Banners with swastikas hung over Swedish highway
Local police remove display, which coincides with Hitler’s birthday; no suspects arrested
Three flags bearing swastikas were found hanging over Sweden’s busiest highway on Sunday, Swedish media reported.
According to Swedish public broadcaster SVT Nyheter, police were alerted about the banners hanging over the entrance to a tunnel on the Essingeleden highway at 7:19 a.m., and they were removed by 7:40.
Essingeleden, which runs through the Swedish capital of Stockholm, is part of the European routes E4 and E20 and is considered among the busiest roads in Sweden.
Police spokesperson Mats Eriksson told SVT that a report of incitement of hatred toward a population group was filed after the incident.
According to Swedish police, there are currently no suspects.
“I was very shocked when I saw it,” one witness told the Aftonbladet newspaper.
I am appalled by images of Swastika flags in Stockholm, something we never thought to see in Europe again. pic.twitter.com/zk9JnRSbu7
— Ziv Nevo Kulman ????????????️ (@zivnk) April 20, 2025
The incident coincided with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s birthday, which is on April 20.
The Israeli ambassador to Sweden, Ziv Nevo Kulman, condemned the banners, writing on X: “I am appalled by images of Swastika flags in Stockholm, something we never thought to see in Europe again.”
Sweden saw a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents after the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught, during which terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251.
A total of 110 complaints were registered by police between October 7 and December 31 of that year, according to the report by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention. In 2022, the figure was 24.
Anti-Israel sentiments were also prominent when the Scandinavian country hosted the Eurovision song competition in 2024, as protesters demonstrated against Israeli contestant Eden Golan, who was booed during her performances.
In June, a Swedish court charged a 15-year-old with illegally possessing a semi-automatic weapon while heading to the Israeli embassy in Stockholm in a taxi.
The Times of Israel Community.