#Monument
'And then they were gone...'
The mosaics on Liberty Square in Gennep were inspired by film images made by amateur filmmaker Jan Jetten from Gennep. The images, which are extremely rare in the Netherlands, show Jewish fellow citizens leaving their homes in 1942 and heading for the train station. Unaware of what awaits them, a few wave at the filmmaker.
In 2018 Harrie-Jan Metselaars wrote the book 'En toen waren ze weg' (And then they were gone) about the persecution of the Jews in Gennep. Since that year, 22 stumbling stones have been placed throughout the centre, giving a name to the Gennep victims of the Shoah.
The concrete stones with a brass plate that includes some personal information can be found all over Europe. They are intended as small, individual monuments to the victims of National Socialism: Jews, Sinti and Roma, political prisoners, conscientious objectors, homosexuals, Jehovah's witnesses, and people with mental or physical disabilities. The stones have been embedded in the pavement in front of the victim's original home.