All 10 stolpersteine (stumbling stones) in the German city of Zeitz, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, were ripped from the ground on October 7, as Israel and Jews around the world marked the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on southern Israel. The stolpersteine project, created by artist Gunter Demnig, is the world's largest decentralized Holocaust memorial, with more than 100,000 stones in dozens of countries.
The brass stones commemorate victims of the Holocaust by marking their names, birthdates and the date and place of their murder. Each stone is embedded in the pavement outside the last residence the victim lived in before being murdered.
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A stumbling stone that was uprooted in the city of Zeitz, Germany
(Photo: Stolpersteine Initiative)
Though the project has been targeted before – such stones have been defaced with graffiti like "BDS," and threats were made against a volunteer a decade ago – this time, all the stones in the city were torn out and stolen. Local police currently have no leads in the investigation.
In Zeitz, as in many cities across this part of Germany, about 30% of voters support far-right parties, which are intent on reshaping Germany's culture of remembrance. However, the timing of the vandalism on October 7, combined with the severity of the act – removing the stones entirely rather than merely defacing them – has led to suspicions of possible involvement by Muslim immigrants to Germany.
“This is a horrific crime,” wrote Eva von Angern, leader of the Left Party in the state parliament. “Anyone who does this wants to erase the Holocaust from our collective memory. The greatest crime against humanity must remain with us to remind us what people are capable of. This is a vile act, full of historical amnesia.”
Sebastian Stiegler, a city resident and member of the Green Party in parliament, echoed the sentiment. “There’s a reason this crime happened on October 7,” he said. “Antisemitism is rampant in our society, and no Jew, living or dead, is safe from it.”
Similar incidents, where stones were either vandalized or stolen, have occurred in the past, often around significant dates like Kristallnacht. Out of the 122,000 stolpersteine placed in 32 countries to date, around 900 have been reported stolen, according to the artist and the organization that oversees the project.
Other events on October 7, including demonstrations on both sides of the Israel-Gaza war, were relatively peaceful. However, in Berlin’s Neukölln district, which has a large immigrant population, clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and police escalated into riots. Officers used tear gas, and protesters hurled stones and bottles at them, leading to several arrests.
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