Request a Stolperstein

Would you like to have a Stolperstein placed in the public space? If so, request this at the municipality. You can do this by completing an online form.

A Stolperstein (stumbling stone) is a small memorial stone with a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of the Holocaust. Stolpersteine are usually laid into the pavements at the last place of residence before the victims were expelled and deported. If you would like a Stolperstein placed in the public space, you can request this here by completing the online form. This is simple and free of charge. The municipality will help choose the right spot and install the stone if you would like.

Install of a Stolperstein

  • Anyone can and may apply to have a Stolperstein placed for a family member, friend, neighbour or acquaintance.
  • The applicant must have done research into the background, family relationship and family circumstances of the person for whom you are requesting the Stolperstein. You can attach a research document with your request.
  • If the municipality accepts your request, it is on condition that you inform the immediate neighbours in writing that the Stolperstein will be installed. The municipality will enclose a draft letter with the approval.

  • research document: result of the research into the background, family relationship and family circumstances of the person for whom you are requesting the Stolperstein.
  • copy of your identity document.

In the online form, the municipality asks for the details of the person for whom you are requesting the stone. The following is required:

  • all given names
  • complete surname
  • date of birth
  • the last known place of residence in The Hague, including the house number (if possible, the Stolperstein will be laid at their last known place of residence)
  • date of death
  • place of death

There is no fee to request and lay a Stolperstein. However, the artist charges € 132 per Stolperstein to make the memorial stones. The applicant will receive an invoice for these costs after the stone has been laid.

You will receive confirmation of your request within 2 weeks. The municipality will then try to process your request within 8 weeks. Is your request incomplete or does the place you have indicated need to be examined again? Then the assessment could take longer than 8 weeks.

The artist will lay the Stolperstein himself. The exact timing depends on his schedule. The artist usually visits The Hague once a year for 1 or 2 days.

  • Stolpersteine are concrete cubes bearing a brass plate measuring 10 x 10 centimetres and with a hand engraved inscription.
  • The Stolpersteine art project was initiated in 1993 by the German artist Gunter Demnig and officially started in 2000. He called the stones Stolpersteine because you literally ‘stumble’ across them with your heart and mind and you need to bend to read the text. The artist has now laid nearly 75,000 stumbling stones in more than 20 European countries. In the Netherlands there are around 6,000 stones.
  • Stolpersteine are laid for all victims of national socialism (Nazis) during the 1933-1945 period. This is to keep alive the memory of all the Jews, Sinti and Romani people, homosexuals, dissidents, resistance fighters, people driven to suicide and everyone who died and was murdered during this time.
  • The Stolpersteine are usually placed in front of the houses from which the victims were expelled and deported.
  • The brass plate is inscribed with the name of the victim, their date of birth, year and place of deportation and the date and place of their death, often the name of a concentration or extermination camp.

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