Stolperstein
Germany | 2007 | Documentary | 73 min | Digibeta 16:9
Stolpersteine – “stumbling stones” – are small brass plaques embedded in the sidewalk in front of the last residence of Nazi victims. On them are written “Here lived” followed by a name, time of deportation and murder location. At the time of filming there were over 6,000 such stones spread across Germany, and Europe would soon follow. Each one represents an individual fate and allows people going about their business today to stumble across the past. Stolpersteine are a point of friction, they polarize and have sparked fierce public controversies. Cities such as Munich, Mainz, Krefeld and Vienna forbid them at first (and in some cases, still); at the same time, the mayor of Hamburg and then-President Köhler personally stand up for them. Stolpersteine are damaged or torn out by unknown people, such as in Halle, and Neo-Nazis openly fight against them. While the Central Council of Jews officially supports the project, certain Jewish communities wish to prevent the names of victims from being trodden underfoot.
Nevertheless, stolpersteine are a decentralized monument (the largest in the world) that has long since developed momentum, thriving on the commitment of individual citizens. Every stone is co-financed by a private donation. Hundreds of volunteers investigate the exact specifics of the fates on-site and procure the necessary permissions. Most do so for victims whom they never knew and are not related to. Furthermore, stolpersteine are the work of a performance artist who, at least at first, produced each one with his own hands, and personally laid them at their destination. Gunter Demnig wants to restore the nameless victims’ identities and has triggered an avalanche that threatens to bury him. Every day, more people want to take part in the project, the waiting list stretches years into the future, and with France, Austria, Denmark and the Czech Republic, the stolpersteine are now expanding throughout Europe. The pressure of expectations is mounting upon Demnig’s shoulders.
At the center of the film, the stolpersteine act as shiny projector screens through which our dealings with the past can be negotiated here and now. They will lead us to people for whom the project has a particular significance. For example, Peter Jordan, who like many participants sees the stolpersteine as a substitute gravestone for his murdered parents – but has to struggle with the city of Munich for them. Or Ute Latendorf, who together with her friends regularly polishes hundreds of stolpersteine throughout Hamburg, for a very personal reason: their fathers were members of the SS. Because stolpersteine are a democratic form of remembrance work not commissioned by any government, we will discover moving personal stories through them and experience a heated social controversy that spreads further throughout Europe every day.
Director: Dörte Franke
Writer: Dörte Franke
Cinematographer: Börres Weiffenbach
Editor: Jana Teuchert
Sound: Mario Köhler u.a.
Commissioning editors: Ulrike Dotzer, Christiane Hinz, Franz Grabner
Production manager: Andrea Ufer
Producer: Andrea Ufer
Co-producers: Troika Entertainment, Köln
Channels: WDR, NDR/arte, ORF
Sponsor: Nordmedia
– Official selection, Locarno Film Festival (Switzerland), 2008
– “Dokubiber” for best documentary, Filmfest Biberach, 2008
– Diploma, International Human Rights Documentary Festival, Kiev (Ukraine), 2008
– DOK Leipzig, 2008
– Osnabrück, 2008
– JFF Amsterdam (Netherlands), 2008
– JFF London (UK), 2008
– Rome (Italy), 2008
– JFF New York (USA), 2009
– World Jewish Film Festival Ashkelon (Israel), 2009
– JFF Washington (USA), 2009
– Pioneer Valley JFF Massachusetts (USA), 2010
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