Stolperstein dedicated to Leopold Herzog

The Stolperstein dedicated to Leopold Herzog is a brass-topped "stumbling stone" set into the pavement on Orlí street in the centre of Brno. The small plaque carries the name of a Holocaust victim along with the key dates of his fate – one of the smallest, yet one of the most moving memorials to the victims of Nazism found across European cities.

Who was Leopold Herzog?

Leopold Herzog was born on 25 May 1876. On 28 September 1942 he was deported on transport XVII/1, listed as number 522, from Darmstadt to the Terezín (Theresienstadt) ghetto in northern Bohemia. He died there on 9 February 1943. A death certificate issued in the Terezín ghetto documenting this date has survived. The stone on Orlí street in Brno marks the fact that a real person once lived at this address – a life brutally cut short by war and the machinery of extermination.

What is the story behind this spot, and what connects it to the stone next to it?

The stone dedicated to Leopold Herzog was unveiled on 17 September 2014, the same day as the neighbouring Stolperstein dedicated to Emma Herzogová – both stones sit at the same address on Orlí street. Placing both stones together, on the same day and at the same address, points to a close family connection between the two, although publicly available sources do not spell out the exact relationship. Such paired "family" stones are common practice in the Stolpersteine project, commemorating people who shared a home before deportation.

What exactly is a Stolperstein, and where does the idea come from?

Stolpersteine are the work of German artist Gunter Demnig, an ongoing project since the 1990s that now spans dozens of European countries. The concept is simple: a small brass plate, engraved with a victim's name, birth year, and the date and fate of their deportation or death, is set into a cobblestone embedded in the pavement outside their last freely chosen home. In Brno, stones have been installed in stages since 2012, and a further round of unveilings took place in the city centre in September 2014, including the stone for Leopold Herzog.

Where exactly is the stone located?

The stone is set into the pavement on Orlí street, right in the centre of Brno, close to the main pedestrian and shopping thoroughfare of this part of the city. Its coordinates are approximately 49.193297 N, 16.610625 E.

Why is this stone worth pausing at?

The word Stolperstein literally means "a stone you stumble over" – not physically, but with your eyes and your thoughts. Unlike large monuments, this form of memorial works at the scale of a single person and a single address, reminding passers-by that Holocaust victims were not anonymous numbers but neighbours who once lived in the very buildings that still line these streets. Pausing for a moment at the stone for Leopold Herzog, right beside the one for Emma Herzogová, is a simple but meaningful act of remembrance while walking through Brno's historic centre.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Emma Herzogová, whose stone lies next to it? She is commemorated by a separate Stolperstein right beside this one, unveiled on the same day and at the same address – everything points to a close family connection with Leopold Herzog, though sources do not state the exact relationship.

Did Leopold Herzog die immediately after deportation? No – from Darmstadt he was first taken to the Terezín ghetto in September 1942 and died there several months later, in February 1943.

Is the stone easy to miss? Yes, the stones are the size of an ordinary cobblestone, so it is worth looking carefully at the pavement on Orlí street rather than searching for a large monument.

How do you get there? Orlí street is right in the centre of Brno, within walking distance of Freedom Square (náměstí Svobody) and the main shopping streets – the easiest way there is on foot or by tram to the city centre.