Stolpersteine

A what ......?

A 'stolperstein' is the German word for a 'stumble stone'.  The artist Gunter Demnig has given this word a new meaning, that of a small, cobblestone-sized memorial for a single victim of Nazism.  These memorials commemorate individuals - both those who died and survivors - who were consigned by the nazis to prisons, euthanasia facilities, sterilization clinics, concentration camps and extermination camps.

Demnig manufactures a concrete cube of 10 cm (4 inches), which he covers with a sheet of brass. Then he stamps the details of the individual on it: the name, year of birth and the fate, as well as the dates of deportation and death, if known. The stolperstein is then laid flush with the pavement or the cobblestones in the sidewalk in front of the last residence of the victim.  In French, they're called 'des pavés commémoratifs'.  And so a stroll down an ordinary city street is suddenly transformed into a walk across the stage of history.

There are thousands of them in continental Europe and there are two sets in Brussels: not many, since we know that about 26,000 Jews were exported to concentration and death camps.  So I went looking for them and found them.  As I walked through the two different neighbourhoods, I tried to imagine what it must have been like there during the German occupation in WW II, the stigma of being Jewish and the terror of the doorbell ringing...

Goedemiddag! Hoe gaat het met jou?

Now what does that mean?

Do you think, knowing me, that I would come to live in Belgium and not take a stab at learning Flemish?!

That's exactly what I'm doing.  The Flemish-speaking university here offers courses in Flemish.  It's called 'Nederlands' = Dutch spoken à la Flemish.  What that means is that Flemish is really Dutch with different pronunciation here and there, and some different expressions.  So, I'm getting 2 for 1!!  I go twice a week for 3 1/2 hours each time = 7 hours of Flemish per week.

We have a great teacher, Sylvia Philips.  She is young, vivacious and goes about teaching beginners like me in an interesting way.  As a teacher of linguistics, I have been impressed with how she concentrates mostly on oral comprehension, and I am amazed to be able to understand almost everything she says after 2 months of classes.

There are about 20 of us in the class.  EVERYONE of us is from a different country!!  It shows you what a cultural mix Brussels is!  It also shows you that Sylvia HAD to teach her class in Flemish right from the start: it's the only language we all have in common.  During the breaks, however, we have found that most of us speak either French or English, so we switch back and forth over a cup of coffee.  But the fun is that, as we get better in Flemish, we are speaking to each other in Flemish!!  I often think of my Dutch friends the Geleynses: I am learning their language!

Actually, I'm finding Flemish quite easy.  The grammar is easy and many words are very similar to English, and there's a guttural 'g' like German.  I'm listening to a Flemish TV channel to get the music of the language and I have found a new Flemish friend I can practise with.  By the end of the year, I should be really at home in the language.  Can't wait!

Oh ..... and what does the title of this post mean?  Guess :)!