"The stones of the disappeared" are reminiscent of the greatest trauma inflicted on the Jews. The Holocaust or the Hebrew equivalent the "Shoah" - destruction or slaughter on a mass scale.
"The stones of the disappeared" are reminiscent of the greatest trauma inflicted on the Jews. The Holocaust or the Hebrew equivalent the "Shoah" - destruction or slaughter on a mass scale.
THE STONES OF THOSE WHO DISAPPEARED
“Stolpersteine" or stumbling blocks, 10 by 10-centimeter brass-plagued stones placed on pavements that memorialize the inhabitants of houses who were murdered by the Nazis. It is a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and the Nazi regime. The first symbolic stone was laid on 16 December 1992 in Cologne, as part of a project by artist Gunter Demnig. He has laid down over 60,000 brass-plated stumbling stones in 22 countries so that the victims of the Holocaust are never forgotten. Since 2008 we can find “Stones of those who Disappeared” in the neighbouring Czech Republic, and since 2012 also in Slovakia. The first “stones of those who disappeared” were installed in Namestovo in 2016.
As the initiative of the chairman of the civic association “Remember”, the idea of installing the symbolic stones in Namestovo started relatively quickly.
Family Klein
First records of the family of Herman and Elvíra Klein, were provided by Eyal Bloch from Israel, who has been cooperating with the civic association "Remember" for several years. His information forms a significant part of the overall mosaic of the Klein family. More detailed information was also provided by Professor Miriam Galova, a granddaughter of Herman and Elvíra Klein.
“ I left Namestovo at the age of five, in 1940, when I last saw my grandparents," recalls Mrs. Miriam Galova. Her grandfather had 4 daughters. Miriam and her mother survived the WW2 in the south of Slovakia. Her eldest sister, Jolana and her husband were taken to Auschwitz and never returned. Her younger sister Margita immigrated to London and Elza was taken to Terezin, and survived.
The "symbolic stones of those who disappeared" for the Klein family were installed on 27 September 2016, in front of where their family house once stood, on Hviezdoslav’s Street in Namestovo. They will remind passers-by of the fate of the Klein family with a simple message " ….… lived here".
Family Grossman
The "stones of those who disappeared" for the Grosmann family were laid on 22 June 2017. Dr. Grosmann worked as a lawyer in Namestovo. His first wife, Margita, with whom they had two sons, Harry and Tomi, died. After her death, Dr. Grossman married Livia (Lilly) Tandlich. During the war, they were hidden in Klin, a small village 3 km away. During the transfer to another village, they were captured and deported by the Hlinka Guard to the working camps. Lilly died of typhus in Ravensbrück. Dr. Grossman was released, but murdered on the way back to Slovakia. Harry and Tomi survived and moved to Australia.
Family Holländer
The "stones of those who disappeared" for the Holländer family were laid on 22 June 2017 near the church in Namestovo. Almost the entire Holländer family ended up in concentration camps in Poland and Germany.
Dr. Moric was a district doctor for the Upper Orava area in 1918, with his dedicated work he helped save lives. Dr. Moric died in 1938.