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Bamberg Cemetery Reconsecrated; Repairs Done by German Volunteers

October 8, 1965
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A Jewish cemetery which was the target last June of what was considered the worst act of vandalism in postwar German history, was deconsecrated in ceremonies on the day before Yom Kippur.

Swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans, such as “Six Million Were Too Few,” were found daubed on 32 gravestones on June 13. After an intensive search, police arrested Reinhard Woitzik, 20-year-old son of a former member of the SS, who confessed the smearing. He was committed for psychiatric examination.

Volunteers who offered to repair the damage worked an estimated 700 hours and used 2, 500 flowers and 100 tons of material in their renovation work, it was reported at the ceremony, conducted by Rabbi Hans Gruenewald of Munich.

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