Heidenau’s town council in Saxony has decided to reject applications for new Stolpersteine on public streets and pavements. The small plaques commemorate victims of Nazi persecution, typically marking homes where they lived before deportation. Tagesschau reported that 13 councillors voted for the motion, six against and one abstained.
The proposal came from local members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Oberelbe civic initiative. Its sponsors said pedestrians could step on plaques bearing victims’ names. The town administration opposed the move, arguing that remembrance of Nazi victims should remain visible in public space.
Mayor Conny Ertel said stones already installed would stay. Councillors proposed a central memorial site at the North Cemetery instead, but the location has not been approved: the cemetery is not owned by the town, so church consent would be required.
The CDU’s Saxony branch distanced itself from the local decision. Its general secretary, Tom Unger, said Stolpersteine were an acceptable form of remembrance and that excluding one form entirely was the wrong approach.
The local dispute comes amid broader political tensions between the CDU and AfD. The CDU leadership rules out cooperation with the AfD nationally. After the AfD won the Saxony-Anhalt election, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the CDU would not work with it; the AfD had received 43.8% of the vote and the CDU 17.2%. Two weeks later, the AfD also came first in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, while the CDU’s 4.9% left it outside the state parliament for the first time.