Stumbling Stones Sophienstraße 12

These small, brass, memorial plaques (Stolpersteine or stumbling stones) commemorate:

* Ludwig Weil, born 1873, deported 1941 Lodz, murdered 30-12-1941.
* Henny Weil, born 1925, deported 1941, murdered in Lodz.
* Linda Weil née Herzfeld, born 1887, deported 1941, murdered in Lodz.

Background

Ludwig and Linda Weil owned a textiles store in Frankfurt on Kaiserstrasse 41. They had two children – a daughter Henny (b. 1925) and a son Felix (b. 1927). Henny attended the Philanthropin, a Jewish elementary school.

The textile business was "aryanized" in September 1938, and the family moved to Sophienstrasse 12 – probably a forced move. There they lived on the income from subletting a room.

In 1939 the 12-year-old Felix escaped on a Kindertransport to Great Britain; he moved to the USA after the war. The attempts by the rest of the family to leave Germany did not succeed. On 19 October 1941, Ludwig, Linda, and Henny Weil were deported to Lodz. Ludwig was murdered 2 months later. The dates of the deaths of Linda and Henny are unknown.

"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 victim’s with the 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."

For a photo of Ludwig, Linda, and Henny, please click here.

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries & Anne Palmer
• Photos: Sascha Stefan Ruehlow
• Frankfurt Stolpersteine - Familie Weil
• Stolpersteine.eu