German Town Heidenau Bans 'Stumbling Stone' Holocaust Memorials

Sun Sep 27 2026 11:06:50 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A small Saxon town removes pavement plaques remembering Nazi victims, sparking national debate over remembrance and right‑wing influence.

In Heidenau near Dresden, a town council vote has banned the Stolpersteine – small brass plaques placed in the streets to honour Holocaust victims. Critics, including the CDU’s education minister, slammed the move as a scandal that erases memory in public spaces. The decision follows rising support for the right‑wing AfD and mirrors similar bans in other German towns. Historians and Jewish community leaders warn that removing the stones reduces everyday encounters with history. The backlash highlights a national conflict over how Germany remembers its past.

What Happened in Heidenau?

Heidenau, a small town east of Dresden, voted to ban the Stolpersteine – little brass plaques that are laid into the pavement in front of the houses where Jewish victims once lived or worked. The decision came from a coalition of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) councillors.

Why the Controversy?

The education minister for Saxony, Karin Prien, called the ban a "scandal", arguing that removing public memorials turns remembrance into a private, cemetery‑only activity. A representative from the Jewish community, Holocaust survivor Charlotte Knobloch, said the move "stomped on the idea of decentralized remembrance."

The Wider Context

Since the 1990s, Stolpersteine have become a familiar sight across Europe, a grassroots way to keep the names of victims close to everyday life. In recent years the AfD’s growing electoral success in eastern German states is seen by many as a threat to Germany’s collective memory. Critics warn that ruling parties that side with the AfD risk erasing public space from the Holocaust’s history.

Photo: Stumbling stones placed in a Dutch neighbourhood – Getty Images