BERLIN (JTA) — Two Jewish cemeteries in the former East German state of Thuringia were vandalized.
According to the state’s Interior Ministry, unknown perpetrators vandalized the cemeteries at Gotha and Erfurt over the weekend. The damage was discovered early Monday morning by a medical rescue worker who was out walking his dog, according to news reports.
In Gotha, the bloody head of a pig was hung on the cemetery’s iron gates. The vandals left a banner painted in red with anti-Semitic graffiti, including the words "six million lies." Blood-red liquid was also thrown onto the gates of the cemetery. Vandals also poured the red liquid over a memorial plaque at the Erfurt cemetery.
According to The Associated Press, police were able to retrieve evidence at both sites.
Recent reports suggest that this year, one Jewish cemetery per week on average has been vandalized in Germany.
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