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Joint remembrance: Blankenese youth care for stumbling blocks on November 7th!
On November 7, 2025, young people in Blankenese will commemorate the victims of the Nazi regime by caring for stumbling blocks.
Joint remembrance: Blankenese youth care for stumbling blocks on November 7th!
On November 7, 2025, young people from Blankenese clubs and schools will take action to look after the stumbling blocks in their district and thus keep the memories of the victims of National Socialism alive. This initiative, which has been run since 2001 by the Blankenese Sailing Club (BSC) and the citizens' association “Blankenese Miteinander e.V.” is worn not only shows commitment, but also a deep connection to history.
Stolpersteine are small 10 cm concrete cubes that have a brass plate. These bear the names and dates of life of the victims. The project was launched in 1992 by the Cologne artist Gunter Demnig and is considered the largest decentralized memorial in the world, with over 100,000 stones laid by June 2023, many of them in Hamburg. The stumbling blocks are intended to be discovered by chance and invite you to pause and think about the fate of the people who lived in the places where they were laid.
Remembrance and education
In Blankenese, the care of the stumbling blocks not only serves as a reminder, but also as an education. Students give presentations at the respective Stolperstein locations to shed light on the life stories of the murdered. Some of these stories are recorded directly on the stumbling blocks. "Care is more than just cleaning; it is an active remembrance," explains Sören C. Sörensen, the BSC's youth officer, who is organizing the memorial event. This year, some of the stumbling blocks will be redistributed so that the young people can also get to know new fates.
The commemoration traditionally takes place around November 9th, the anniversary of Kristallnacht, which marked a brutal turning point in the history of the Jewish population in Germany in 1938. This year, however, the event will be held a day earlier to allow more students to take part. Apart from the historical analysis, 37 people from Blankenese who were murdered under the Nazi regime are also honored, of which 32 stumbling blocks exist.
Community remembrance work
The Stolpersteine are not only a personal commemoration, but also a community task. Similar initiatives exist in many cities in Germany, where citizens and descendants of the victims take part in memorial events. It becomes clear that this remembering cannot be completed; it is an ongoing responsibility that is embedded in society. The project has also taken hold in other countries, with stumbling blocks installed in cities such as Prague, Paris and many more places.
The Blankenese campaign is therefore not just a locally focused remembrance, but part of a much larger movement that addresses the responsibility of society as a whole to maintain the memory of the horrors of the past. It becomes clear that the care of the Stolpersteine in Blankenese goes far beyond physical cleaning; it is a sign of active commemoration rooted in the community.