Heidenau City Council Bans New Holocaust Memorial Stones After Joint CDU-AfD Motion
The city council of Heidenau, Saxony, voted on September 24, 2026, to reject future installation of Stolpersteine (brass memorial plaques for Nazi victims) in public sidewalks. The motion, jointly submitted by the CDU and AfD, passed 13-6 with one abstention. The council proposed a memorial at the North Cemetery instead. The city administration had recommended rejecting the motion. Critics called the decision a form of antisemitism. Existing Stolpersteine are unaffected.
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Heidenau Stops Stolpersteine: Names Disappear from Public Space a Second Time
The town of Heidenau in Saxony, Germany, has decided to stop laying new Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) – the brass plaques commemorating victims of the Nazi regime. The decision follows a joint motion by the local CDU and AfD factions. Katja Demnig of the 'Stiftung – Spuren – Gunter Demnig' foundation, which oversees the project, expressed dismay in an interview with WELT. She warned that halting the memorial project causes the names of the victims to 'disappear a second time from the public space,' echoing their erasure during the Nazi era. The report highlights a local political controversy over Holocaust remembrance in Germany.
Read sourceGerman Town Heidenau Halts Holocaust Memorial Stones After Joint CDU-AfD Motion
The Saxon town of Heidenau has decided to stop installing further Stolpersteine (stumbling stones), the small brass memorial plaques commemorating victims of the Nazi regime. The decision follows a joint motion by the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the local council. Katja Demnig of the 'Stiftung – Spuren – Gunter Demnig' foundation, which oversees the project, expressed dismay in an interview with WELT. She warned that the decision causes the names of the victims to 'disappear a second time from the public space,' drawing a parallel to the Nazi-era erasure of Jewish lives. The move marks a significant local political shift and has sparked debate about memory culture in Germany.
Read sourceCDU joins AfD in vote against Holocaust memorial Stolpersteine in Saxon town Heidenau
In Heidenau, Saxony, city councilors from the CDU and AfD jointly submitted a motion to reject the installation of further Stolpersteine (brass-plated cobblestones commemorating Nazi victims) in public streets and sidewalks. The motion passed with 13 votes in favor, 6 against, and 1 abstention. The city administration had recommended rejecting the motion, arguing that public presence enables broad engagement with history. The International Auschwitz Committee's Vice President Christoph Heubner called the CDU's cooperation with the AfD a 'scandal' and a 'shabby attempt' to remove victims' memory from public space. The article notes that Stolpersteine exist at two sites in Heidenau, including one for former mayor Paul Gröger, and that a local cultural center had applied to lay more. The report also mentions that Munich has a different policy, placing memorial plaques on private property instead.
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Heidenau Bans New Stolpersteine After Joint Motion by AfD and CDU
The city council of Heidenau, Saxony, voted on Thursday evening to reject the installation of new Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) in public streets and sidewalks in the future. The decision was based on a joint motion submitted by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Stolpersteine are small brass plaques embedded in the pavement to commemorate victims of the Nazi regime. The move has been criticized as a form of antisemitism, as the memorials honor Jewish and other persecuted individuals. The ban applies only to new stones; existing Stolpersteine in Heidenau are not affected by the council's decision.
Read sourceHeidenau council bans new Stolpersteine after joint motion by CDU and AfD
The city council of Heidenau, Saxony, voted on September 24, 2026, to reject the installation of new Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) in public streets and sidewalks. The decision followed a joint motion by the far-right AfD, the center-right CDU, and the local Bündnis Oberelbe alliance. In a secret ballot, 13 council members voted in favor, six against, and one abstained. The motion argued that pedestrians 'consciously or unconsciously' walk over the names of Nazi victims, with one AfD councilor stating, 'In Berlin, people spit on Stolpersteine.' The council instead proposed creating a memorial site, preferably at the Nordfriedhof cemetery, where 'direct stepping on the memorial elements is excluded.' The city administration had recommended rejecting the motion, arguing that remembrance should remain visible in public spaces. Critics called the decision 'a form of antisemitism.' Heidenau already has Stolpersteine at two locations, including one commemorating former mayor Paul Gröger. A local cultural center had applied for additional stones last year.
German town Heidenau bans new Stolpersteine after joint motion by CDU and AfD
The city council of Heidenau, Saxony, voted on September 24, 2026, to ban the installation of new Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) in public sidewalks, approving a joint motion by the far-right AfD, the center-right CDU, and the local Oberelbe alliance. The vote was 13 in favor, 6 against, with one abstention, held in secret ballot. The motion argued that pedestrians 'consciously or unconsciously' walk over the names of Nazi victims, with one AfD councilor stating, 'In Berlin, people spit on Stolpersteine.' The council decided to create a memorial area on the North Cemetery instead, where 'direct stepping on the memorial elements is excluded.' The city administration had recommended rejecting the motion, stating that remembrance should remain visible in public space. Heidenau already has Stolpersteine at two locations, including one for former mayor Paul Gröger. A local cultural center had applied for additional stones last year. Critics at the meeting called the decision 'a form of antisemitism.'
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