Italian mural of Holocaust survivors defaced in act of antisemitism: ‘Damages walls but not history’

A mural of Holocaust survivors in Italy has been defaced in a “demented act” of vandalism.

The Milanese mural by artist aleXsandro Palombo features Holocaust survivors Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano, whose faces and Stars of David were scratched out. The Auschwitz-Birkenau survivors were portrayed in striped camp uniforms and bulletproof vests.

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The artwork, unveiled on September 28, aimed to emphasize Holocaust remembrance as antisemitism rises in Europe.

The defacement came just after a pro-Palestinian rally in Milan where some demonstrators targeted Segre, a 94-year-old Italian senator, labeling her a “Zionist agent.” Palombo, outraged by the rhetoric, responded with the mural.

The vandalism has drawn a backlash across Italy. Mario Venezia, head of Italy’s Holocaust memorial museum, called it a “demented act” that “damages walls but not history.” Italian Democratic Party official Piero Fassino also condemned the act, calling it a “cowardly assault on Holocaust memory.”

Palombo’s murals frequently tackle hot-button issues. Last year, he created a mural showing Holocaust victim Anne Frank next to a young Palestinian girl. 

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His mural portraying Vlada Patapov, the “girl in red” who survived the Hamas attack during the Nova festival on October 7, 2023, was also defaced almost immediately after being completed.

“The antisemitic fury unleashed by Hamas is overwhelming Jews in every part of the world, this horror that re-emerges from the past must make us all reflect because it undermines freedom, security and the future of us all,” Palombo told EuroNews.

Liliana Segre was named a Senator for Life in Italy in 2018 for her patriotic acts by President Sergio Mattarella. (Courtesy of aleXsandro Palombo)

“Terrorism is the very denial of humanity and has nothing to do with resistance, it uses people with aim [the] to divide and drag them into the abyss of its evil, into an infernal vortex that has no end. There can be no peace until terrorism is eradicated; [legitimizing] it means condemning to death the whole humanity,” Palombo added.

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Rome’s Shoah Museum condemned the vandalism in a statement, saying “these acts not only harm art but undermine the value of Memory, which is fundamental for building a conscious and just society”.