Ex-German leader Helmut Schmidt's grave vandalized with swastikas

BERLIN, Germany — The graves of former West Germany chancellor Helmut Schmidt and his wife Loki have been desecrated with swastikas at a cemetery in Hamburg, police tell AFP.

“Swastikas painted in red were discovered Friday night on their tomb at the Hamburg cemetery and were immediately erased,” the police say.

No information was immediately available on the perpetrators or their motives, it said.

Schmidt, a Social Democrat, led what was then West Germany from 1974 to 1982. He died in November 2015 and Saturday was the date of his birth in 1918.

Wir leben nun in einem Land, in dem selbst der Sozialdemokrat Helmut Schmidt als Nazi gilt.

Was ist los mit diesem Land? pic.twitter.com/BXJC7igtfJ

— Ali Utlu (@AliCologne) December 23, 2023