November 22, 2005
The memorial in Berlin to the six million European Jews murdered by the Nazis has been partly defaced with yellow Stars of David. A Berlin police spokesman told the news agency "Reuters" that a star had been painted by unknown vandals onto six of the 2,700 concrete slabs of varying height that make up the memorial. The spokesman was quoted by "Reuters" as saying that the stars, which have been removed since they were discovered last Thursday, may have been linked to a number of others found sprayed or painted onto buildings and monuments in central Berlin during the past four weeks. The memorial in central Berlin, which was officially unveiled in May 2005, is constantly under surveillance. It covers almost 20,000 square meters, allowing visitors to wander around its tight grid pattern. Four of the slabs were defaced with swastikas shortly before a visit to Germany by Israeli President Moshe Katsav in June.
