Germany Criticized Over Ban on Nazi Memorial Stumbling Stones in Heidenau
Germany faces sharp criticism after Heidenau's city council voted to ban stumbling stones commemorating Nazi victims, with support from the AfD and CDU parties.
A wave of sharp criticism erupted in Germany on Saturday after the city council of Heidenau, located in the state of Saxony, decided to ban the placement of "Stolpersteine" (stumbling stones) – small metal memorial plaques embedded in sidewalks to commemorate Nazi victims. The decision was passed by a majority vote of representatives from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, alongside members of the conservative CDU.
The proposal submitted to the council stated that "many citizens feel that this form of commemorating Nazi victims is inappropriate." According to the decision, the memorial stones will be moved in the future to the city's Nordfriedhof cemetery to "prevent direct stepping on the memorial elements." The Saxony branch of the AfD has been classified by German intelligence services as right-wing extremist, a classification the party rejects.
German Education Minister Karin Prien, a member of the CDU, sharply criticized the decision. "Anyone who banishes stumbling stones and sites of Jewish life from the public space to a cemetery prefers death over life and makes the Jewish people invisible once again," Prien told the Bild newspaper, placing responsibility also on her own party in Saxony.
