Stolpersteine NRW

Stumbling blocks commemorate the victims of National Socialism. With texts, photos, audio, graphic stories and augmented reality elements, the app provides interactive information about people who lived on your street or in your city during the Nazi era: NRW stumbling blocks bring history to life.

In North Rhine-Westphalia there are around 15,000 stumbling blocks that have been laid in more than 250 cities. Each stone commemorates a person who became a victim of National Socialism.
Stolpersteine ​​NRW leads interactively to where the victims last lived before they were forced to flee, commit suicide or be deported.
Stolpersteine ​​NRW provides information about the individual life stories of the victims, for example in the form of:

- biographical texts and audio stories
- artistic illustrations in the form of graphic stories
- historical photos, sound recordings and videos
- Augmented Reality content

In addition, there is the following content:

- Map with all Stolperstein locations
- Suggestions for stumbling block routes through North Rhine-Westphalian cities
- Teaching material (in cooperation with "Planet Schule")
- Interactive filters for searching and research in all 15,000 data records

Experts from more than 150 North Rhine-Westphalian cities have supported this project. The project would not have been possible without their knowledge and research support.

We look forward to feedback to stolpersteine@wdr.de!

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FAQs:

What are stumbling blocks?
- Stumbling blocks are 10x10cm brass plates embedded in sidewalks with basic information about a victim of National Socialism. They will mostly last
known place of residence before the flight or deportation / flight.

Why are there stumbling blocks?
- The artist Gunter Demnig laid the stumbling blocks as part of his project to commemorate the victims of National Socialism.

How many stumbling blocks are there? And where can you see them?
- In Europe (mainly in Germany) around 90,000 stumbling blocks have been laid so far. In the past almost 30 years, the largest decentralized monument in the world was created. In NRW there are around 15,000 stumbling blocks in more than 250 cities. The first stumbling blocks were laid in Cologne in 1992. More follow year after year.