Memorial for concentration camp victims in Osnabrück smeared
A memorial to concentration camp victims in Osnabrück has been smeared with graffiti. A political interpretation of the graffiti cannot be ruled out, said Michael Gander, managing director of the Nazi memorials Gestapokeller and Augustaschacht, on Friday. An information board belonging to the memorial had already been vandalized at the beginning of the year. According to a police spokesman, the state security service has begun an investigation.
The memorial erected on a railroad line refers to the 5th SS Railway Construction Brigade, which, as a concentration camp on rails, had to repair war-damaged railroad and road infrastructure between October 1944 and April 1945. The approximately 500 prisoners were housed in freight cars. They came from the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp (Thuringia), 180 of them from Buchenwald.
The act of vandalism against the concentration camp memorial in Osnabrück is a distressing reminder of the persistent existence of hate crimes in society. Despite the recent smear, the memorial continues to stand as a testament to the tragedy and resilience of those who suffered in the 5th SS Railway Construction Brigade.
Source: www.dpa.com
