Poland: Vandalism at Gdansk and Wroclaw Jewish Sites

Poland: Vandalism at Gdansk and Wroclaw Jewish Sites

(ISJM) The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland this past week reported two incidents of vandalism at recently restored Polish Jewish sites.

On June 16, 2009, the Jewish cemetery in Gdańsk-Chelm was vandalized by still-unknown attackers, who painted an anti-Semitic slogan in Polish ( "Jews to the oven, for this is your place") on a placard placed at the gate of the newly-renovated cemetery. The local Jewish community reported this case to the Police, and the President of Gdansk, Pawel Adamowicz, expressed his regret in an official letter to the local community. The cemetery has vandalized in the past.

In Wroclaw, swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans were painted on the buildings of the White Stork Synagogue, the facade of which has been recently been restored, and Jewish Information Center in Wroclaw. The case is being investigated by the Police. Last January (2009), a ‘Free Palestine’ slogan was painted at the Center’s window in January 2009. The Wroclaw municipality will clean the graffiti, which will cost about 1500 euros.