On Thursday, 5 November, from 9 am, a further 24 Stolpersteine will be laid in Chemnitz (see press release 706). As is traditional, descendants, family members and friends of the victims will also be travelling there for the occasion. One family will be particularly well represented at this year’s laying ceremony: twelve people from two generations of the Firnbacher family and their partners, all of whom now live in Switzerland (Bern, Zurich, Biel, Aarburg and Menziken), are expected to attend.
Media representatives will have the opportunity to conduct interviews.
Among the descendants are Heiner Ritzmann, Dorin Ritzmann, Iris Ritzmann, Eve Stockhammer and Ruth Draths. They are the children of Margarete Firnbacher, grandchildren of Dr Emanuel Firnbacher and Liselotte Firnbacher (née Bing), and great-grandchildren of Frieda Horn (mother of Liselotte Firnbacher). At 11.00 am, Stolpersteine will be laid at Georg-Landgraf-Straße 24 in honour of Dr Emanuel Firnbacher, Liselotte Firnbacher (née Bing), Margarete Firnbacher (married name Ritzmann) and Frieda Horn (née Rosenthal). The descendants will be present and will be available to answer questions afterwards. Some of them will already be present at the ceremonial start of the laying of the stones at 9.00 am on Stefan-Heym-Platz in front of the smac.
Eve Stockhammer is an artist and is currently exhibiting her work at the Stadt- und Marktkirche St. Jakobi (Jakobikirche). Entitled ‘Jiskor – a pearl for every child’, the installation – featuring a curtain made of 1.5 million glass beads – commemorates all the children who lost their lives during the Nazi persecution.
Following the Stolperstein laying ceremony, at around 4 pm, the family will view the installation at the Jakobikirche together and round off the day with the Stolperstein sponsors and the Stolpersteine Working Group. Representatives from the media are also invited to attend.
Further information about the exhibition can be found on the parish’s website.
In addition to members of the Firnbacher family, descendants of the Wiesner and Gerstner families are also expected to attend the Stolperstein laying on 5 November.