This little metal square is mounted in the sidewalk in front of house number 14 in the street called Králodvorská in Prague. It says that a woman named Markéta Auerbachová, born 1907, used to live here until she was deported to a Nazi concentration camp in 1941.
These symbolic stumbling blocks are common in Germany, but this is the only one I have seen in Prague. This one was particularly shattering for me because my mother was also born in 1907.
As I have explained in one of my posts on the German city of Freiburg im Breisgau, these little squares of metal are known in Germany as “stumbling blocks” (Stolpersteine), but you can stumble over them only in a figurative sense, meaning you are made aware that a murdered person used to live right here, so she isn’t just a statistic, but a real person.
The “stumbling blocks” are an initiative of the German artist Gunter Demnig, born 1947 in Berlin.
Detail of the building at Králodvorská 14
This stone plaque on the building at Králodvorská 14 says it was built in the year 1906.
GPS 50°5’19.35″ North; 14°25’39.53″ East
Website: http://www.stolpersteine.eu/en/home/
My photos in this post are from 2011. I revised the text in 2019.
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Hello again Don,
I must admit I had never noticed any of these stumbling blocks before although I am sure I must have passed some. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Wow, that is really interesting, a very special way to remember..
I found the memorial wall in Frankfurt to be so moving. We have to remember the victims as individuals, not numbers.
« Lest we forget…… » still appropriate!
I first came across Stolpersteine in Berlin, where of course there are very many, sadly. I didn’t know they could be found outside Germany but I am pleased that those who suffered elsewhere are also remembered.
I love the idea of these ‘stumbling blocks’ … the people remain alive, in some sense … never to be forgotten. Thank you for sharing this one!