Nazi Vandals Deface Jewish Holocaust Museum In Almeria

Swastikas and far-right graffiti have been daubed on a monument honouring the Jewish victims of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp.

The monument to the victims of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp was defiled by right-wing activists in the city of Almeria in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia.

Swastikas were found daubed on columns alongside other anti-Semitic messages including ‘Almeria free of Jews’ and ‘Do you remember ‘36?’, referring to the start of the Spanish Civil War.

Miguel Angel Munuera, secretary of the Communist Party of Andalusia in Almeria, told local media that the vandals also distributed far-right literature in the area.

He also called on the local authorities to find the culprits behind the Nazi symbols and anti-Semitic graffiti, saying he believed they were a minority protesting the political situation in Spain that was led by the Socialist party.

The City Council was informed and sent a team to clean up the monument.

A spokesperson said that this is not the first time that the site has been sullied by right-wing extremists.

The hikers who stumbled upon the graffiti were paying tribute to the thousands of Spaniards who escaped by foot to Almeria along the N-340 road that starts south of Barcelona in the north-west of the country and follows the coast round to Cadiz in the south-west. 

They were fleeing from the Nationalist forces which went on to claim victory in 1939, leading to Francisco Franco’s fascist dictatorship which lasted until his death in 1975.

Spain has seen a recent upsurge in support for far-right groups. In the recent elections in Andalucia, the the new hard right party Vox saw their highest vote.