A further 16 stumbling blocks commemorate victims of National Socialism

There are already 48 Stolpersteine in Chemnitz commemorating victims of National Socialism. The small stones with a brass plate, set in front of the last voluntarily chosen place of residence of those persecuted, bear the name and some dates of life of the victims. A further 16 stones will now be added at nine locations this year.

On 2 November, initiator and artist Günter Demnig will lay the stones. He will begin at 9 a.m. at Hoffmannstraße 52, where three Stolpersteine will be laid for the well-known Goeritz family of entrepreneurs. Karl Goeritz (1900-1939) and his children Frank-Stefan (1932 - 1939) and Irene Beatrice (1938 - 1939) drowned during the crossing to Chile when the MS Simon Bolivar ran into a minefield and sank. Ingrid Mössinger, Director of the Kunstsammlungen, and her staff will act as sponsors.

Media representatives are cordially invited to attend the ceremony.

Procedure for the laying of the Chemnitz Stumbling Stones on Friday, 2 November

9 a.m. - Hoffmannstraße 52:

Karl Goeritz (born 1900) was the youngest son of the textile manufacturer Siegmund Goeritz. He was one of the most important private art collectors in the city of Chemnitz around 1930, but had to flee the city with his family to Holland in 1937. He, his son Frank-Stefan Goeritz (born 1932) and daughter Irene Beatrice Goeritz (born 1938) drowned during the crossing to Chile on 18 November 1939 when the MS Simon Bolivar ran into a minefield off the English coast and capsized. His wife was the only family member to survive.
Godparents: Ingrid Mössinger and employees of the Chemnitz Art Collections

9:45 a.m. - Kopernikusstraße 16

Hugo Sussmann (born 1881) was forced into forced labour after the liquidation of his company Gebrüder Sussmann AG. The fact that he boarded a tram compartment that was not authorised for Jews was his undoing. He was arrested in Chemnitz in 1944 and deported to Auschwitz. He was murdered there on 12 August 1944. His son Julius Sussmann (born 1922) was able to flee to Holland in 1939. However, he was unable to make a new start. He became lonely and committed suicide in Amsterdam on 12 August 1940.
Sponsor: Zebra Werbeagentur GmbH

10:20 a.m. - Brückenstraße 14:

Dr Alfred Lachmann (born 1889) was taken into "protective custody" in Buchenwald in 1938 and deported "to the East" on 13 July 1942. He was murdered there by the National Socialists. His wife Helene Lachmann (born 1890) met the same fate. She was deported to the Belzyce ghetto on 10 May 1942 with over 1,000 Jews from central Germany and murdered. Son Werner Konrad Lachmann (born 1924) had moved to Berlin involuntarily in 1939 and was deported from there to Auschwitz on 29 January 1943 and murdered.
Sponsors: Students and teachers of the Georgius-Agricola-Gymnasium Chemnitz

10:50 a.m. - Matthesstrasse 15

David Leib Nachmann (born 1882), who came to Chemnitz from Russian Poland in the early 1900s, was deported to Poland in 1938. He was arrested in Chemnitz in 1939, taken to Buchenwald and murdered in the Bernburg "euthanasia" centre on 12 March 1942. There was no sign of his daughter Hanni Nachmann (born 1922) after 1938. She was declared dead in 1945.
Sponsor: Rösler family

11:30 a.m. - Zschopauer Straße 107

Avram Avramovici (born 1885) from Romania and his wife Alta Basia Avramovici (born 1889) were deported to the Belzyce ghetto on 10 May 1945. They tried to escape but were caught and murdered.
Sponsor: Deborah Oppenheimer

12:00 pm - Brauhausstraße 30

Ludwig Kohn (born 1878): He was expelled to the CSR in 1934 as a Czechoslovakian citizen. As he was very politically active, he was deported to Auschwitz and murdered there on 8 June 1943.
Sponsors: SPD parliamentary group of the Chemnitz City Council

12:25 pm - Apollostraße 4

Dagobert Culp (born 1882): He was arrested in Chemnitz in 1938 for "racial defilement". He was sent to Bautzen prison in 1939. A year later he was taken to Sachsenhausen and died on 7 February 1940.
Sponsor: Dieter Lehmann

13:00 - Untere Aktienstraße 14

Rosa Brudner (born Rosa Granditz in 1884): She was deported to the Belzyce ghetto on 10 May 1942 and murdered.
Godfather: Hermann Brudner

13:35 - Hilbersdorfer Straße 66:

Anna Neubert (born Anna Hertel in 1885): She was murdered due to mental illness as part of Aktion T4 (Nazi "euthanasia") on 23 October 1940 in Pirna-Sonnenstein.
Sponsor: Ev.-luth. Trinitatis-Kirchgemeinde

Hoffmannstraße will be closed on 2 November from 8:45 to 9:30 a.m. in the area of house number 52 to ensure a dignified and disruption-free event. Traffic obstructions must be expected for a short time as the event continues.

Information about the project:

The concept of the "Stumbling Stones" comes from the Cologne sculptor Gunter Demnig. The "Stumbling Stones" honour citizens who were victims of the National Socialist regime. The aim is to commemorate the fate of people who were murdered, deported, expelled or driven to suicide during the Hitler fascist era. The 10 x 10 cm Stumbling Stones are set into the pavement in front of the house where the people to be honoured had their last address. The name and dates of life of the victims are engraved on the brass plate of the concrete stones.

In Chemnitz, the Chemnitz City Association of the Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime / League of Anti-Fascists suggested the laying of Stumbling Stones in Chemnitz in November 2005. He found support from the city administration and the city council. The costs for the production and laying of a stone are borne by a sponsor. 64 of these special, cautionary signs of remembrance of the tragic fates of their namesakes will be laid in Chemnitz on 2 November.

Every citizen has the opportunity to sponsor the production and laying of a Stolperstein. Contact and contact person: Enquiries should be addressed to the Chemnitz City Association of the VVN/BdA, Rosenplatz 4, 09126 Chemnitz - call 0371/ 538 27 19.

The contact person for the campaign at the City of Chemnitz is Andreas Liese, Mayor's Office, phone 0371/488-1523, mobile 0151 12179443, e-mail: andreas.liese@stadt-chemnitz.de