Stolperstein dedicated to Trude Sonnenscheinová

The Stolperstein dedicated to Trude Sonnenscheinová is a brass memorial plaque set into the pavement at Malinovského náměstí in Brno — one of tens of thousands of "stumbling stones" placed across Europe by German artist Gunter Demnig. Each stone bears the name of a single victim of Nazi persecution and marks the site of that person's last freely chosen home. This one in Brno commemorates a woman from a Jewish family who lost her life in Auschwitz.

Who was Trude Sonnenscheinová?

Gertrude Sonnenschein, née Mayer, was born on 12 December 1902. She lived in Brno at Malinovského náměstí 5, where she ran a household together with her husband, Hugo Sonnenschein. The couple had two sons, Paul (Pavel) Sonnenschein and Otto, who after the war began using the surname Slunský alongside the original Sonnenschein.

How was she deported?

On 8 April 1942, Trude Sonnenscheinová was deported from Brno on transport Ai-584 to the Terezín (Theresienstadt) ghetto. This was the typical first stage of deportation for Jews from Moravia at the time — Terezín served as a transit camp from which further transports moved on eastward.

What happened to her in Auschwitz?

After more than two years in Terezín, on 23 October 1944 Trude Sonnenscheinová was put on a further transport, Et-1392, to the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. She died there. As with thousands of others deported along the same route, no further details of the exact date or circumstances of her death were recorded — only that she did not survive.

Part of a family memorial

The Stolperstein for Trude Sonnenscheinová does not stand alone. At the same address, set into the pavement at exactly the same spot, are stones dedicated to her husband Hugo and to her sons, Paul (Pavel) and Otto Slunský-Sonnenschein. Together the four plaques form a small, symbolic cluster — a trace of the family that once lived at this address before the war and the Holocaust scattered and destroyed its members. All four stones were unveiled on the same day, 29 October 2012.

Where can you find this Stolperstein?

The stone lies in the pavement at Malinovského náměstí 5, in the centre of Brno, the Czech Republic's second-largest city, at coordinates 49.19565 N, 16.613169 E. Like all Stolpersteine, it is small and set flush with the paving stones around it — easy to walk past unless you happen to glance down.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Stolperstein? A small brass plaque set into the pavement, commemorating a single victim of Nazi persecution at the site of their last freely chosen home. The project was started by German artist Gunter Demnig and today includes tens of thousands of stones across Europe.

Who was Trude Sonnenscheinová? A woman from a Jewish family living in Brno who was deported first to Terezín and then to Auschwitz, where she died in 1944 or shortly after.

Why are there several Stolpersteine at this address? Because the entire Sonnenschein family lived at Malinovského náměstí 5 — besides Trude, the stones here also commemorate her husband Hugo and her sons Paul and Otto.

Can this stone be visited? Yes. It sits in an open, public part of the city, set into the pavement at Malinovského náměstí in central Brno, and is accessible to passers-by at any time.