27 February 2007
A Jewish kindergarten in Berlin has been defaced with swastikas and other Nazi symbols and slogans. The damage, which also included the scrawled Nazi slogan 'Sieg Heil' as well as 'Auschwitz' and a smashed window, was discovered on Sunday afternoon, police said. A smoke bomb had been thrown into the building, located in the central Charlottenburg district, but it had not ignited. Police said the attack did not cause serious damage or endanger any children or staff. Erhart Körting, Berlin's Interior minister, condemned the attack as a "cowardly act." Berlin rabbi Yehuda Teichtal told the 'Bild' newspaper: "This is a new dimension of anti-Semitism in Berlin. I am shocked that people have gone this far." Because the property had been considered as temporary kindergarten, it was not secured to the same extent that other Jewish buildings in Berlin are.
