German authorities in Frankfurt are asking for witnesses to come forward after two sculptures of Jewish athletes who were persecuted by the Nazi regime were destroyed at an open air exhibit in a city square.
The Plexiglas renderings of Lilli Henoch and Walther Bensemann, part of a touring display temporarily on show in Frankfurt’s Rathenauplatz, were targeted on two successive nights.
According to the city’s Jewish Museum, the sculptures were torn from their pedestals. Fritz Backhaus, the deputy head of the museum, said the vandals has used extreme violence in their efforts to tear down the pieces.
The exhibition, which has been displayed already in several German cities, features larger-than-life images of 17 successful Jewish athletes who suffered at the hands of the Third Reich from 1933 onwards.
Frankfurt police say they have no clues as to who the vandals are, but that an investigation is ongoing. The exhibition will remain open to the public until July 7th.
