The town council of Heidenau, Germany, voted on Thursday, September 24, 2026, to ban the future installation of "stumbling stone" memorials for victims of Nazi persecution. The motion, approved by representatives of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), directs that future commemorations be located at a central site in the town's northern cemetery rather than on public streets.
The brass plaques, known as Stolpersteine, have been a fixture of European remembrance since the 1990s. Typically embedded in sidewalks outside the former homes or workplaces of Holocaust victims, the stones are designed to prompt passersby to reflect on the history of their specific location. While used in many German and Austrian cities, some municipalities, such as Munich, already prohibit them on municipal land, opting instead for plaques on buildings.
The council's motion stated that many citizens considered the stones inappropriate because their placement in the ground allows them to be stepped on. By moving memorials to the Nordfriedhof cemetery, the council said it would be "impossible to step directly onto the memorial elements." The city administration had recommended against the ban, stating in a report that a blanket prohibition was not necessary to establish a central memorial site.
The vote has drawn national attention to the political cooperation between the center-right CDU and the AfD, despite an informal national policy known as the "Brandmauer" intended to prevent such alliances. Critics, including Federal Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU), argued the move renders Jewish history "invisible" by removing it from public spaces. In contrast, supporters of the cemetery memorial argue it provides a more respectful environment for reflection where the names of the deceased are not walked upon by pedestrians.
The precedent set in Heidenau could influence similar debates in other municipalities in Saxony and eastern Germany, where the AfD has recently seen electoral success. The AfD in Saxony is currently classified as extreme-right by German domestic intelligence, though the party contests this label. Following the Thursday vote, the town will proceed with developing the central memorial site at the northern cemetery, though a specific completion date for the new site was not reported.