Swastikas, ‘Hitler,’ Graffitied on Former Mauthausen Concentration Camp

Crematorium oven in Mauthausen museum. Image by Getty Images

By JTA February 2, 2015

Four swastikas and “Hitler” were found on the former Mauthausen concentration camp.

The graffiti was written with a felt pen and carved onto walls at the former camp, the Upper Austria State Police said Monday in a statement, according to Austrian news reports. An investigation was launched into the incident at Mauthausen, which is now a memorial and museum.

The graffiti, about a half-inch high, was discovered in the former laundry and in the bunker area after visitors complained to a memorial employee on Sunday, according to the Austria Press Agency.

It is not known when the vandalism took place, though police reportedly suspect that it occurred the day before the discovery during public visiting hours.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO