Holocaust memorial stones in Germany vandalized with antisemitic messages
‘Jews are criminals’ graffitied on stumbling stones in Weimar; phrase was used in acts of vandalism last year, in incidents believed to be connected
At least seven memorial stones for Jews who died in the Holocaust have been vandalized with antisemitic messages in the German city of Weimar, according to a local report.
“Jews are criminals,” said the messages on the so-called Stolpersteine or stumbling stones, which are embedded in local sidewalks to mark the houses that once belonged to local Jews, the Thuringer Allgemeine outlet reported.
The report noted that the same phrase was graffitied on advertising posters for the Jewish community’s Achava Festival and on other memorial stones last year.
According to the report, the incidents appeared to be linked, though police have not yet found enough evidence to confirm it.
There has been a significant increase in antisemitic incidents around the world since the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, which saw nearly 1,200 people killed, mostly civilians, and 251 kidnapped, sparking Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency said Tuesday there was a surge in antisemitic crimes in 2023, which jumped from 33 the previous year to 492 — the vast majority committed after October 7.
#Stolpersteine in #Weimar
2024
Ich weiß nicht mehr was ich noch sagen soll. pic.twitter.com/GOrhxbuUqO— KattaTheLemur????️✡️ (@KattaTheLemur) June 19, 2024
RIAS, the Antisemitism Research and Information Center based in Berlin, put the number even higher, reporting that there were 994 antisemitic incidents recorded in the first month of the Israel-Hamas war alone. They included physical attacks, threats, graffiti, and overheard antisemitic slurs.
Agencies contributed to this report.
