Gunter Demnig (born 27 October 1947 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

) is a German artist. He is best known for his ''

Stolperstein A (; plural ; literally 'stumbling stone', metaphorically a 'stumbling block') is a sett-size, concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. The project, initia ...

'' ("stumbling block") memorials to the victims of

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

persecution, including Jews, homosexuals,

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

and the disabled. The project places engraved brass stones in front of a former residence for a

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

victim who was deported and murdered by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, began in Germany and has since spread, with more than 90,000 stones placed across 26 countries in Europe.

Biography

Gunter Demnig grew up in

Nauen Nauen is a small town in the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is chiefly known for Nauen Transmitter Station, the world's oldest preserved radio transmitting installation. Geography Nauen is situated within the Havelland Luch gla ...

and Berlin and acquired his '' abitur'' in 1967. Later that year, he began studying creative education at

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universit ...

with Professor Herbert Kaufmann. From 1969 to 1970, he studied industrial design there. In 1971, he transferred to the '' Kunsthochschule Kassel'', resuming his study of creative education and passed the first state examination in 1974. That same year, he began studying art with Harry Kramer at the

University of Kassel The University of Kassel (german: link=no, Universität Kassel) is a university founded in 1971 located in Kassel, Hessen, in central Germany. As of February 2022 it had about 25,000 students and about 3300 staff, including more than 300 profe ...

. Following that, he spent two years planning, building and managing historical monuments, from 1977 to 1979. From 1980 to 1985, Demnig was an artistic-scientific colleague on the art faculty at the University of Kassel. In 1985, he opened his own studio in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

and worked on numerous local projects. Since 1994, he has also been involved with the ''IGNIS-Kulturzentrum'' (IGNIS Cultural Center). Demnig's best known work is what he calls ''Stolpersteine''. ''

'' (in the singular) is the German word for "stumbling block". Demnig's ''Stolpersteine'' are small, cobblestone-sized brass memorials for the victims of

National Socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...

. Set into the pavement of sidewalks in front of the buildings where

victims once lived or worked, they call attention both to the individual victim and the scope of the

Nazi war crimes The governments of the German Empire and Nazi Germany (under Adolf Hitler) ordered, organized and condoned a substantial number of war crimes, first in the Herero and Namaqua genocide and then in the First and Second World Wars. The most notabl ...

. By 2017, about 61,000 ''Stolpersteine'' had been laid in 21 countries in Europe, making the project the world's largest memorial.

Works

*1980: Odor marks, Cassel-Paris *1981: Blood spot, Kassel-London *1988: Travel to

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

*1993: Conceives '' Stolpersteine'' project *1997: First two ''Stolpersteine'' installed at the invitation of

Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service Gedenkdienst is the concept of facing and taking responsibility for the darkest chapters of one's own country's history while ideally being financially supported by one's own country's government to do so. Founded in Austria in 1992 by Andreas Ma ...

founder Andreas Maislinger for the brothers Matthias and

Johann Nobis Johann Nobis (born 16 April 1899, St. Georgen bei Salzburg, Austria; died 6 January 1940, Plötzensee Prison, Berlin, Germany) was an Austrian conscientious objector. Life Johann Nobis was born to a farmer in the Holzhausen municipality St. G ...

, with legal permit from St. Georgen (near

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

)"''Stolpersteine'' zur mahnenden Erinnerung"
Press release, Austrian news archive. (July 17, 1997) *2000: Project ''Stolpersteine'' continues, acquiring permits to install the memorials

Shows

*1982:

Alte Oper Alte Oper (Old Opera) is a concert hall in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. It is located in the inner city, Innenstadt, within the banking district Bankenviertel. Today's Alte Oper was built in 1880 as the city's opera house, which was destr ...

, Frankfurt am Main *1986: ''Kunsthalle Baden-Baden'', Museum of the City of Cologne *1991: ''Kunstlerhaus Bethanien'', Berlin *1995:

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

Stolpersteine in different countries

* ''Austria'':

Stolpersteine in the district of Braunau am Inn The Stolpersteine in the district of Braunau am Inn are small, cobble stone-sized memorials to the former residents of the district who perished at the hands of the Nazis during the Third Reich. Conceived and installed by Cologne artist Gunter Demn ...

* ''Belgium'': Stolpersteine in Charleroi * ''Czech Republic'': ''Prague'':

Josefov Josefov (also Jewish Quarter; german: Josefstadt) is a town quarter and the smallest cadastral area of Prague, Czech Republic, formerly the Jewish ghetto of the town. It is surrounded by the Old Town. The quarter is often represented by the flag ...

Malá Strana Malá Strana (Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or more formally Menší Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant center o ...

, Vršovice and Modřany — Královéhradecký kraj, Ústecký kraj * ''Germany'': Lake Constance district, Weingarten * ''Netherlands'' * Ireland: St Catherine's school, Donore Avenue, Dublin https://www.holocausteducationireland.org/news-events/embedding-of-irelands-first-stolpersteine

References

External links

Stolpersteine website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demnig, Gunter 1947 births Living people German artists Stolpersteine Articles containing video clips Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg