The recipient of the Benediktpreis von Mönchengladbach, the artist and initiator of the Stolpersteine, Gunter Demnig, intends to use the donated prize money for new Stolpersteine in the flood-devastated Ahr Valley. The artist has now informed the chairman of the “Benediktpreis von Mönchengladbach” association, Helmut Linnenbrink, of this in a letter. The prize is endowed with €5,000. The sum is provided by Gladbacher Bank. Demnig wrote: “All Stolpersteine damaged or washed away by the flood will be reinstalled by us.” Any remaining funds are to be allocated to school projects supervised by Katja Demnig, the artist’s wife.
Throughout Europe, Demnig commemorates the victims of the Nazi dictatorship with his Stolpersteine. At their last place of residence, he embeds brass memorial stones in the pavement, thus keeping alive the memory of people who lived there before they were abducted, expelled, or murdered by the National Socialists.
