Stolperstein dedicated to Constanza Martínez Prieto

The Stolperstein dedicated to Constanza Martínez Prieto is a small brass memorial plaque set into the pavement in Madrid's Lavapiés neighbourhood, on Calle Argumosa. It commemorates one of the Spanish women deported by the Nazis to a concentration camp during the Second World War.

Who was Constanza Martínez Prieto?

Constanza Martínez Prieto was born on 16 January 1917 in Madrid's Lavapiés district. Orphaned young — she lost her father at seventeen months old and her mother at the age of thirteen — she was raised by her grandmother and aunt, and trained in French, shorthand and typing. During the Spanish Civil War she joined the Unified Socialist Youth (JSU) and worked for the Republican press, following the Republican government first to Valencia and then to Barcelona, where she typed for the PSUC's political-military commission.

After the Republican defeat, she fled to France in January 1939. In Nantes she worked as a domestic servant for a German family, a position she used to make contact with the French Resistance, acting as a liaison between resistance cells in Nantes and Saint-Nazaire. On 27 June 1942 she was arrested in a large raid that swept up around 150 Spanish resistance members. Tried in December 1943 and sentenced to eighteen months in prison, she was handed over to German custody in May 1944 and deported from Paris on 14 June 1944 with a transport of 51 women. She was registered at Ravensbrück concentration camp under prisoner number 43224.

From Ravensbrück she was sent to a Hasag munitions subcamp near Leipzig, where she assembled artillery shell components on twelve-hour shifts. Fellow prisoners later recalled how her singing helped lift the spirits of the other Spanish women in the camp. On 14 April 1945, during the evacuation "death march," she managed to hide with the help of three prisoners of war — Czech, Yugoslav and Italian — until Soviet forces liberated the area. After the war she settled in France, married a fellow former deportee, raised two children, and did not return to Spain until the 1970s. She died on 3 January 1997 in Barcelona, having served as vice-president of the Amical de Mauthausen association.

What does this memorial stone mean?

Stolpersteine ("stumbling stones") are the work of German artist Gunter Demnig — small brass plaques set into the pavement outside the last freely chosen home of people persecuted by the Third Reich. This stone is one of a series placed in Madrid's Centro district to remember Lavapiés residents deported to Nazi camps. The inscription gives the person's name, year of birth, the date of deportation, and their fate.

How to get there?

The stone is set in the pavement at Calle Argumosa 5, in the heart of Lavapiés. The easiest way to reach it is by metro to Lavapiés station (line 3) or Antón Martín (line 1), followed by a short walk. It's worth combining the visit with a stroll past the other stones of the same memorial trail nearby.

When to visit?

The site is accessible year-round, at any hour, and free of charge — it is simply part of the public pavement. Early morning or late afternoon tend to be quieter, since Calle Argumosa gets busy with café terraces later in the day.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Stolperstein? A brass plaque set into the pavement, commemorating a specific person who was persecuted and deported by the Nazis from that address.

Who was Constanza Martínez Prieto? A Madrid-born resistance member active in France, deported to Ravensbrück in 1944, who survived the war and died in Barcelona in 1997.

Is there an entrance fee? No. The stone sits on a public pavement and can be viewed free of charge at any time.

Are there other similar memorial stones nearby? Yes, Madrid's Centro district holds around a dozen Stolpersteine dedicated to other residents deported to Nazi camps.