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Stumbling Stones Oranienburger Straße 1

This memorial stone (stolperstein or stumbling block) commemorates Dr. Julius Blumenthal:

* Here worked lawyer Dr. Julius Blumenthal, born 1900, detained as a hostage, Sachsenhausen, murdered 3 December 1942.

Julius Blumenthal earned a doctorate in law and worked as a lawyer at this address. Starting in 1933 with the ban on Jewish lawyers, Dr. Blumenthal worked for the Jewish community. He was a legal advisor to the editor and was Head of the Legal Department of the "Jüdischen Nachrichtenblatts", the last Jewish newspaper in the Nazi era, published 1938-1943. In 1942, the Gestapo forced the Jewish community to put some of the employees on a list for deportation. Most of them ran away. In retaliation, the Nazis arrested eight hostages, including Julius Blumenthal. Shortly after their deportation, all eight were assassinated in Sachsenhausen.

"Stolpersteine" is an art project for Europe by Gunter Demnig to commemorate victims of National Socialism (Nazism). Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) are small, 10x10cm brass plaques placed in the pavement in front of the last voluntary residence of (mostly Jewish) victims who were murdered by the Nazis. Each plaque is engraved with the victim’s name, date of birth, and place (mostly a concentration camp) and date of death. By doing this, Gunter Demnig gives an individual memorial to each victim. One stone, one name, one person. He cites the Talmud: "A human being is forgotten only when his or her name is forgotten."

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