Neo-Nazi vandals have apparently victimized the stonemason who recently repaired Berlin’s vandalized Jewish cemetery for free.
After receiving telephone death threats, 150 gravestones in the mason’s eastern Berlin warehouse were destroyed. A public appeal is trying to help compensate him for his loss of nearly $40,000.
In October the stonemason, who has asked that his name not be used, offered to repair the damage to 103 Jewish gravestones that had been vandalized on Oct. 3, the anniversary of Germany’s reunification.
Reportedly, he has pitched in during similar situations over the years.
The Jewish community held a dinner in honor of the stonemason Nov. 24 after the repair of the stones in Berlin’s Weissensee Jewish Cemetery was finished.
The mason kept quiet about the attack out of fear, said Julia Plessing, manager of the Amadeus Antonio Foundation: Initiatives for Society and Democratic Culture, which has established a bank account for donations.
“He doesn’t have insurance, because stonemasons usually do that — it’s too expensive and the possibility of something happening is small,” Plessing said.
Plessing did not say how much money has been collected. But the foundation’s number has been publicized by several Berlin newspapers and circulated via e- mail.
Information about making a donation is available by e-mailing anettakahane@t- online.de
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
