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ANTI-SEMITISM

Vandals hit memorial stone at Strasbourg’s Old Synagogue

A memorial stone marking the site of Strasbourg's Old Synagogue, which was destroyed by the Nazis in World War II, was vandalised overnight, leaders of the eastern French city said Saturday.

Vandals hit memorial stone at Strasbourg's Old Synagogue
Photo: AFP

“Once again, enough is enough,” Mayor Roland Ries wrote on his Facebook page before heading to the site for an inspection.

“The site is itself a response to whoever did this repulsive act because it symbolises both the exactions and horrors of the Nazi regime and the French people's power of resistance,” he added.

The stone lies next to the Avenue of the Righteous, dedicated to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust, Ries noted.

“A new incident of anti-Semitism in our town,” deputy mayor Alain Fontanel added on Twitter, posting a picture of a large black marble slab that had been knocked off its plinth.

“Quai Kleber synagogue was burnt down by the Nazis nearly 80 years ago. The memorial stone which marked this tragedy was vandalised overnight.”

The town hall was working with the police to track down those responsible, Fontanel said.

The synagogue, which was the Jewish community's main place of worship in the city, was ransacked and burnt to the ground by Hitler Youth on September 30, 1940.

“Sadly, history repeats itself,” Fontanel wrote on his Facebook page.

The region was already shaken on February 19th when 96 graves were daubed with swastikas at a Jewish cemetery in Quatzenheim, northwest of Strasbourg.

“There is no doubt this was an intentional act,” Thierry Roos, spokesman for the Israelite Consistory of the Lower Rhine region, was quoted as saying by local newspaper Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace.

“They wanted to erase the memory of the synagogue on quai Kleber by destroying it twice,” Roos said.

A statement issued by the regional prefecture said that “anti-Semitism strikes at values of the Republic shared by all French citizens. No display of intolerance must threaten our ability to live together.”

READ ALSO: 'We've been used to remaining silent': How social media has fuelled anti-Semitism in France

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POLICE

Outrage in Germany after remains of neo-Nazi buried in empty Jewish grave

The burial of a known neo-Nazi's ashes in the former grave of a Jewish musical scholar has sparked outrage in Germany, and prompted Berlin's anti-Semitism official to file a criminal complaint.

Jewish scholar Max Friedlaender's grave stone in Stahnsdorf, just outside Berlin, on October 12th.
Jewish scholar Max Friedlaender's grave stone in Stahnsdorf, just outside Berlin, on October 12th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Jens Kalaene

The remains of the neo-Nazi were buried at the grave of Max Friedlaender in Stahnsdorf, just outside Berlin, with several figures from the extreme-right scene in attendance at the funeral on Friday.

Samuel Salzborn, anti-Semitism official for Berlin, said late Tuesday that he had filed a criminal complaint because “the intention here is obvious – the right-wing extremists deliberately chose a Jewish grave to disturb the peace of the dead by burying a Holocaust denier there”.

He added that “it must now be quickly examined how quickly the Holocaust denier can be reburied in order to no longer disturb the dignified memory of Max Friedlaender”.

Friedlaender died in 1934 – when Adolf Hitler was already in power – and was buried in the graveyard as his religion was given as ‘Protestant’ in the burial registration slip

His grave was cleared upon expiration in 1980 and opened up for new burials, under common practice for plots after a certain amount of time has passed.

Friedlaender’s gravestone however remains standing as the entire cemetery is protected under monument conservative rules.

‘Mistake’

The Protestant Church managing the graveyard voiced dismay at the incident.

In a statement, it said it had accepted the request for burial at the empty grave because “everyone has a right for a final resting place”.

“Nevertheless, the choice of the former grave of Max Friedlaender is a mistake. We are looking into this mistake now,” the church said in a statement.

At the funeral, a black cloth was laid over Friedlaender’s tombstone while wreathes and ribbons bearing the Nazi-era iron cross symbol were laid on the grave for the neo-Nazi Henry Hafenmayer.

Prominent Holocaust denier Horst Mahler, who has been convicted for incitement, was among dozens at the funeral.

Police deployed at the funeral were able to arrest a fugitive from the far-right scene there, German media reported.

Several war graves stand at the cemetery at Stahnsdorf, and these sites are known in far-right circles, the Protestant church administrating the graveyard admitted.

It added that it has worked closely with police to hinder several neo-Nazi marches there in recent years.

READ ALSO: German hotel workers probed after singer’s anti-Semitism complaint

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