Demnig

Günter Demnig (born 1947) is a German artist best known for initiating the Stolpersteine project, a major European memorial to victims of the Nazi regime. The concept began in 1992 in Cologne and involves placing small brass plaques, embedded in sidewalks, in front of the last chosen residences of individuals persecuted by the Nazis. Each stone bears the victim’s name, birth year, and fate, typically including deportation and murder dates. The stones are designed to be encountered in daily life, turning ordinary streets into personal memorials.

Since its inception, the project has expanded beyond Germany into many European countries, with thousands of stones laid and memorials for tens of thousands of victims. The commemorated individuals include Jews, political dissidents, Roma and Sinti, LGBTQ+ people, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others who suffered under Nazi persecution. Demnig oversees installations and conducts archival research to verify details, often collaborating with local communities to obtain consent from property owners.

The Stolpersteine project is widely praised as a participatory form of remembrance that integrates memory into everyday life, but it has also sparked criticism regarding the use of public space, consent, and the memorial’s scale. Demnig’s work positions him as a central figure in contemporary European memory culture and memorial practice.