On 23 October 2026 a restored Stern inscription was unveiled on building no. 10 in Minoritská Street in the centre of Brno. The original inscription had been removed from the building during the Protectorate. The building was constructed in 1910 by the firm Albert Stern and belonged to the family until 1940; on the ground floor there was a shop selling porcelain and glassware.[1][2]
Visit by descendants
Descendants of the Jewish Stern, Wittal and Stiassni families came to Brno from the United States and the United Kingdom at the invitation of the Štetl association, the Jewish community and the South Moravian Region. Before the Second World War all three families lived in Hroznová Street. The Stiassni family emigrated as early as 1938; the Wittal and Stern families stayed in Brno, and shortly after the occupation the Gestapo confiscated their houses.[2][3]
In the afternoon, Stolpersteine (Kameny zmizelých), which commemorate members of the families and their fates, were laid at the villas Stern (Hroznová 10), Stiassni (Hroznová 14) and Wittal (Hroznová 39).[2][3]
The Návraty do Brna project
The event is part of the project Návraty do Brna (Returns to Brno) by the Štetl association, which, according to Michal Doležel, the South Moravian regional councillor responsible for culture and heritage conservation, has run for five years. In that time, he said, it has obtained several hundred contacts for descendants of formerly prominent Brno families. In 2026 a new post for communication with the families was created at Brno city hall, in the department of foreign relations.[2]
Chronology
- — A restored Stern inscription was unveiled on a house on Minoritská Street in Brno; during a visit by descendants of the Stern, Wittal and Stiassni families, Stolpersteine were then laid on Hroznová Street. ČT24: regiony Novinky.cz
Sources
- ČT24: regiony — 23 October 2026
- Novinky.cz — 23 October 2026
- Brněnská Drbna — 22 October 2026