Stolperstein dedicated to Emilio Ramos González

The Stolperstein dedicated to Emilio Ramos González sits in Madrid's Carabanchel district, on Calle Cortada 1, right by the entrance to the Ana María Matute public library. It's a small brass-topped stone set into the pavement, one of thousands scattered across European cities, each one marking the life of a specific person caught up in the Nazi regime.

What exactly is a Stolperstein?

"Stolperstein" is German for "stumbling stone." The project began in the 1990s, created by German artist Gunter Demnig, who embeds cobblestone-sized blocks topped with a brass plate into city pavements. Each plate is engraved with a name and a short account of what happened to that person under Nazi rule. The stones are placed outside the person's last known home, so remembrance happens on the actual street where they once lived, rather than at a museum or monument far away. Madrid now has several dozen of these stones, most of them commemorating Spanish Republicans who ended up in German camps after the Spanish Civil War.

Who was Emilio Ramos González?

Emilio Ramos González was born on 24 November 1917 in Carabanchel, at the time a separate town on Madrid's outskirts and now one of the capital's districts. He trained and worked as a shoemaker. During the Spanish Civil War he served in the army loyal to the Republican government. When the war ended in 1939, like thousands of other Spaniards, he had to cross the border into France, leaving his entire family behind in Madrid. In France he was held at the Stalag Trier camp, and in 1941 he was deported to the Mauthausen-Gusen camp complex in Austria. He died there on 5 December 1941, at just 24 years old.

How do you get there?

The stone sits in the heart of Carabanchel, one of the more densely populated districts in southern Madrid. The district is well connected to the city centre by metro and bus — the metro station Carabanchel is the easiest reference point, followed by a short walk to Calle Cortada. It's worth pairing the visit with a walk through the wider neighbourhood, which has a local, distinctly non-touristy character.

What will you actually see?

The object itself is deliberately modest: a roughly 10-by-10-centimetre cobblestone that sits just slightly above the surrounding pavement, topped with a brass surface engraved with Emilio Ramos González's name, his birth and death dates, and a brief note on his deportation and where he died. There's no plaque with lengthy explanations and no visitor infrastructure around it — this isn't a monument in the traditional sense. Its impact comes precisely from that plainness: you have to stop and look down to read it.

When should you go?

The stone can be seen year-round, at any time of day, since it's simply part of the pavement with no opening hours. It's worth knowing that it was unveiled on 20 July 2021, close to the anniversary of the deaths of many people deported to Mauthausen; small remembrance gatherings sometimes take place in Carabanchel around that date.

Frequently asked questions

What does the word "Stolperstein" actually mean? It's German for "stumbling stone." The idea is that a passer-by notices the plate almost by accident and pauses for a moment at the victim's name.

Why is this particular stone in Carabanchel? Because that's where Emilio Ramos González lived before the civil war and his subsequent exile changed the course of his life. Stolpersteine are always placed at a victim's last known address, not at the site of their death.

Is this the only Stolperstein in Madrid? No — the city already has several dozen, most commemorating Spanish Republicans who were deported to Nazi concentration camps after 1939.

Is it worth planning a longer visit around this spot? Seeing the stone itself only takes a few minutes, but many visitors combine it with a short walk around Carabanchel and a stop at the Ana María Matute library right next to it.