Day One: Touring Leipzig

Leipzig- A History Lesson

I am not a historian, and the only knowledge I have of the history of Leipzig is what I heard during the tour; however, I will impart the knowledge and enthusiasm I have.
Also, here is a link to a Wikipedia article about Leipzig for further reading.

The Synagogue Memorial 
On November 9, 1938 the synagogue in Leipzig was burned, and the Jews who attended there were persecuted throughout World War II. The Synagogue Memorial in Leipzig is a raised platform with 140 empty chairs to represent the 14,000 members of the Synagogue. Our tour guide described the memorial as one of the most moving memorials in Germany. I think it is because the simplicity requires you to think and reflect on the lives the chairs represent. It is an open air memorial situated in the entrance to the main part of the city so we walk by it nearly every day, and it's nearly impossible to walk by without at least some reflection.

Stolperstein- "Stumbling Stones" 

Beginning in the early 1990's Gunter Demnig began a project that continues to this day. The stones each tell a story of someone persecuted during WWII. They are stone blocks with a brass top that is inscribed with details of a victims life before their abuse. These stones are raised above the surrounding ground in order to cause passers by to stumble, this makes people stop and take a moment to remember the lives that the stones represent. The stones are unique for a few reasons. When I first saw them I was confused, it felt disrespectful to put a memorial in a walkway where the whole point is for them to be stepped on. I learned that the memorials are placed in walkways because each time they are stepped on the metal becomes polished. This represents the strength and resilience shown by those persecuted during WWII. Another curious aspect of memorials are the specific placement of the stumbling stones. The ones I saw were in front of apartment building and businesses, not in front of synagogues which is what I expected. This is because they are placed at the last place of residence of the people they commemorating. Most of the buildings were destroyed during bombings in WWII so the stones sit in front of buildings that used to be places of residence. In contrast to popular WWII memorials, the Stumbling Stone memorials do a good job of personifying victims of the holocaust.

  

These specific stones tell the story of a family of three, a father, a mother, and presumably their child.

The top one is the father's, it states:

Here Lived

HERMAN REISS

JG 1971*

*I think this is his birth year 

I'm not sure how to translate the rest directly, but the father was arrested and then released; however, he died suddenly a few weeks later of unknown causes. 

The middle stone is the child's, it reads...

Here Lived

ADOLF REISS

JG 1916

Again, I do not know the exact translation for the middle stones but I know the child was sent to a work camp and then later released. 

The third stone is the mother's, it reads...

Here Lived

GERTRUD REISS

JG 1897

The mother was also sent to a work camp; however, I'm not sure if she survived the camp or not.

St. Thomas Church

The first church we went to was St. Thomas Church. It is most famous for being the burial place for Johann Sebastian Bach. Inside the church there are rooms that function as a museum dedicated to Bach and his music. In 1212 the St. Thomas Boys Choir was founded and Bach directed the choir for a time. The Boys Choir still performs all over the world.

Here you can see Bach's tomb. His body was moved there when his grave was discovered. 

Saint Nicholas Church- "The City Church"

While Saint Thomas Church was for the upper class citizens, Saint Nicholas was a church for the people. The pillars with the green tops extend onto the street as a symbol of Christianity extending to the people. This church is significant because it was the location of perhaps the most pivotal series of event that led to the destruction of the Berlin Wall. Leipzig was under communist rule after WWII. Saint Nicholas Church began to host prayer meetings, candle lightings, and peaceful protests against the occupation. The communist rule called themselves "The  People" and threatened to punish anyone who marched against them. They claimed that any harm that came to those who marched was their own doing. The people responded that the marches were peaceful, so any harm that was done would be at the fault of the occupation. In the past weeks, marches of peaceful protests were met with brutality. On the last day of the protest, 70,000 brave citizens marched the streets of Leipzig. There was no violence, the police did not attempt to block the protests in any way. It is because of this that the Berlin Wall came down soon after. 

Leipzig University

The majority of citizens in Leipzig are atheists. This is mostly because during communist rule those who attended church were not allowed to have important jobs and were often ridiculed. Leipzig University is spread throughout the city. It has been remodeled several times, the most recent construction began about 10 years ago. The University was once run by a church; however, it is no longer affiliated with religion so when the reconstruction began the city decided to tear down the historic church that once stood connect to part of the campus. Immediately there was an uproar among the citizens, even those were not religious. The church had been one of the few buildings in Leipzig to survive the bombings during WWII so tearing it down meant losing a precious piece of history. In response to the citizens protests, the city rebuilt the church as a memorial to the war. The church was rebuilt with the same shape and style of architecture only with a new, more modern look. The hall was also converted into a lecture hall so it can be used by the University.