Stumbling Stones Fortuinstraat 2

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

* Simon Blein, born 1907, murdered 10 July 1943, Sobibor.
* Lotte Blein, born 1939, murdered 11 June 1943, Sobibor.
* Gerta Blein-Gross, born 1914, murdered 11 June 1943, Sobibor.

Simon Blein owned a textile shop at the corner of Fortuinstraat and Voorstraat. He and Gerta Gross married and had one child, born in Hardenberg in 1939 and named Lotte after her grandmother.

Gerta and Lotte went on the falsely named "kindertransport" from Vught to Westerbork and onward to Sobibor, where they were killed on the same day. Lotte was only 3 years old. Simon was murdered in Sobibor a month later.

Reflecting the difficulties of finding exact information on Shoah victims, the date of death on Simon Blein’s stolperstein does not match dates from other sources. His stolperstein says he was killed on 10-7-1943, while Joods Monument and the "Levenslicht" booklet state 16 July, and a Yad Vashem testimonial states 16/06/1943.

Stolpersteine for Simon’s mother (Lotte Blein-Stein), sister (Mathilda Michelsohn-Blein), brother-in-law (Karl Michelsohn), and niece (Ilse Michelsohn) are at Julianastraat 10 in Hardenberg.

"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: Jasper Nijman, Stichting Historische Projecten Hardenberg
• "Levenslicht geeft Holocaust slachtoffers een gezicht," p.10
• Joods Monument
• Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names
• Stolpersteine.eu