Germany: Nazi victim memorial stones stolen in Berlin - Sensationalist Headlines

[quote=Deutsche Welle]German police have launched an investigation into the theft of a dozen Holocaust victim memorial stones in Berlin. A local politician said he suspects members of the far-right are behind the "Stolpersteine" theft. [img]http://www.dw.com/image/41286342_403.jpg[/img] German police suspect a political motive in the recent theft of several [URL="http://www.dw.com/en/20-years-of-stolpersteine/a-19252785"]Holocaust memorial stones[/URL] in Berlin, authorities said on Tuesday. The gold-colored, cobblestone-sized monuments, called "Stolpersteine" or "stumbling stones," are embedded in sidewalks across Germany and in other countries to pay tribute to Nazi victims. At least 12 of the stones were dug up and snatched on Monday in the Berlin neighborhood of Neukölln. Residents noted that several streets had been affected. [...][/quote] [URL="http://www.dw.com/en/germany-nazi-victim-memorial-stones-stolen-in-berlin/a-41286445"]Source[/URL][URL="https://archive.is/TNrEs"].[/URL] It's not very often that I'm outright disgusted by vandalism, but this is one of those cases. For context: These stones are extremely common sights here in Germany due to the sheer scale of the killings, deportations and displacements, and now exist in most European countries. Each of them (with a few exceptions) is placed at the location of that person's last freely chosen home and engraved with their name, year of birth and fate (if known).

Man, fuck these vandals, whoever they are. We have a lot of these in Trondheim aswell, as good reminders of the horrors of the nazi occupation and its victims. I hope whoever did this get their just dessert, regardless of reason or agenda.

The only reason I could think of stealing them is if you found your relative’s stone, and even then, it’s incredibly dickish

IIRC, these used to be made of actual gold until they first started being stolen, then they moved to a cheaper metal with a gold paintjob. Might be someone trying to make a quick buck or something more nefarious, considering they're holocaust victim memorials but who knows.

[QUOTE=Zillamaster55;52868914]The only reason I could think of stealing them is if you found your relative’s stone, and even then, it’s incredibly dickish[/QUOTE] There is some criticism against the project, mostly regarding the stones with the victims' names being floor-mounted in the pavement. Normally the stones motivate relatives to instead visit the site and lay down flowers or pray, though. There's also the issue of them appearing in Pokémon Go. I don't think Niantic is interested in enforcing proper quality control in this regard. In my opinion the use in Ingress is a pretty dark grey area already due to that game's fantastical setting, but the framing in Pokémon Go is definitely a problem.

[QUOTE=Tamschi;52868891][URL="http://www.dw.com/en/germany-nazi-victim-memorial-stones-stolen-in-berlin/a-41286445"]Source[/URL][URL="https://archive.is/TNrEs"].[/URL] It's not very often that I'm outright disgusted by vandalism, but this is one of those cases. For context: These stones are extremely common sights here in Germany due to the sheer scale of the killings, deportations and displacements, and now exist in most European countries. Each of them (with a few exceptions) is placed at the location of that person's last freely chosen home and engraved with their name, year of birth and fate (if known).[/QUOTE] I'm disgusted by ALL of the vandalism that has been happening. Here at home in the US and this happening in Germany. [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Derailing" - GunFox))[/highlight]

That's so disrespectful towards the victims of the racial purity doctrine. They should be sentenced as criminals. Disgusting.

[QUOTE=RocketSnail;52869047]I'm disgusted by ALL of the vandalism that has been happening. Here at home in the US and this happening in Germany.[/QUOTE] Don't you think there's a bit of a difference between a monument that glorifies an historically significant yet flawed person and one that's dedicated to the remembrance of countless victims of torture and massacres?

[QUOTE=_Axel;52869071]Don't you think there's a bit of a difference between a monument that glorifies an historically significant yet flawed person and one that's dedicated to the remembrance of countless victims of torture and massacres?[/QUOTE] Primarily one victim. Most of the stones are reminders about individuals, which is pretty important. The stones do double as holocaust reminders in general, though, just not in the way most of the other monuments do. And I was more thinking about trashed other (mostly non-political) public art and (politically motivated destruction of) amenities and such, which is more common around here... But admittedly, I think the things people in the US do to certain statues are more uninformed than particularly disgusting. Meanwhile, it's pretty difficult not to know what the Stolpersteine are if you see one, and there's next to no room for interpretation. I also have no large problem with people tearing down statues that were pretty obviously erected to spite measures against segregation, if those are included in what RocketSnail is getting at here. It [I]would[/I] be better if that was properly voted on in some shape or form, but I [I]really[/I] don't mind those in particular being gone.

[QUOTE=Zillamaster55;52868914]The only reason I could think of stealing them is if you found your relative’s stone, and even then, it’s incredibly dickish[/QUOTE] I mean, if it's a relative, some might want to keep it in their home or property so their descendants could look at it too. I know if some shit happened to me, I would want my family to hold onto whatever was left to prove I was around.

Those stones are genius, they really show the scale of the atrocities that happened. And more importantly, it shows that it happened everywhere in the city.

[QUOTE=DrDevil;52869454]Those stones are genius, they really show the scale of the atrocities that happened. And more importantly, it shows that it happened everywhere in the city.[/QUOTE] I looked this up earlier and it seems about half of Germany's cities and towns have at least one of these. Every city I've lived in so far has multiple, though. I remember running into at least six since we moved here earlier this year, while walking around the inner city. I think one thing that makes them so striking is how they're barely visible when you're further away. The stones aren't raised to avoid being literal stumbling blocks, but that also means they suddenly become [I]a lot[/I] more noticeable when you're only two to three metres away. Sometimes there are many in one place. It's pretty shocking.

Sad considering I lived in Berlin for months and the stones were an amazing historical device.