Association for memorial culture

Stumbling block for Johann Moser in Graz

The Association for Memorial Culture is a registered association that is laying stumbling blocks in the Styrian capital Graz together with the German artist Gunter Demnig . These memorial stones are laid in the sidewalk in front of the last voluntarily chosen place of residence and remind of the fate of the people who were deported, murdered, expelled or driven to suicide by the National Socialists.

The initiative is largely supported by the former politician Daniela Grabe , as chairwoman of the association, as well as by the board members Antony Scholz , David Kriebernegg , Margarethe Makovec and Alexander Baldele as well as a number of individuals. Historical advice is provided by the historian Thomas Stoppacher , who works at the Graz Center for Jewish Studies .

In 2016 the association received the Human Rights Prize of the State of Styria .

society

The members and supporters of the association include - in addition to the City of Graz , the Province of Styria , the Society for Civic Education , the National Fund of the Republic of Austria and the Future Fund of the Republic of Austria - all major religious communities, the victim associations and a number of interested individuals.

aims

The association “advocates the promotion of commemorative culture in Graz, in particular the promotion of visible and public commemoration and remembrance of the victims of National Socialism ”, is its brief self-definition. The institution's first task was to implement the Stolpersteine project in Graz by the Cologne artist Gunter Demnig.

The association works across groups of victims, i. H. it consciously takes into account (like the comparable projects in Salzburg and Wiener Neustadt) all groups of victims: Jewish women, men and children, victims of political, religious, ethnic persecution, those “who were murdered because of their sexual orientation” and people whose “lives as “Unworthy” was considered to be the victims of so-called euthanasia .

Laying the stumbling blocks

→ Main article : List of stumbling blocks in Styria

On April 23, 2013, the association organized a lecture by Gunter Demnig at the GrazMuseum entitled “A person is only forgotten when his name is forgotten”. This event marked the start of the Graz Stolperstein project. Just three months later, on July 27, 2013, Demnig laid the first Stolpersteine ​​in Graz.

With 93 stumbling blocks laid, the association is currently in third place of all cities in Austria, after Salzburg (with 356) and Wiener Neustadt (with around 100), far ahead of Hallein (40), Neunkirchen (34), Mödling (32) and Klagenfurt ( 24). (As of May 2017)

Memorial walks

A major concern of the association is the mediation work, especially for future generations. So-called commemorative walks are offered free of charge , which - designed to be age-appropriate - want to convey the life stories of the victims using the oral history approach.

Presumed damage to stumbling blocks

According to a statement from the State Police Directorate, in February 2015 and between December 2015 and February 2016 some stumbling blocks were "sprayed with acid or blue paint". The substances used were named "sulfuric acid and nitric acid". The excitement about this subsided after investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Office had found out that the blue discoloration was caused "by the use of special road salt, which is said to be particularly environmentally friendly".

gallery

• 

  Stumbling blocks for the Silberstein family

• 

  Stumbling blocks for the Gertler family

• 

  Stumbling block for
  Alfred Mitkrois

• 

  Stumbling blocks for the Herzog family

• 

  Stumbling stone for
  Othmar von Gadolla

Award

• 2016 Human Rights Prize of the State of Styria , awarded by the Styrian Provincial Government

See also

• List of places with stumbling blocks
• Stolpersteine ​​Salzburg , initiative to relocate the Stolpersteine ​​in Salzburg
• Stolpersteine ​​for Wiener Neustadt , initiative to relocate the stumbling blocks in Wiener Neustadt

Web links

Commons : Stolpersteine ​​in Graz  - Collection of images

• Stolpersteine ​​Graz , official website of the association

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ZVR: 363668900 queried May 22, 2017.
2. ^ Institute for Historical Intervention (IEHI): Remembrance projects in Austria: Stolpersteine ​​Salzburg , accessed on April 24, 2016.
3. ^ Business card from Stoppacher, Thomas; Mag.phil. Bakk.phil. - UNIGRAZonline - Karl-Franzens-University Graz. Retrieved September 23, 2019 . 
4. ↑ My district: Soon stumbling blocks in Graz? ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 23, 2013, accessed May 21, 2017.
5. ↑ Stolpersteine ​​Graz: Mediation .
6. ↑ Der Standard (Vienna): Four "stumbling blocks" damaged again in Graz , February 4, 2016, accessed on May 22, 2017.
7. ↑ Der Standard (Vienna): Grazer Stolpersteine ​​deliberately damaged , March 3, 2015, accessed on May 22, 2017.
8. ^ ORF Styria: Road salt discolored "stumbling blocks" in Graz , May 4, 2016, accessed on May 22, 2017.
9. ↑ orf.at: Daniela Grabe receives human rights award . Article dated March 7, 2017, accessed March 7, 2017.