Thessaloniki Holocaust memorial vandalized in second such incident in weeks

Greece’s top Jewish body says a memorial to thousands of Jews killed in the Holocaust has been vandalized in Thessaloniki, the second such incident in as many weeks.

A mural commemorating the deportation of the Jews of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second city, to the Nazi camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau had been daubed with swastikas and fascist symbols, it says.

“Vandal antisemites roam freely and stain undisturbed any attempt to preserve Holocaust memory in Thessaloniki,” the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS) says in a statement.

Thessaloniki: Holocaust mural defaced with Nazi symbols https://t.co/9FMu3VzojH#greece #greek #greekcitytimes pic.twitter.com/xzHqv1uVmM

— Greek City Times (@greekcitytimes) January 11, 2023

Last month, a swastika and a fascist symbol were also sprayed on a monument dedicated to the Jewish cemetery of Thessaloniki, one of the oldest in Europe, which was destroyed in 1942 when Nazi Germany occupied Greece.

There have been no arrests.

“Once again we call upon the authorities to take all necessary measures in order to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” KIS says.