The Stolpersteine – “stumbling stones” – in Lich remember people from Lich, Langsdorf and Muschenheim who were persecuted, deprived of their rights, driven out or murdered under National Socialism. The stones lie in the pavement in front of the last homes these people freely chose.
This website is in German. This page gives an overview in English. Where a family biography exists, its page also has an English summary.
What are Stolpersteine?
Each Stolperstein is a brass plaque measuring ten by ten centimetres, set into the pavement. It bears a name, a year of birth and a fate. You do not stumble with your feet but with your mind: whoever notices a stone stops, reads the name and bows a little to the person it remembers.
The artist Gunter Demnig (born 1947) began the project in the early 1990s and still lays most of the stones himself, as he did at most of the ceremonies in Lich. What started as a single art project has become the largest decentralised memorial in the world: more than 116,000 stones in over 1,860 municipalities in 31 European countries (as of October 2026). More at stolpersteine.eu.
Stolpersteine in Lich
In August 2018 four citizens of Lich asked the town to allow Stolpersteine in public space. On 7 November 2018 the town council agreed unanimously, and the town itself sponsored three stones. The first stones were laid in Langsdorf on 10 April 2019.
So far 103 Stolpersteine have been laid in front of the former homes of the victims in Lich, Langsdorf and Muschenheim. The working group aims for around 120. It wants to remember everyone who was persecuted: Jewish women and men, victims of so-called “euthanasia”, forced labourers and people persecuted for their political views. Every stone is researched, sponsored and cared for by citizens.
Finding a person
All 103 stones are listed under Menschen (people): by address, in an index of names and on a map. Where a family biography exists, the entry links to it. Reports on each laying, some with speeches by descendants in English, are under Verlegungen (layings).
Your browser can translate the German pages. Please bear in mind that machine translation can render historical terms inaccurately – for example “unfreiwillig verzogen” (forced to move away), “Flucht” (escape), “deportiert” (deported). The inscriptions on the stones always remain in German.
Are you related to one of the families?
Contact with the descendants matters greatly to us. We involve them in our research as far as we can and invite them to the layings; many have travelled to Lich for this. If you are related to one of the families, know more about them or have photographs or documents, we would be very glad to hear from you: info@stolpersteine-lich.de
We are a voluntary working group of citizens of Lich. You can support the project by sponsoring a stone or with a donation. For a bank transfer, also from abroad: account holder Stadtkasse Lich, IBAN DE17 5135 0025 0241 0007 85, BIC SKGIDE5FXXX (Sparkasse Gießen), reference “Aktion Stolpersteine”. If a transfer from your country is difficult, write to us and we will find a way.