Stolperstein dedicated to Leopold Bock

The Stolperstein dedicated to Leopold Bock is a memorial stone set into the pavement on Orlí street in the centre of Brno, right beside a matching stone for his wife, Adele. Its brass plate commemorates a master butcher deported by the Germans first to the Theresienstadt ghetto and, from there, to his death in Riga.

Who was Leopold Bock?

Leopold Bock was born on 9 August 1884 in Brno, the son of Hermann and Berta Bock (née Zeisel). He trained as a master butcher and ran his own shop on Novobranská street. On 23 August 1908 he married Adele Parille; the couple had four children — Erich, Olga, Hans and Walter. The family lived at several addresses around Brno over the years (including what is now Nádražní street), and on 31 January 1927 Leopold bought a house at Orlí 26, where he lived until the outbreak of the war.

At the turn of 1939 and 1940, once the German racial laws took effect, the house and shop on Novobranská street were "Aryanised" — seized and handed to non-Jewish owners. The Bock family was forced to move into a house designated for Jews on what is now Vlhká street. On 5 December 1941, Leopold was deported on transport K-700 to the Theresienstadt ghetto. From there, on 15 January 1942, he was sent on a further transport, P-655, to Riga, Latvia, where he was shot almost immediately upon arrival — he died on 19 January 1942, four days after being deported east.

At the same address, Orlí 26, a second stone commemorates his wife, Adele Bocková, who was deported along the same route — through Theresienstadt to Riga, where she too was murdered in 1942. Together, the two Stolpersteine form a shared memorial to a married couple separated and killed by the German occupation regime.

What will you see on site?

A Stolperstein is a roughly 10-by-10-centimetre concrete cube topped with a brass plate, engraved with the person's name, year of birth, and the dates and places of deportation and death. The stone is set flush with the pavement, in front of the house where the commemorated person lived. It belongs to the wider European project created by German artist Gunter Demnig; Brno alone already has several dozen such stones.

How do you get there?

The stone lies on Orlí street, in the historic centre of Brno, close to Zelný trh (Cabbage Market) and the main streets of the old town. It's an easy walk from Náměstí Svobody, or take a tram to a stop in the city centre and continue on foot for a few minutes. The pavement is freely accessible at any hour.

When should you visit?

There is no fixed opening time — the stone can be seen at any hour, in any season, though daylight makes the engraved brass plate easier to read. Visitors with a particular interest in Holocaust history may want to plan a trip around 27 January, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, close to the anniversary of Leopold Bock's death on 19 January.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Stolperstein? A brass-topped paving stone set into the pavement outside a Nazi victim's last known home, part of a Europe-wide memorial project created by German artist Gunter Demnig.

Who was Leopold Bock? A master butcher born in Brno in 1884, husband of Adele Bocková, deported in December 1941 to Theresienstadt and murdered in Riga in January 1942.

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 Stolpersteine nearby? Yes, a stone for his wife Adele stands right beside it, and Brno has several dozen similar memorial stones across the city centre.