These Stolpersteine, also known as stumbling stones, are an idea by German artist Gunter Demnig. In Dordrecht, you can take a walk along the stones and visit an exhibition.
As you stroll through the city and look down, you are bound to come across Stolpersteine.
Stolpersteine: brass plaque with inscription
The 10 x 10 cm stones in the sidewalk commemorate the victims of National Socialism. The brass plate on the stone states the name, date of birth, date of deportation, and place and date of death of the victim who was persecuted, deported, murdered or forced to commit suicide by the Nazis. The Stolpersteine were, and still are, placed in the sidewalk at the former homes of Jews, Sinti and Roma, political prisoners, conscientious objectors, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses and the disabled.
By 2020, there were about 75,000 Stolpersteine in Europe. Currently, Dordrecht has about 165 stones. The Dordrecht Stolpersteine Working Group wants to eventually have 206 stones laid.
Exhibition Dordrecht-Sobibor
The exhibition "Dordrecht-Sobibor" will be on display in the hall of the City Office in Dordrecht until November 30, 2021. The exhibition introduces visitors to the measures taken by the Nazis during World War II to register, isolate, arrest and deport the Jewish population of Dordrecht. It also focuses on the 44 Dordrecht Jews who were killed in the Polish Nazi extermination camp of Sobibor.
The exhibition was designed by Dordrecht resident Harrie Teunissen and is an initiative of the Dordrecht Stolpersteine Working Group. When the hall of the City Office is open, you can visit the exhibition without charge. The City Office is closed on weekends.
Hiking by yourself
On this website you can find a short route along a number of Stolpersteine. There is also a link to the app or website of izi.TRAVEL with which you can walk the entire route along all Stolpersteine in Dordrecht. During the izi.Travel route, videos and background stories give you interesting information about this impressive history.
