Political leaders in the eastern German town of Zeitz were left speechless on Monday when it came to light that someone had stolen 10 Stolpersteine or "stumbling blocks." 

Originally the brainchild of artist Gunter Demnig, the 10 cm by 10 cm (4 inch) blocks with brass plates are placed on the street in front of houses where victims of the Holocaust, mostly Jews, lived before their deportation and murder by the Nazis. The stone lists their name, birthdate and to which concentration camp they were taken.

While most German cities and towns have welcomed the memorials, they are not always viewed favorably. Munich famously rejected having them installed in its streets over objections from many, including the local Jewish community, who did not like the idea of people's names being stepped on.

'Unforgivable and inexcusable'

County Governor Gütz Ulrich said, "Whoever did this also wants to tear the Holocaust out of our memory." Writing on social media site X, he called the crime "unforgivable and inexcusable."

Zeitz Mayor Kathrin Weber said that the act was clearly politically motivated and saw it as an attack on democracy. The town said Weber filed a criminal complaint with local police.

A police spokesman said they believed the theft happened over the weekend and that an investigation had been launched.

Zeitz lies in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, and like other parts of Germany's east, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has become increasingly popular there. In the last municipal election this past June, the AfD won the most seats of any individual party on the city council with nearly 30% of the vote, just behind independent voters with 36%. 

The town has planned a memorial march next week that will pass all the locations where the stones were taken out of the ground and opened an account to accept donations to replace the stumbling stones.

es/sms (AFP, dpa) 

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