A “Stolperstein” laid for Czech writer and journalist Pavel Tigrid
In the Prague district of Vinohrady, a “Stolperstein” was laid this week for the late Czech journalist, writer, and former culture minister Pavel Tigrid. The installation was initiated by the German-Czech Future Fund and the unveiling was attended by members of his family.
The laying of a commemorative cobblestone, a “Stolperstein”, for Pavel Tigrid was initiated by the German-Czech Future Fund - a foundation established in 1998 to promote cooperation between Czechia and Germany. The foundation’s director, Tomáš Jelínek, describes the “Stolperstein” project which originated in Germany:
“Stolpersteine, or cobblestones, are placed in front of the homes of people who were forced to leave their homes because of Nazi persecution - people who disappeared from our lives.”
A small 10x10cm brass stone bearing Pavel Tigrid’s name, including his birth name Schönfeld, is now set in the pavement outside a house on Kouřimská Street in Prague’s Vinohrady, where Tigrid lived during his studies before World War II.
In 1939, being of Jewish origin, Tigrid was forced to flee Czechoslovakia and escaped to Britain. From 1940, he worked for the BBC and as an editor for the radio broadcasts of the Czechoslovak government-in-exile. After the war, he returned to Czechoslovakia, but a few years later he was forced into exile again, this time as an enemy of the Communist regime. In France, Tigrid published the important Czech exile periodical Svědectví (Testimony).
After the fall of Communism in 1989, Tigrid became an advisor to President Václav Havel and from 1994 to 1996, he served as culture minister in Václav Klaus’s government.
While “Stolpersteine” are typically laid in memory of those who died during World War II, Tigrid passed away in 2003. As Jelínek explained, his foundation was in touch with the organizers of the “Stolpersteine” project to clarify whether a stone could be dedicated to individuals who did not die during the War, but who lived in exile.
“There are quite a few of these stones dedicated to people in exile and to those on the run, so we decided to dedicate the Stolperstein specifically to Pavel Tigrid.”
The laying of the “Stolperstein” was attended by Tigrid’s relatives, including his daughter Deborah, who commented on the symbolism of its location:
“Well, it’s very moving for us. It’s different from all the other events. They’re usually focused on what my dad did when he was in exile. And I think this is the first time the focus is on something else - on the life he led before the war, as a student.”
“Stolpersteine” were first introduced to Czechia in 2008. Since then, the “stones one is meant to stumble over with one’s eyes” can be found in ten towns around the country with nearly 900 “Stolpersteine” in Prague alone.
