WIthout

I belong to a generation born after the second world-war. While growing up I had only heard of the war in stories but I could not comprehend this dark and terrible history. I chose to seek commemorative plaques and personal stories as a way to confront our collective past. Looking for traces in stones, I found personal stories of people who lost their lives during the war. Through this series, I have tried to retell these memoirs emotionally. In my series without I visited different places in Germany where 10x10 centimeter large stones called ‚Stolperstein‘ have been installed on pavements. A stolperstein literally translated as „stumbling block“ is a type of hand engraved monument created by artist Gunter Demnig

to commemorate victims of Nazi oppression, including the Holocaust. The stones remember the victims of expulsion and extermination - Jews, Gypsies, the politically persecuted, homosexuals and Jehovah‘s Witnesses amongst others.  One can find a countless number of these in Germany as well as all over Europe. The stones detail information about the deceased: the name, year of birth and the fate, as well as the dates

of deportation and death, if known. Through my images, I capture a feeling of the place and remember these stories that should never be repeated.