The Edith Stein Window

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Designed by Freiburg artist Hans-Günther Van Look in 2001, this stained-glass window depicts Edith Stein, who was canonised in 1998. Dressed in the robes of the Carmelite order, her realistic portrait was reproduced on glass from a passport photo taken in 1938. The seven-branched candelabrum (temple menorah) symbolises Judaism, while the cross represents Christianity. Having studied in Breslau (Wrocław, Poland, today), Göttingen (in central Germany) and Freiburg, Stein earned her doctorate in philosophy before serving as the private assistant to philosopher Edmund Husserl in Freiburg from 1916 to 1918. In 1922, she converted to Catholicism and joined a Carmelite monastery in Cologne eleven years later. Edith Stein was murdered in 1942 in Auschwitz for being of Jewish descent.

  • Stein had the "passport photo" taken in December 1938/early 1939 for her departure to Echt (Netherlands). The photograph that Hans Günther Van Look used for the stained glass window is now in the archives of the Carmelite convent near Cologne.

    Stein had the "passport photo" taken in December 1938/early 1939 for her departure to Echt (Netherlands). The photograph that Hans Günther Van Look used for the stained glass window is now in the archives of the Carmelite convent near Cologne.

    • The stumbling stone (called 'Stolperstein') in memory of Edith Stein at Goethestraße 63 in Freiburg. There are a total of nine stumbling stones in Germany and Poland in memory of the philosopher.

      The stumbling stone (called 'Stolperstein') in memory of Edith Stein at Goethestraße 63 in Freiburg. There are a total of nine stumbling stones in Germany and Poland in memory of the philosopher.

    • The memorial plaque on the Edith Stein House in Wrocław, the former residence of the Stein family.

      The memorial plaque on the Edith Stein House in Wrocław, the former residence of the Stein family.