Stolperstein dedicated to Tomás Carretero Velsaco

The Stolperstein dedicated to Tomás Carretero Velasco is a small brass memorial stone set into the pavement of Chinchón, in the Madrid province of Spain. It sits right by the Ayuntamiento (town hall), a short walk from the town's famous Plaza Mayor, and belongs to the wider Stolpersteine ("stumbling stones") project by German artist Gunter Demnig, who since the 1990s has embedded thousands of these markers into European sidewalks outside the last known homes of victims of Nazi persecution.

Who does this stone commemorate?

Tomás Carretero Velasco was born in Chinchón on 29 December 1914. Like thousands of Spanish Republicans, he went into exile after the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939. During the Second World War, Nazi Germany deported him to the Gusen concentration camp in Austria, a subcamp of the Mauthausen-Gusen complex where prisoners were forced into brutal quarry labour. He died there on 13 January 1942, at the age of 27.

His story belongs to a chapter of history that stayed largely untold for decades: more than 7,000 Spaniards, most of them Republicans who had fled to France after the war and were later caught by German forces following France's fall in 1940, passed through the Mauthausen-Gusen camps. In 2019, the Spanish government published an official list of over 4,400 Spaniards who died in these camps — Tomás Carretero Velasco is one of the names on it.

How do you get to the stone?

The Stolperstein sits in the very heart of Chinchón, directly beside the town hall, just steps from the oval-shaped Plaza Mayor that gives the town its character. If you're already standing in the square with its timber balconies and terrace bars, simply walk toward the Ayuntamiento building to find it. Chinchón's old town is compact and entirely walkable, so no transport is needed once you're there.

What will you actually see?

The stone itself is deliberately understated — a square brass plate set flush with the pavement, engraved with the name, birth date, deportation details, and date of death. That's the whole point of Demnig's project: the marker doesn't stand out from its surroundings, which forces passers-by to slow down and bend closer to read it. Chinchón holds a few more of these stones, as the town — like others across the Madrid region — takes part in the broader European effort to restore the names of local victims of Nazism to public memory.

Why is it worth a stop?

Most visitors know Chinchón for its lively Plaza Mayor, its bullring, and its anís liqueur, but this memorial stone points to a quieter, less-visited layer of the town's history. It creates a tangible link between a sunny, cheerful public square and the fate of residents who never made it back home. Seeing it takes only a couple of minutes, but it's a natural addition to a walk that already mixes sightseeing with sites of memory.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the stone located? Next to the town hall (Ayuntamiento) in Chinchón, close to the Plaza Mayor.

Who was Tomás Carretero Velasco? A resident of Chinchón, born in 1914, deported after the Spanish Civil War to the Gusen concentration camp, where he died in 1942.

Is there an entrance fee? No — the stone is set into a public pavement and can be viewed freely at any time, day or night.

Are there other Stolpersteine in Chinchón? Yes, the stones in Chinchón are part of a wider project covering several towns in the Madrid region, each commemorating local victims of Nazi persecution.