The wall of a Jewish cemetery near Poland’s Auschwitz concentration camp was defaced with swastikas and other Nazi symbols over the weekend, prompting local officials to condemn the vandalism and promise to crack down on those responsible.
Janusz Chwierut, the mayor of Oświęcim, as the city is known in Polish, on Sunday condemned the “fascist symbols” and asked local authorities to find and prosecute the perpetrators.
“Auschwitz is a place where such acts will always be condemned,” wrote Chwierut in a statement.
“Auschwitz is also a symbol of the secular coexistence of the Jewish and Christian communities, and the inhabitants of Auschwitz before the war are buried in the Jewish cemetery. These actions undermine our common memory.”
The symbols were quickly removed after being found, according to the Auschwitz Museum, which described the incident as “painful” in a tweet that included graffiti photos. The cemetery is maintained by the Jewish Center of Auschwitz and members of the community. The city was occupied by Nazi Germany between 1939 and 1945.
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A police officer noticed the vandalism on Sunday morning, the local police told NBC News in a statement. No suspects have been identified yet. Perpetrators face up to 10 years in prison for the combined crimes of promoting fascist content and damage to a historic monument, according to a police spokesman.
This vandalism occurs after a reported increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Germany and hate crimes around the world. One man was injured during a Hanukkah religious service in Kentucky last month and two were killed in a failed attack on a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle in 2019.
“We must continue to fight all forms of hatred,” wrote the Auschwitz Museum.
