On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, not only pavement was laid in Bautzen. Memories were awakened, hearts were touched and a sign against forgetting was set. The Cologne artist Gunter Demnig, the initiator of the Europe-wide Stolperstein project, visited the city to lay three of these special memorial stones.
A community project that moves
The driving force behind the new Stolpersteine is Dr. Monika Schöne. She became aware of the project through an event at the Bautzen Museum and did not hesitate to offer her support. Together with students from the Bischofswerda high school, she delved deep into the tragic history of the Hamburger family and presented a moving lecture that left no listener untouched.
The Hamburgers: a family that must not be forgotten
The Jewish Hamburger family was once a pillar of the Bautzen community. Julius Hamburger, a respected businessman, and his family lived in a villa at 8 Wallstrasse, but their lives were brutally destroyed on Reichspogromnacht. Humiliated, tortured and dispossessed, they fled their hometown, only to be murdered later in Riga. The newly laid Stolpersteine serve as silent witnesses to their suffering and as a reminder to us all.
An appeal for humanity
Mayor Heiko Nowak found moving words at the end: "These 39 Stolpersteine in Bautzen are more than just memorial stones. They are an appeal to our humanity, a reminder of how important it is to seek dialogue and uphold the values of peace in these uncertain times."
