Several memorial paving stones (snublesteiner) in Grünerløkka, Oslo, have been defaced with black paint by unknown vandals. The stones were placed in memory of Norwegian Jews who were killed during World War II. The Jewish Museum responsible for the memorial received the first report of the defacing at 7:30 Thursday morning. In total, stones were found sprayed at five different locations.
“I would believe this is targeted. They’ve gone after several stones located in different places”, Mats Tangestuen, head of the museum, told state broadcaster NRK.
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Kjersti Stenseng (Labour Party), who is responsible for national minorities, says she is deeply upset about the vandalism. “Every stumbling stone is a memorial to a person who was subjected to the Nazi genocide during World War II, and they tell a dark chapter in Norway’s history, she said, “It is sad and unacceptable that these stones are being vandalized like this.”
“It is sad that someone would attack a memorial for people who were killed over 80 years ago,” Tangestuen says.
With the insurgence of antisemitism in Western Europe and Scandinavia this is one of the many incidents where Jewish memorials have been targeted. The perpetrators are yet to be found.
