Stolpersteine A (; plural ) is a concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. Literal translation, Literally, it means 'stumbling stone' and metaphorically 'stumbling block'. ...

is the German name for small, cobble stone-sized memorials installed all over Europe by German artist

Gunter Demnig Gunter Demnig (born 27 October 1947) is a German artist. He is best known for his ''Stolperstein'' ("stumbling block") memorials to the victims of Nazi persecution, including Jews, homosexuals, Romani people, Romani and the disabled. The project ...

. They remember the fate of the victims of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

being murdered, deported, exiled or driven to suicide. The first Stolperstein in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, the capital of the

Italian region The regions of Italy () are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, five of which are autonomous regions with special status. Under the Con ...

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

, was installed in January 2012. Generally, the stumbling blocks are posed in front of the building where the victims had their last self chosen residence. The Stolperstein for Riccardo Reuven Pacifici was installed at the site of his arrest. The name of the Stolpersteine in Italian is ''pietre d'inciampo''.

Background

The short period of Nazi Germany ruling Italy from September 1943 to April 1945 left major traces of blood and sorrow. The major victims groups in Liguria were

resistance fighters During World War II, resistance movements operated in German-occupied Europe by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation to propaganda, hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. In many countries, r ...

, people of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

origin and military personnel that did not adhere to the German controlled

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic (, ; RSI; , ), known prior to December 1943 as the National Republican State of Italy (; SNRI), but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò (, ), was a List of World War II puppet states#Germany, German puppe ...

Finale Ligure

Genoa

The Jews of

lived, like all Jews of Italy, with limitations of their freedom and suffered periodic expulsions. The "ghetto" was moved to piazza dei Tessitori in 1674. In the 17th century it was planned to move it again, but an expulsion decree prevented the project. However, in recent history Italian Jews did not have to fear for their lives — except during the short and deadly period in which Nazi German occupied large parts of Italy.Genova Quotidiana:
Breve storia del ghetto ebraico a Genova
', 27 November 2015 The synagogue of Genoa was built in 1935 by architect Francesco Morandi. It is located in via Bertora, a few steps from via Assarotti. It was there that the Germans convened a meeting in November 1943. The intention of the Nazis was to arrest all Jews of Genoa in a single stroke. Fifty Jews appeared, among them were also chief rabbi Riccardo Pacifici, his wife and their children of 2 and 4 years. All detainees were deported to

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

on 3 November 1943 where they were all murdered.

Ronco Scrivia

Installation dates

The Stolpersteine of

Genova Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitants ...

were all installed by Gunter Demnig personally. The installations took place at the following dates: * 29 January 2012: Galleria Mazzini * 7 March 2013: Via Roma 1 * 14 January 2017: Via Carlo Barabino 26

External links

Stolpersteine.eu
official website of Gunter Demnig

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Cities By Country That Have Stolpersteine

Stolpersteine Holocaust commemoration Liguria Genoa 2012 sculptures 2013 sculptures