At 102, Sonja Ibermann Cowan has little time for trivialities. The Melbourne-based Holocaust survivor, originally from Berlin, has instead invested her time in a transcontinental friendship sparked by memorial stones outside a stranger's apartment.
In July 2020, journalist Benjamin Preiss, Sonja's grandson, contacted Berlin writer Kate Connolly after reading her essay about Stolpersteine—brass plaques commemorating Holocaust victims. Two such stones outside Connolly's home honour Sonja's mother Taube and sister Lotte, both murdered by Nazis. Connolly had polished them for years, unaware of the living connection.
Sonja, who fled to the UK as a teenager, now lives in Australia. During pandemic lockdowns, her family delved into her past, leading to a Zoom call in September 2020. Connolly described Sonja as sharp, humorous, and youthful, with a Berliner's directness. Sonja joked about being 'eingesperrt' (locked up) and quipped, 'No dancing!'
The Stolpersteine project, by artist Gunter Demnig, has placed over 100,000 plaques across Europe. Connolly's essay explored how such memorials help Germans confront history. The stones, she wrote, make the Holocaust's scale human, forcing passersby to bow and reflect on individual fates.
Sonja's story bridges past and present, transforming abstract history into a living narrative. Her connection with Connolly, born from a chance message, underscores the enduring power of remembrance.
