A town council in Heidenau, located in the German state of Saxony, has decided to prohibit the installation of new Stolpersteine, small brass plaques embedded in pavements to commemorate victims of Nazi persecution. The council’s vote effectively halts the expansion of these memorials in the town, although about six Stolpersteine already exist there.

The policy was approved after a coalition of local politicians from the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), and a regional right-wing micro-party supported the measure. Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, an AfD figure and lead author of his party’s manifesto in Saxony-Anhalt, justified the decision on social media, stating that more than 80 years after World War II, the public’s approach to history is normalizing and that past events should be preserved in museums rather than through small pavement memorials.

The move has drawn sharp criticism from other political figures. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of the Free Democratic Party, described the ban on Stolpersteine as an attempt to marginalize Nazi victims. She emphasized that relegating these memorials to the periphery also pushes the victims out of public awareness and memory. Strack-Zimmermann singled out the AfD for its stance but also expressed surprise and disapproval that CDU councillors supported the motion.

Stolpersteine have been installed across Germany since the early 1990s, with their number now exceeding 120,000. These small commemorative stones generally honor Jewish individuals who were forced from their homes, deported, or murdered during the Nazi era. The initiative, created by artist Gunter Demnig, aims to keep the memory of victims alive through these everyday reminders embedded in public walkways.

The argument presented by proponents of the ban contends that victims are more suitably memorialized in formal locations like cemeteries or dedicated memorial sites, rather than on pavements where people might inadvertently step on the plaques. Similar debates have occurred elsewhere in Germany; in 2015, the city of Munich upheld its existing ban on the placement of new Stolpersteine on city-owned land, citing concerns voiced by some Jewish community members who felt it was disrespectful to walk over the memorials.

The decision in Heidenau reflects ongoing tensions in Germany over how best to commemorate the Holocaust and Nazi-era atrocities, balancing public memory with differing perspectives on appropriate forms of remembrance.