A statue of Anne Frank in Amsterdam has been vandalized with graffiti reading “Gaza,” prompting criticism from the city’s mayor.
Photos show the word “Gaza” scrawled in red paint on the podium of the statue, which was erected in a park near where Frank and his family lived before they were forced into hiding.
It shows her wearing several layers of clothing, as the family feared that carrying suitcases would arouse suspicion.
Mayor Femke Halsema strongly condemned the vandalization of the memorial, saying: “No Palestinian was helped by defiling her precious statue.”
“Gaza” painted in red on Anne Frank’s monument in Amsterdam. pic.twitter.com/uu4xN1byQR
— Jotam Confino (@mrconfino) July 9, 2024
“This young girl, who was brutally murdered by the Nazis at the age of 15, reminds us and our city every day about humanity and kindness, in the most difficult circumstances,” Halsema posted on Instagram.
“Whoever it was, shame on you! There is no excuse for this,” she added.
Amsterdam police have opened an investigation into the incident. No arrests have been made yet.
A police spokesman told CNN on Wednesday (10) that police received a report of vandalism on Tuesday afternoon. “Officers went to the statue, saw the graffiti and began an investigation,” the spokesman said.
Anne Frank’s diary is often many young people’s first introduction to the horrors of the Holocaust. In 1944, the famous diarist and seven other Jews hiding in Amsterdam’s secret annex were arrested.
They hid for nearly two years in a secret annex above a canal-side warehouse in Amsterdam, before they were deported and Anne died in the Bergen Belsen camp at the age of 15.
Source: CNN Brasil
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