Memorials 101

You'll see these all over Germany if you're looking for them - these ones are in a small town called Dinkelsbühl, but I've seen them in many other cities and towns as well.


They're set into the pavement in front of houses and apartment buildings, and each one gives the name and date of birth of a Jewish person who once lived at that address, along with their fate (in this case, an entire family - including a 7-year-old, an 8-year-old, and a 9-year-old - was deported and killed in concentration camps).

It's going to sound weird when I say that I love these memorials, but what I mean is that I think they are so much better than a big, ostentatious statue in the middle of town. Most people (especially in Germany) have a pretty good idea of what happened during WWII, but it's pretty remote from our daily lives. These memorials are something subtle that remind us that bad things don't just happen far away.