“Building up worldwide family of commemoration – that may be the greatest achievement of Gunter Demnig, the creator of the Stolpersteine,” states Terry Swartzberg, who is the head of the Munich chapter of this movement.

This is in turn is one of 1,000 organizations – each responsible for its own area, each managing its own affairs, and each staffed by volunteers who conduct the research on the fates of victims, and who process the orders for Stolpersteine placed by  donors. The organizations are found in 21 countries.

“Large though the figure is, it doesn’t include the schools, churches, university departments, victims’ groups and, especially, hundreds of Jewish congregations that work with the organizations,” adds Terry.