against modern street life is jarring. And a powerful reminder that the past is always a part of the present.

For more information on this memorial, please visit the project’s website : https://www.stolpersteine.eu/en/

All images here by Robyn Reed.