Walking along my hotel’s street in Frankfurt, I came upon one of the most powerful memorials I’ve ever seen. I could have missed it.
On the sidewalk in front of Hebelstrasse 13, I saw metal squares among the paving stones.
Each of 22 squares carried a name and a story: Here resided Herbert Weichsel, born on this date, deported on this date, murdered in Minsk. One can’t help but look up at the apartment house, hear their voices, sense the tragedy and crime at eye level.
Actually you can find these memorials, the so called “Stolpersteine” (stumbling blocks) all over germany. It is a project initiated by artist GUNTER DEMNIG in 1997 / 2000
Since then these stones are laid by a multitude of grassroot initiatives all over germany.
More information can be found at http://www.stolpersteine.com/start.html and http://www.stolpersteine.org (Stolpersteine in Hamburg)
And http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolpersteine of course …
They have it in Austria, too: http://www.steinedererinnerung.net/
[...] http://www.buzzmachine.com/2008/10/19/a-powerful-memorial/ [...]
As I recall, there are two such Stolpersteine embedded in the sidewalk along the street linking the U.S. Consulate General and the compound where all of its American staff are housed in Frankfurt. It’s about a 20 minute walk (if you don’t take the bus instead), and the little memorials are sober food for thought along the way.
I’ve linked back to you here: http://consul-at-arms.blogspot.com/2008/10/re-powerful-memorial.html
[...] I found this blog interesting because it does discuss all the hot and controversial media issues and provides some heated debate it also allows the reader (journalist cadet) the chance to follow Jess Jarvis, a successful journalist, on his career path. One post that I found interesting was his trip to Germany where he found himself quoted on a wall at the Frankfurt Book Fair which, would be quite a nice feeling I presume. Also having a look at what he found facinating in Frankfurt the stolpersteins. [...]