In Magdeburg On 9 November 2026, six Stolpersteine were laid for members of the König family . The memorial stones are at Breiter Weg 262, listed as Breiter Weg 266 in the historic address register. The laying was part of the city’s events marking the anniversary of the November Pogroms of 1938.
According to According to the City of Magdeburg , the stones are listed in the city’s laying plan under the name Choinowski/König family. Relatives attended the ceremony, including Helga König and her sister’s granddaughter, Johanna Welling. The laying was organised by the Stolpersteine Working Group for Magdeburg, which secures funding and documentation through donations and cooperation with the city.
The Stolpersteine project was conceived by the artist Gunter Demnig . Since the mid-1990s, small brass plaques set into pavements have commemorated the names, life dates and fates of people stripped of their rights, expelled, deported or murdered by the Nazi regime. They usually mark the last freely chosen home or place of work of those affected, thus making individual lives visibly part of the urban landscape.
The latest laying in Magdeburg extends the existing network of places of remembrance. The city says that further biographical information is available through its documentation and digital services such as Stolpersteine digital. Relatives and initiatives stress that seeing the names in everyday life offers an accessible way into local history and can support school projects.
The commemoration on 9 November is directly connected to the November Pogroms of 1938, which were followed by numerous arrests, acts of destruction and deportations. The Stolpersteine Working Group for Magdeburg sees the installations as a contribution to a public culture of remembrance rooted in the local community. At the same time, debates continue over the form and location of remembrance: critics fear that walking on the stones could be degrading, while supporters point to the names’ lasting presence in public spaces. In Magdeburg, marking names at the last address and publishing further information remain the guiding principles.
With the six new stones, the city creates a specific, place-based focus for remembering the König family on Breiter Weg in Magdeburg and strengthens the city’s network of memorials.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).