A city council in eastern Germany has stopped the installation of memorial plaques that honor Holocaust victims, causing public debate. The council in Heidenai, southeast of Dresden, decided to end the practice of placing engraved brass plaques known as Stolpersteine, which carry the names and fates of Jews and others persecuted by the Nazis. These small, palm-sized plaques, created by German artist Gunter Demnig, have become a common way to remember the Holocaust in Germany. The first Stolperstein was placed in the western city of Cologne in 1992, and today over 126,000 can be found in more than 30 European countries, commemorating some of the six million Jews and others who were killed in the Holocaust. The decision in Heidenau was backed by members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Supporters of the move said that many relatives of Holocaust victims feel the stones are an unsuitable way to remember the dead, as people walk on them. The decision sparked strong reactions, including criticism from Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, who expressed “shame” over the choice. He noted that some Stolpersteine in Berlin honored his own relatives and said it was shocking that a German city council in 2026 would stop installing new plaques. Many Jews have traveled to Germany to attend the ceremonies where these plaques are laid, often to remember victims who were gassed in Nazi concentration camps. The plaques are seen as the closest thing to a grave or burial site for those who were murdered. Christian Meyer-Heidemann, the state commissioner for political education in northern Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein, called the Heidenau decision “a deliberate attack on our culture of remembrance,” according to the German news agency dpa. Heidenau is not alone in rejecting the plaques. In Munich, city-owned land does not allow Stolpersteine to be placed, and alternative memorials have been created instead. Some Jewish leaders in Munich have also opposed the plaques, arguing that they allow victims’ names to be trampled on. The AfD, which has gained popularity in eastern Germany, has sought to downplay the crimes of the Nazi era. The anti-immigration party has recently had electoral successes in two German states and is now the most popular party in the country, according to polls. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has refused to work with the AfD, which has been criticized for ignoring the legacy of Nazi-era crimes that have shaped Germany’s politics and culture since World War II. The AfD’s growing influence has challenged the long-standing policy of mainstream parties not to cooperate with it. The party has been labeled an extremist group by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency in some regions. Gunter Demnig, the creator of the Stolpersteine, told dpa that the AfD’s recent electoral success made such a decision predictable. He accused the CDU of “leaving their Christian roots behind.”