Even before my American cousin Jim Bloomfield and I traveled to Neustadt-Momberg, the hometown of our Blumenfeld ancestors, we felt welcome. The city administration in Neustadt responded enthusiastically to the announcement of our visit. The city archivist, Andrea Freisberg, was eager to talk to us about the results of our family research. She had been researching the former Jewish communities in Neustadt-Momberg and Neustadt for two years. And if we wanted, she would arrange accommodations for us. She even announced a meeting with Mayor Thomas Groll! In adddition, she put us in touch with Frank Nühs from Momberg, whose mother—who is over 90 years old—knows a great deal about Momberg’s history. During a tour of the village, he would surely be able to answer our questions about the town.

In Andrea Freisberg’s office in the recently restored Ern-Tennen House, dating from around 1700, there was a lively discussion about the seemingly countless Abraham Blumenfelds in Momberg, some of whom are difficult to identify. Thanks to her access to the old records, we learned quite a bit and were able to help her untangle a few “knots” in her research. We’ll definitely stay in touch!

Mayor Thomas Groll warmly welcomed us to the venerable town hall and described the evolution of remembrance culture in Neustadt. Only in late March 2025 were the first Stolpersteine laid for Jews from Neustadt who were murdered in the Holocaust. “Ten years ago, that would have been impossible,” Groll noted. Yet in 2020, a memorial was erected on Town Hall Square commemorating the Nazis’ atrocities against their Jewish fellow citizens.

The memorial—the “Bench of Remembrance”—on Town Hall Square consists of a bench and a table. On the table lies a large book containing the stories of various Jewish families from the city of Neustadt. The bench and table are connected to each other. This is intended to help establish a connection between those reading the book and the people described within it.

The initiative for the first Stolperstein installation came from Roman Mehler, a teacher in Neustadt. He had noticed that Stolpersteine had already been laid in towns around Neustadt and wondered why there were none in Neustadt yet. He wanted to carry out the project with his 10th-grade students at the Martin-von-Tours School. The city put Teacher Mehler in touch with archivist Andrea Freisberg, in whom he found an energetic and dedicated partner. The first Stolpersteine were laid in front of the house at Lehmkaute 7 in memory of Karl Stern, his wife Erna Abraham, Erna’s mother Betty Abraham, and their children Harry, Ellen, and Marion. In March 2026, twelve Stolpersteine were laid in front of Bahnhofstrasse 6 and Bogenstrasse 1 in memory of the Levi family.

During the conversation with Mayor Groll and City Archivist Freisberg, my cousin Jim Bloomfield and I realized that promoting the development of a culture of remembrance in Neustadt is a matter close to their hearts.

Below is the pamphlet in remembrance of the family Levi, Neustadt.