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In a poignant ceremony this week, five new Stolpersteine were unveiled in the city of Detmold, marking a solemn reminder of the lives lost during the Nazi era.
The Stolpersteine, a project initiated by artist Gunter Demnig in the 1990s, serve as a tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. According to Petra Hölscher, chairperson of the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation, these small brass plaques keep the memory of the deceased alive and ensure they remain a part of the community forever.
One of the new Stolpersteine honours the memory of Eduard, Wilhelm, and Emma Hoeveler, who were persecuted as Jehovah's Witnesses during the NS era. The Hoeveler family was forced into slave labour and concentration camps but survived the ordeal and were eventually liberated.
Two more Stolpersteine were unveiled in the city centre, in front of the building at Lange Straße 36, where Frieda and Eduard Kauders once ran their shoe store "Teutonia" and lived. The Kauders were denounced, insulted, and humiliated by the National Socialists, and eventually deported to Auschwitz.
The unveiling ceremony was attended by Mayor Frank Hilker, representatives of the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation in Lippe, and students from Kussselberg School and Gymnasium Leopoldinum. Principal Dr. Alexandra Nolte described the event as a "place of admonition and hope."
Annette Kreiling and Gerd Vogel, two of the six grandchildren of the Hoeveler family, recounted important stations in the life of the Hoevelers at the unveiling site. The students from Gymnasium Leopoldinum performed a play depicting the powerlessness of Frieda and Eduard Kauders against Nazi arbitrariness, and they were ultimately murdered.
The Kussselberg School students, who will maintain the Stolpersteine, sang an inspiring song at the ceremony. Gunter Demnig, the artist responsible for the Stolpersteine, had the idea about 30 years ago to remember individuals by laying Stolpersteine throughout the country.
As of now, there are 116,000 Stolpersteine in more than 1,860 municipalities in 31 European countries, most of them in Germany. The Stolpersteine form the largest decentralized memorial in the world, with 33 Stolpersteine in Detmold, each honouring a victim of the NS era.
Petra Hölscher concluded the commemoration with a Jewish blessing. For more information, please contact Daniela Lang at 05231 977 201. The students from Gymnasium Leopoldinum will be responsible for the maintenance of the Stolpersteine in the future, ensuring that the memory of the victims will continue to live on in the community.
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