First ‘stumbling stone’ memorial in UK installed where art conservationist worked
Ada van Dantzig, remembered in Golden Square, Soho, London, returned to the Netherlands to help her parents - but was captured by the Nazis and murdered in Auschwitz in 1943 aged just 24
An art conservationist has become the first person to be commemorated with a “stumbling stone” in the UK.
Ada van Dantzig had the stolperstein installed in a pavement in Golden Square in her memory, to mark where she worked helping to restore paintings for the National Gallery.
She left the safety of London to help her parents escape to Switzerland but was captured in France by the Nazis and murdered in Auschwitz in 1943, aged 24.
The stone was supposed to be laid in 2020 after exceeding its crowdfunding target but was delayed by lockdown.
The campaign to raise money for it was led by historian Morwenna Blewett, from Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. She said: “Because we were not occupied, the removal of people from their houses or their places of work didn’t generally happen in the UK. But the stolperstein concept is based on people having to leave their last address of choice, whether it be work or housing, directly induced by Nazism.”
Ms van Dantzig had worked with Helmut Ruhemann, a consultant restorer at the National Gallery, at his studio in Golden Square in the 1930s before the Second World War, as one of three apprentices. Another was famed mid-century artist Nigel Henderson.
After war broke out, she travelled to France, despite pleas it was not safe, to locate her family, who were trying to escape from the Netherlands to Switzerland. In 1943, she was arrested and transported to Auschwitz where, on February 11, she was murdered.
Ms Blewett had feared she might not be able to raise the cash when Westminster Council said they would not waive their £1,100 fee – though the council has since reversed this decision. But she was bowled over by the response.
Around 80,000 stolpersteins have been installed in pavements across Europe since the scheme started in 1992, with each tiny plaque marking the last known address of a Holocaust victim.
They originated in Cologne as the brainchild of German artist Gunter Demnig, and mark the homes and workplaces of those killed by the Nazis with small plaques in the ground bearing their names.
Two other commemorative plaques for Jewish figures have also been installed recently. One is for playwright Arnold Wesker on the site of his old primary school at Northwold Road, Hackney. The other is in Malvern, Worcestershire, to celebrate Frieda Salvendy, an Austrian Expressionist artist who escaped to England before World War II.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
