Carpenter Thomas Thiele, front, removes the bullet hole-ridden door of a synagogue in Halle, Germany, July 28, 2020. (Hendrik Schmidtpa/dpa via AP)
BERLIN, Germany — The bullet hole-ridden door of a German synagogue that held firm in a botched far-right attack on Yom Kippur last year was being replaced on Tuesday, a week after the suspect in the attack went on trial. It is slated to become part of a memorial.
The suspect, Stephan Balliet, is alleged to have posted an anti-Semitic screed before carrying out the October 9 attack in the eastern city of Halle. He broadcast the shooting live on a popular gaming site.
Prosecutors say he repeatedly tried, but failed, to force his way into the synagogue with 52 worshipers inside, before shooting and killing a woman in the street outside and a man at a nearby kebab shop.
The damaged door, pockmarked with bullet holes, became a symbol of concern about rising anti-Semitism in Germany.
Stephan Balliet, who is accused of shooting dead two people after an attempt to storm a synagogue in Halle, arrives at the district court in Magdeburg, eastern Germany on July 21, 2020. (Ronny Hartmann/various sources/AFP)
On Tuesday, a carpenter removed the door, news agency dpa reported. A new one was being installed in its place.
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The head of Halle’s Jewish community, Max Privorozki, said that a memorial will be built and the old door will be a central part of it.
“We plan to have everything ready for October 9,” the anniversary of the attack, he said.
Max Privorozki, chairman of the Jewish community in Halle, stands in front the bullet hole-ridden door of a synagogue before the door was replaced, in Halle, Germany, July 28, 2020. (Hendrik Schmidtpa/dpa via AP)
Balliet’s trial on charges including murder, attempted murder, bodily harm and incitement opened a week ago in nearby Magdeburg. The suspect told the court that he saw Jews as a threat to the white race.
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