Brass against forgetting

Moments full of emotion were in the air on Wednesday. In the presence of numerous descendants of Jewish families, further Stumbling Stones were laid in the city centre.

Set into the pavement, the memorial stones with a brass plate commemorate the tragic fates of people who were persecuted, deported, murdered, driven to their deaths or forced to flee during the National Socialist regime. 19 new Stolpersteine were placed at eight different locations this Wednesday. This means that there are now a total of almost 380 Stolpersteine on the pavements of Chemnitz.</p

Tana Sachs (3rd from left) travelled from Canada with her son Alejandro Limbrunner and his wife Maria travelled from Canada for the laying of the Stolperstein for her mother Hanna Luise Sachs. Mayor Ralph Burghart (2nd from the left) accompanied them to the Stolperstein that had just been ceremonially laid Picture: Kathrin Neumann

These are moments that have a lasting effect: As Tana Sachs stands at Eulitzstraße 7 and looks at the stumbling block for her mother Hanna Luise Sachs, née Cohn, she realises the magnitude. "I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard and enthusiastically to bring history into the present day." The story that is also theirs.

Tana Sachs is one of the last Jewish children born in Chemnitz during the Holocaust. She was born in Chemnitz on 28 December 1938, shortly before her mother Hanna Luise Sachs was able to follow her husband Gerhard Sachs to Argentina in April 1939. Tana's father had already left for Buenos Aires in April 1938. The couple lived in Argentina until their deaths.

"My mother was a remarkable storyteller and a good observer. I grew up with the anecdotes about German Jewish society here in Chemnitz. Our family names are only a small part of the community, but a part of the events of world history."

<p>Tana Sachs now lives in Canada and travelled to Chemnitz especially for the laying of the Stumbling Stones. She was one of almost 60 descendants of Jewish families from Chemnitz who travelled to the city for a meeting this week.

The highlights of this meeting, organised by the association Buntmacher*innen e. V. in cooperation with the City of Chemnitz, were the laying of the Stumbling Stones and the opening of the exhibition "Threads - Verflechtungen" (Threads - Entanglements) in the smac, which shows selected biographies of Jewish families who once lived in Chemnitz. "The Stolpersteine have long since ceased to be a detached individual project, but have a deep impact on the city's society," said Mayor Ralph Burghart at the laying of the stone for Hanna Luise Sachs. "All of the Stolpersteine will be cleaned by many different groups on 9 November. They are used by schoolchildren to learn more about the history of their own town. They are visited by relatives. And every year, sponsors are found to help finance and realise the project."</p

Further information

The lives of all those for whom Stumbling Stones have already been laid in Chemnitz can be found here.

Descendants of Jewish families from Chemnitz immortalise themselves in the city's Golden Book

Picture: Uwe Meinhold

The descendants of 22 Jewish families who once lived in Chemnitz are visiting this week and have signed the city's Golden Book at the invitation of Lord Mayor Sven Schulze. They come from Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Portugal, Sweden, the USA and Israel. In the state-wide theme year "Tacheles 2026 - Year of Jewish Culture in Saxony", they travelled to Chemnitz for a meeting of Jewish families. This was organised by Buntmacher*innen e. V. in cooperation with the city of Chemnitz. Other highlights of the meeting included the laying of stumbling blocks and the opening of the exhibition "Threads - Verflechtungen" ("Threads - Entanglements") at the smac.