Skip to main content
Digital city hall

Granite steles mark places of former Jewish life

Visible and lasting remembrance of the fate of Jewish citizens during the National Socialist era.

With a public event in the town hall and a subsequent tour, the city of Hof officially handed over the steles on Jewish history in the city center at the beginning of May. The granite steles mark places of former Jewish life in Hof and are a visible and permanent reminder of the fate of Jewish citizens during the National Socialist era.

Mayor Eva Döhla: "These steles make history tangible. They give the people who were persecuted, disenfranchised or murdered a piece of their dignity back - and give us as a city society the opportunity to show responsibility. We remember not out of guilt, but out of conviction: So that what happened never happens again."

The texts on the stelae are based on extensive academic research by Dr. Ekkehard Hübschmann, which was funded by the Hermann-und-Bertl-Müller-Stiftung. The foundation also supported a school competition together with other partners. Pupils from Schiller-Gymnasium Hof, who developed an interactive city map under the guidance of their teachers Gertraud Pichlmeier and Michaela Millitzer, showed particular commitment. It uses QR codes to link the locations of the steles with further information, biographies and background texts. The project has already been honored with the special prize of the city of Hof.

During the inauguration event, descendants of former Jewish families also had their say. In a moving message from London, Jackie Reiter, descendant of the Reiter family, expressed her gratitude for the culture of remembrance in Hof. "I am very moved that the steles in Hof are a reminder of my family's life," she said in her video message.

The permanent installation in the cityscape was supervised by the City of Hof's Department of Culture and funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth as part of the federal "Live Democracy!" program. The implementation was also significantly supported by the Wolfgang-Siegel-Stiftung and Sparkasse Hochfranken.

The eight granite steles are discreetly but visibly integrated into the cityscape. They are located directly in front of the buildings where Jewish families lived or ran their businesses - for example in Ludwigstraße, Klosterstraße or Karolinenstraße. Each stele contains a QR code that can be used to call up further information, biographies and historical contexts via smartphone. In this way, the urban space itself becomes a place of learning and remembrance. The granite design is deliberately restrained - dignified and permanent without being obtrusive. An overview map at the Hof Tourist Information Office helps visitors to explore the tour individually.

The new city tour complements the existing tourist offer in Hof. Visitors can now experience history first-hand at the former homes and business premises of Jewish families in Hof's city centre. Detailed information on the biographies and locations can be found here.

Share