‘Graffiti Grandma’ Fined For Painting Hearts Over Swastikas In Germany
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Aiden Pink October 14, 2019
A woman in Germany was fined earlier this month for painting over neo-Nazi graffiti, after a court concluded that her actions constituted property damage, the Telegraph reported.
Irmela Mensah-Schramm, a 74-year-old activist known as the “Graffiti Grandma,” has for decades painted over white nationalist slogans and symbols throughout Germany. But after she painted hearts over graffiti that translated to “Nazi Zone” in the town of Eisenach in December 2018, somebody filmed her actions and reported her to the police.
Mensah-Schramm was fined 300 euros, or around $330, plus court costs, the Telegraph reported. The verdict reportedly has caused controversy in Germany because it was issued on the same day as the deadly synagogue attack in Halle, around 120 miles away.
She could have avoided the verdict by making a 500 euro donation to not-for-profit groups but said that doing so would have been an admission of guilt.
According to Deutsche Welle, Mensah-Schramm told a local broadcaster that if what she did was wrong, “I’d like to see myself as a repeat offender.”
Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
