Stumbling Stone Willy-Lessing-Straße 12

These small, brass memorial plaques (Stolpersteine or stumbling stones) commemorate members of 2 families that were victims of the Nazis.

Here lived a married couple:
­ * Albert Sulzbacher, born 1866, deported 1942, Theresienstadt, murdered 11 Jan 1943.
­ * Frieda Sulzbacher née May, born 1876, deported 1942, Theresienstadt, murdered 14 Feb 1943.

Albert Sulzbacher was born in Bamberg, which remained his permanent residence. Frieda was born elsewhere, married Albert, and made Bamberg her permanent residence. In October 1942, Frieda, Albert, and 66 others from the Bamberg area were deported first to Nuernberg, and then onward with a total of 1000 deportees to Theresienstadt, on train Da512. Many were elderly and, like Albert (age 76) and Frieda (age 66), were dead from hunger and disease in the months after arrival. Others were sent to extermination camps. Only 51 are known to have survived.

Here lived also three generations of another family:
­*Elsie Kupfer née Hesslein, born 1878, fled to Holland 1939, interned at Westerbork, deported 1942, Auschwitz, murdered 28 Oct 1942.
*­ Hildegard Löwenherz née Kupfer, born 1905, fled to Holland 1933, interned at Westerbork, deported 1942, murdered in Auschwitz.
*­ Heinz Löwenherz, born 1902, fled to Holland 1933, interned at Westerbork, deported 1943, Auschwitz, murdered 30 April 1943.
*­ Hans Thomas David Löwenherz, born 1937, interned at Westerbork, deported 1942, murdered in Auschwitz.

Elsie Kupfer was the mother of Hildegard Kupfer, who was born in Bamberg. In 1933, Hildegard, a kindergarten teacher, and Heinz Löwenherz, a bookseller and photographer, married and moved to the Netherlands. Their son Hans was born in Amsterdam in 1937, and Elsie fled to Amsterdam two years later. All four were deported to Auschwitz and murdered there – the two women and little Hans apparently in October, and the 40-year-old Heinz 6 months later. Hans was only 5 years old.

"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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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries & Anne Palmer
• Photos: Anne Palmer
• Yad Vashem Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names
• Joods Monument
• Yad Vashem Deportation Database
• Stolpersteine.eu