Stolperstein dedicated to José Arroyo Ayuso

The Stolperstein for José Arroyo Ayuso is a small memorial stone set into the pavement at Calle de Augusto Figueroa 43, in Madrid's Centro district, right on the edge between Malasaña and Chueca. It isn't a sightseeing attraction in the usual sense — it's a modest marker commemorating one specific victim of Nazi persecution, placed exactly where he lived before he was forced to leave Spain.

What is a Stolperstein?

Stolpersteine, or "stumbling stones," are a Europe-wide memorial project started by German artist Gunter Demnig. Each stone is a 10 cm brass-topped cube set into the pavement, engraved with a victim's name, year of birth, and fate. The stones are placed in front of the victim's last freely chosen home — not at the site of death, but at the doorstep from which they were taken. Madrid alone has installed several hundred of these plaques, most of them dedicated to Spanish Republicans deported to Nazi concentration camps.

Who was José Arroyo Ayuso?

José Arroyo Ayuso was born in 1903. Like thousands of other Spanish Republicans, he went into exile in France after Franco's victory in 1939. Following the German occupation of France, he was arrested by German authorities and held at Stalag Fallingbostel, a POW camp through which many interned Spaniards passed before being funneled into the concentration camp system. In 1941 he was deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. He was killed on 1 November 1941 at Gusen, one of the harshest subcamps of Mauthausen, notorious for forced labor in its granite quarries.

Why is this stone in Madrid?

José Arroyo Ayuso's story belongs to a lesser-known chapter of the Second World War: the fate of Spanish Republicans who fled to France after losing the civil war, only to be treated as stateless persons by the Germans after France's fall in 1940 and, in large numbers, sent on to Mauthausen-Gusen. Historians estimate around 7,000 Spaniards were deported there, and more than half of them did not survive. The stone at Augusto Figueroa 43 is one of many laid in Madrid as part of an ongoing effort to restore the memory of these victims — placed at the home they once had, not at the distant site where they died.

How do you get there, and what else is nearby?

Calle de Augusto Figueroa sits right in central Madrid, an easy walk from Chueca metro station (line 5) and Gran Vía (lines 1 and 5). The street is lined with late-19th and early-20th-century apartment buildings and is today one of the liveliest parts of the city, full of cafés, shops, and bars. The stone itself is easy to miss: it lies flush with the pavement near the entrance of building number 43, so you have to look down to spot it.

When should you visit?

There's no "best time" — the stone sits on a public sidewalk and is accessible year-round, at any hour. That said, since this is a memorial rather than a viewpoint, a quieter moment of the day suits a reflective visit better than the middle of the neighborhood's busy nightlife hours.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an information plaque next to the stone? The Stolperstein itself carries the essential facts: name, year of birth, and the place and date of deportation and death. This is the standard format used across the whole European project.

Are there other Stolpersteine in Madrid? Yes — the city has several hundred of them, concentrated mainly in the Centro district and nearby areas, commemorating Spanish Republicans deported to Nazi camps.

Is there an entrance fee? No, the stone is embedded in a public pavement, so visiting it costs nothing.

What was Gusen, where José Arroyo Ayuso died? Gusen was a subcamp of the Mauthausen complex in Austria, known for exceptionally brutal working conditions in its granite quarries.