Breslau police received a report of vandalism on the façade of the White Stork synagogue, likely related to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Fakt reported on Tuesday.
Breslau, a city on the Oder River in western Poland, is known for its Market Square which is lined with elegant townhouses and features a modern fountain. The earliest evidence of Jews living in Breslau is a tombstone from 1203. Beginning in September 1941, Breslau’s Jews were driven from their homes and crowded into a ghetto, to be deported a few months later to the death camps.
In 1960 about 1,200 Jewish families were living in Breslau, having returned after the war. After the Six-Day War, most of the Jews who lived in the city immigrated to Israel. About 70 remained in 1990 (Jewish Virtual Library).
The report regarding the devastation of the façade of the White Stork synagogue was received on Sunday, December 31, 2023. It was a graffiti slogan that said, “Israel, criminals and murderers.”
A spokesperson for the local police confirmed that a security employee discovered the act of vandalism. Police suspect it was done by a single individual. Nevertheless, Sebastian Lorenc, the vice-president of Breslau, among other positions, commented on his Facebook page:
“Unfortunately, the antisemitic rabble has raised its head again in Breslau. Brown cowards have stained the façade of the synagogue. It is pathetic that they are taking revenge on a place that has nothing to do with Israeli policy, but is an important monument on the city map. I will repeat: in our Breslau, there is no place for xenophobia and antisemitism. I hope that the perpetrators will be found by the police.”
