Stolperstein dedicated to Manuel García Barrado

The Stolperstein dedicated to Manuel García Barrado is a small "memorial stone" set into the pavement at Calle Bustamante 4, in the Delicias neighborhood of Madrid's Arganzuela district. Its brass plaque marks the life of a man who once lived at this address before being deported to a Nazi concentration camp.

Who was Manuel García Barrado?

Manuel García Barrado was born in 1918 in Calzada de Oropesa, in the province of Toledo. Before the war upended his life, he had come up through Real Madrid's youth ranks and worked as a draughtsman and illustrator. In 1941 he was deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria.

His drawing skills turned out to be decisive for his survival. During a camp assessment of prisoners' trades, when asked about his profession he sketched the outline of a house in the air with his finger — the camp official recorded him as an architect. That small gesture moved him from harsher labor into the camp's construction office, where conditions were relatively less brutal than elsewhere in Mauthausen.

García Barrado survived the war. After liberation he settled for decades in the Austrian town of Mauthausen itself, where he became involved with the local Memorial dedicated to preserving the memory of the camp's victims. He died in 2006.

What does the stone at Calle Bustamante commemorate?

A Stolperstein (German for "stumbling stone") belongs to a Europe-wide art project that embeds small brass-topped cobblestones into pavements in front of the last known homes of victims of Nazi persecution. Rather than a monument in a public square, remembrance is tied to an ordinary address and the everyday street the person once walked.

The stone dedicated to Manuel García Barrado was laid on December 1st in front of the building at Bustamante 4 — his former Madrid address, from which he was taken before deportation. Its plaque carries his name, year of birth, the date of deportation, and, where known, his fate or place and date of death.

How do you get there?

Calle Bustamante sits in the Delicias neighborhood, within the Arganzuela district, south of central Madrid. The nearest metro stations are Delicias (Line 3) and Palos de la Frontera (Line 3), both a few minutes' walk away. City buses running along the nearby Paseo de las Delicias and Méndez Álvaro also serve the area.

What should you know before visiting?

The Stolperstein sits flush with the pavement, in the pedestrian path, so it's easy to walk past without noticing — look down at ground level near number 4. There's no visitor infrastructure here: no eye-level information panel, no ticket booth, no set opening hours. A visit takes literally a few minutes and pairs well with a walk through Delicias, where other similar stones may be found nearby.

Given what the site represents — the memory of a victim of persecution — visitors should keep a quiet, respectful tone: avoid stepping directly on the stone or treating it as a photo backdrop.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a sign in English or Spanish explaining the stone? No — the plaque is in German, following the standard format used across the Europe-wide Stolpersteine project, and gives basic biographical details of the person commemorated.

How long does a visit take? It's a point on the pavement rather than an attraction with facilities, so seeing it takes only a few minutes.

Are there other Stolpersteine in Madrid? Yes, several other stones exist across different Madrid neighborhoods, honoring residents deported to Nazi camps; many cluster in areas where victims lived before the war.

Is there an entrance fee? No, the stone sits on public pavement and can be visited freely, like any other part of the street.