The municipality of Bloemendaal has decided not to place stumbling stones in front of the house where the Jewish Mathilde and Samuel Barends once lived. The residents of the house find the confrontation with the past too painful.
‘A Solomon’s judgement’, alderman Henk Wijkhuisen calls the decision not to give permission for the memorial stones to be placed. “This concerns a Jewish applicant and residents with Jewish roots, each with their own perspective. In this case, on the one hand, there is the understandable desire to place a stolperstein and, on the other hand, the pain of the family’s memory that the placement entails. said the alderman.
The initiative for the commemorative plaques came from Eddy Maarsen, on behalf of the Zikaron foundation. That foundation is committed to keeping the memory of murdered Jewish Freemasons alive by laying down stumbling stones.
What are Stumbling Stones?
Stumbling stones, or Stolpersteine as they are actually called, are square, gold-colored monuments that lie in front of the houses of people who were killed during World War II. The plates bear the name, date of birth, date of deportation and place and date of death of the victims. It is a project by the German artist Gunter Demnig. The commemorative plaques are located throughout Europe.
Mathilde Barends and Samuel Barends lived on Distellaan from 1932, until they were forced to move to Amsterdam in 1942. A year later, the couple was first deported to Westerbork and later to Sobibor, where they were murdered on the day of arrival.
Due to the confrontation with the past, the residents of the house do not feel comfortable with the commemorative pictures. The alderman has decided to comply with that request, but regrets that no further solution has been found. “Unfortunately, some things cannot be compromised.”
Maarsen is not happy with the decision of the municipality. He calls it ‘a weak attitude’ and ‘a lack of historical awareness’. “You can’t push history away,” says the initiator.