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Athens Holocaust Memorial Desecrated by Vandals

Stripped of moving lines by Elie Wiesel in an attack condemned by the city and the Jewish community alike

by
Liel Leibovitz
December 04, 2017
Wikimedia Commons
The Athens Holocaust Memorial, prior to its desecration by vandals earlier today.Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
The Athens Holocaust Memorial, prior to its desecration by vandals earlier today.Wikimedia Commons

The Holocaust Memorial in Athens has been desecrated earlier this week, community leaders have told Tablet. Vandals have stripped the memorial of two out of three panels feautring an inscription by Elie Wiesel, in English, Greek, and French. “Remember, when you pass by, close your eyes and remember, the inscription reads. “Just remember. For by remembering we honor their death and we save them from dying again-in oblivion.”

The City of Athens has condemned the attack and pledged to restore the memorial, which was unveiled in 2010.

“We condemn unequivocally this vandalism, which is an act of disrespect for the victims of the Holocaust and of insulting our memory and our culture,” said Minos Moses, the community’s president. “The Monument is open and accessible to all, it wants its visitors to move between its marble volumes, to stand, to talk to History, to honor the victims and to remember. And so it will remain in spite of all possible attacks. Because that is the only way it serves its mission.”

Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly culture podcast Unorthodox and daily Talmud podcast Take One. He is the editor of Zionism: The Tablet Guide.