'Prague's Stolpersteine - Stumbling Stones' is a book commemorating victims of Nazism. It brings together photographs of the Stolpersteine, portrait pictures of the victims, details of their deportation, and many of their personal stories. (In English)
Author: Trevor Sage
Prague, Czechia
All or nothing. Project finished on Sep 27, 2021 at 14:26.
Stolpersteine is an art project created by German artist Gunter Demnig. It commemorates the victims of National Socialism between 1933 and 1945. These brass-capped blocks bear the name of the victim, their year of birth, date and place of deportation and fate. They are placed outside the person's last chosen place of residence.
Demnig installed the first Stolperstein in Kreuzburg, Berlin in 1996. Today, more than 80,000 are located in over 1,600 towns and cities in 26 countries, making it the largest decentralized monument in the world.
Prague’s first Stolperstein was installed on 8 October 2008. The city’s 400th was laid on 22 June 2021.
My name is Trevor Sage. I was born in London and visited Prague for both business and pleasure many times over the years. During these visits, I fell in love with the beautiful city, and when I retired, I decided to move here.
I was introduced to Stolpersteine on a walking tour through Prague’s fascinating Jewish Quarter when a guide pointed out the small brass cobblestone-like monuments placed in the sidewalk. The guide explained that these were memorials to victims of the Nazi Regime, placed where the victims once lived. He said they were originally called in German ‘Stolpersteine, stumbling Stones; or in Czech ‘Kameny zmizelych’, ‘Stones of the Disappeared’. This translation seemed sadly accurate as many of the stones I saw were dirty, and it wasn't easy to read the names. In my mind, it appeared as if the names were disappearing for a second time. I felt an urge to clean the brass plaques, but I didn't feel it was my place as a foreigner in my adopted home.
Then, in July 2018, I read an article on the BBC about a gentleman in Salzburg, Gerhard Geier, who cleaned all the Stolpersteine in his city. Like me, Geier is not Jewish, nor was his family affected by the Holocaust. Gerhard's action gave me the inspiration and motivation to follow his example and clean the stones in Prague.
I found the location of 284 stones through research, which I then plotted on a map and set about cleaning each one.
So many people became interested in my project I set up the Facebook page Stolpersteine Prague so everyone could follow my progress.
I felt all the information I had gathered about the Stolpersteine: details about the victims and their deportation(s), photographs of the person, and many touching background stories should be brought together into one single publication. The result of my effort is the book:
‘Prague’s Stolpersteine – Stumbling Stones – Defiant in their Memory’.
'Prague's Stolpersteine - Stumbling Stones - Defiant in Their Memory' has been compiled as a tribute to all victims of the Nazi regime who have a Stolperstein placed in the city in their memory. The information comes from many different sources, combining them for the first time into a single publication. Among them:
At the moment, one can stumble across a Stolperstein, read a person’s name, and to where they were deported. The information in this book will help people connect between a Stolperstein and the person to whom they are dedicated, thereby giving the observer a glimpse into the life of a Holocaust victim.
I hope the book will be used in classrooms for pupils to learn about the Stolpersteine Project, the Holocaust and help children discover something about the victims’ lives. As the book is in English, it will also help Czech children practice their foreign language reading skills.
The Nazi regime deprived people of their names and dignity. The Stolpersteine project and this book seek to return the victims' names and present their fates in public, ensuring their names will never be forgotten.
#WeWillRememberThem
My goal is to raise funds to publish this book, particularly for graphic design, copy editing and printing.
Any profit accrued through the sale of this book will be donated to charity.
There are 4 delivery options:
1. If selected, domestic shipping is included as part of your reward.
2. Collection in Prague 2.
3. Depending on your location in Prague, delivery by hand may be possible by arrangement.
4. International shipping rates vary, and the appropriate payment will need to be paid (in addition to your pledge) before shipment.
You will be sent an email requesting payment for postage once the books have been published.
Please see the follow this link for postage rates:
https://www.postaonline.cz/en/kalkulacka-postovneho
The weight of the book is at the 1kg rate (32x22x2cm).
Please take a look at the links below to find out more about me and the Stolpersteine project.
Comments