Key facts
- Heidenau, a town near Dresden, has voted to halt future installations of "Stolpersteine" plaques.
- The decision was a result of a motion by the AfD and CDU.
- Supporters argued the plaques are inappropriate as they are embedded in the ground and can be walked on.
- The city administration had recommended against a blanket ban on future "Stolpersteine".
- Charlotte Knobloch, head of a Jewish regional association in Bavaria, expressed dismay at the decision.
An East German town has approved a motion to reject the future installation of brass plaques commemorating victims of Nazi persecution, a decision that has ignited debate over mainstream parties' adherence to a pact ruling out cooperation with the far-right AfD.
In Heidenau, a town near Dresden in the eastern state of Saxony, the town council voted to stop further "Stolpersteine" plaques and to concentrate future commemorations at a memorial site in the town's northern cemetery. The motion was supported by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the ruling center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU).