Stumbling Stone Grotestraat 61

This small brass memorial plaque (Stolperstein or stumbling stone) commemorates:

* Jan de Boer, born 1919, arrested 25 April 1944, deported 1944 from Amersfoort, murdered 15 January 1945, Borna.

On 22 April 1944, two members of the Groningen resistance shot a state police lieutenant who worked for the German occupiers. The lieutenant died of his injuries. The next day the Germans murdered a contractor in revenge. On 25 April, 1,000 German Security Service officers conducted raids in Bedum and other villages and arrested hundreds, including laborer Jan de Boer. The next morning the prisoners were put on a train to Amersfoort Transit Camp. On 28 June, each man was to send home a letter which demanded food, clothing, money, and identification papers for his upcoming "voluntary" work in Germany. They were deported on 7 July 1944. Most ended up in a variety of slave labor camps. Of the 140 Groningen hostages who were deported, 22 did not return home, including Jan de Boer.

"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."

Borne was the first town in the Netherlands in which Stolpersteine were placed -- on 29 November 2007.

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Source

• Text: Anne Palmer
• Photos: Suzanne Matrosov-Vruggink (1), Suzanne Matrosov-Vruggink (2)
• Groninger Gijzelaars [Groningen Hostages]
• Stolpersteine.eu