We are very glad that the artist Gunter Demnig accepted the invitation of the city of Bergen and the PRORA-ZENTRUM to renew the stumbling stones for Ida and Albert Noack.
This had unfortunately become necessary after unknown persons had smeared the stones with brown paint last year.
In the presence of the newly re-elected mayor Mrs. Anja Ratzke and the city president Mrs. Kerstin Kassner, Demnig, who came from Cologne, removed the broken stones yesterday and replaced them with new ones, which now commemorate the victims’ suffering at their former place of residence.
Unfortunately, a concrete place of residence can no longer be found due to the source situation with the Wein family, but research by PRORA-ZENTRUM proves that their last self-chosen home must have been in Bergen on Rügen.
Therefore, the city decided to have the stones laid representatively in front of the town hall so that Gunter Demnig could add another piece to his project here and the memory of another family is preserved publicly.
As sad as the occasion is due to the desecration, we are happy about the strong reaction, which culminated in sponsorship by students from Bergen’s Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Gymnasium, who not only participated in the laying ceremony but will also maintain the stones in the future. We would also like to thank the Bergen Music School for the appropriate background music.
