Stumbling Stones: The Story Under Our Feet
And a hint about the future.
Stumbling stones kept me riveted on a recent trip to Europe. Embedded in the pavement in German cities, the metal plaques commemorate the lives of people who died under Hitler’s regime.
Artist Gunter Demnig conceived the stones, and started out creating each one himself. His work builds on words from the Talmud: "a person is only forgotten when his or her name is forgotten.” Each stumbling stone carries one name: a child, a shop owner, an artist, a parent, a teacher or a neighbor. Almost all of them start with the words “Here Lived.” The “stones” are made of brass, the metal making them stand out from the pavement.
The stones force passersby see the reality of evil, and how easy it to let it creep in. The artist wants us to stumble over the truth.
In the basement of The Unted States Holocaust Memorial Museum, there’s an exhibit of enlarged black and white photographs, showing Jewish people being rounded up by Nazi soldiers. Each picture shows bystanders watching, standing across the street, or on a nearby hilltop. There are dozens of people looking on without the will…or the courage…or the freedom…to do anything.
Like the stumbling stones, they raise more questions than they answer. Who benefited when these people left their stores, full of merchandise? Who helped themselves to the clothes left behind in their closets? Who took over their fully furnished apartments, used their dishes, and ate the food in their cupboards?
As U.S. voters talk about how they voted for someone who could deliver cheaper milk or gas, I fear we’re nearing the same place. We’re choosing our own advantage over other’s needs, and prizing our own fear over our neighbors’ lives.
I know I could easily be one of the bystanders, not understanding what I’m seeing until it’s too late. Evil relies on all of us “good people” thinking things like:
It’s not that bad.
Maybe I’m wrong about what I’m seeing.
I’ll do something next time.
Someone else will help.
If something were really wrong, someone would do something.
Some people don’t know what to do, some people are fine with what happens to other people, and others take action. I’m stumbling over which one I might be, when the time comes.
If you’re squeamish, stop reading here.
For a total change of pace, here’s a book I loved this year: Tits Up, an investigative and witty look at how plastic surgeons, nursing moms, bra designers and sex workers see breasts. Unexpectedly riveting and full of things to consider! The publisher’s blurb says, “After years of biopsies, best-selling author Sarah Thornton made the difficult decision to have a double mastectomy. But, after her reconstructive surgery, she was perplexed: What had she lost? And gained?... Thornton draws insights from plastic surgeons, lactation consultants, body-positive witches, lingerie models, and “free the nipple” activists to explore the status of breasts as emblems of femininity. She examines how women’s chests have become a billion-dollar business, as well as a stage for debates about race, class, gender, and desire.”
I found this blog entry to be quite thought-provoking since I have taken a strong personal interest in those who risked their lives to save their Jewish brothers and sisters. Thousands of brave souls who displayed such bravery that I don't think I could ever have showed. One of the most noteworthy was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor, who was executed for his participation in a plot to kill Hitler. The British and American spies' sagas have also been very interesting. Considered perhaps the most daring was Virginia Hall, an American who wanted to serve in the U.S. Foreign Service when women were rarely accepted. But she persisted and finally did coordinate all the spy efforts in France. She was known as the "Limping Lady" since she had a prosthetic device on one leg. The metal plates you show are a small but significant way of remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Were it possible to create about 6 million with one for each and every victim.
In a similar fashion, we should never stop recognizing those who resisted and often died advocating for civil rights during the Jim Crow era. Recently visited Little Rock, AR and learned the story of the Little Rock Nine and those who supported them attempting to integrate the public schools in the late 50s. There have been thousands of brave souls who dared. MLK, Jr., when asked about the white supremacists, Christian Nationalists, and racists, answered that he was more concerned about the comfortable, safe white folks who stood by and watched rather than taking the more dangerous route to step forward on behalf of those who were being persecuted.
I, too, fear for the immediate future of our own country when you hear about these possible "roundups". The myopia of those who are more concerned about the costs of milk or gas than about those who may lose their fundamental freedoms over the next several months is beyond belief.
It is said that history repeats itself.
I have been to Germany and parts of Europe but have never seen these brass plates that recognize those who were taken. A little research indicates this practice started in 1992. Like others who post here, I am worried about our future.
In Nuremberg, the Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds, features a Fascination and Terror exhibition examing the cause, context and consequences of Nazi activity. Film and print showed how Hitler was viewed as a popular figure, almost like a rock star, with girls following him and comparing the number of times they had been at a gathering of him. The propaganda set the stage for Hitler's actions. The same type of propaganda tha we see in use today to set us against one another. Frightening.