Dresden synagogue defaced with swastikas —on Kristallnacht anniversary

CounterVortex

Giant swastikas appeared on the walls of the synagogue in Dresden, Germany, on the eve of the anniversary of Kristallnacht Nov. 8. Unidentified perpetrators painted the graffiti, covering approximately six meters of brickwork. Heinz-Joachim Aris, chair of the State Union of Jewish Communities in Saxony, said he was disgusted and frightened by the crime. He also said he does not understand how it could have happened, as the synagogue is usually guarded. The case is being investigated by the Special Commission on Right-wing Extremism.

Saxony is one of the German states where right-wing extremists are currently flourishing. The extreme-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) has supporters there and sits in the state parliament in Dresden. NPD deputies also sit in the parliament in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Upper Pomerania. (Romea, Prague, Nov. 9)

See our last post on Jew-hatred and the radical right resurgence in Central Europe.

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  1. …and in Calgary
    From CBC News, Nov. 16:

    Calgary police probe anti-Semitic vandalism
    Police investigating anti-Semitic vandalism at three Jewish centres and nearby property in southwest Calgary say video surveillance captured one person in the incidents but others might have also been involved.

    Swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans were spray-painted on the Jewish Community Centre near 90th Avenue and Jerusalem Road S.W., the Holocaust memorial in front of it and the House of Jacob synagogue a block away.

    Graffiti was also found on a community mailbox, a private residence and a wall in the same Pump Hill neighbourhood.

    Vandals also struck another synagogue, a bus shelter and a community mailbox in the Woodbine neighbourhood.

    “It appears to be the same people,” Judy Shapiro, community relations director for the Calgary Jewish Community Council, said Monday. “It’s the same style of graffiti and the same ugly messaging.”