Stumbling Stones

A few weeks ago, Max Klaber, a Buffalo Grove resident and freshman at , traveled to Borken, Germany to remember and to honor his namesake.

Max’s great-grandparents Regina and Max Klaber were Jews living in Germany in the midst of World War II. Thankfully, they couple was able to hide their son Herbert safely in Holland before they were murdered in 1942. Max and Regina were upstanding citizens of Borken and owned and operated a Standard Oil Depot where they sold fuel and lubricants to businesses.

Now, almost 70 years since their deportation, the town of Borken is remembering the Klabers through an effort called The Stolpersteine Project. Stolpersteine translates to stumbling blocks and artist Gunter Demnig is helping to create these brass blocks to honor those who perished in the Holocaust. So far, he’s made over 6,000 blocks and they are placed within the cobblestone sidewalks at the last home address of the thousands of millions of those murdered by the Nazis. 

So Max, on his own, flew to Germany, to represent his family as the dedication and the brass blocks bearing his great-grandparents' names were put into the ground. Max said, “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and a life-changing experience.”

Larry Klaber, Max’s dad, said he’s just so happy his son could be there to represent his family and see where his great-grandparents came from. It was also phenomenal that Max could spend the week at a Montessori School in Germany while they learned about Jewish History.

This journey must have been emotionally taxing and beautiful all at once. Hopefully, as future generations walk along the sidewalks of Borken, these stumbling stones will keep the Regina and Max’s memory alive. 

As always, email me with any news, topics or ideas that you want to read about. Remember, I’d like to be the first to know! I can be reached at laurenbgpatch@aol.com.