(CNN) — A Jewish section of Vienna’s central cemetery was set on fire overnight and desecrated with swastikas, Oskar Deutsch, head of Vienna’s Jewish community, said in a post on social media on Wednesday.
“During the night, the Jewish section of the Central Cemetery (Gate 4) was set on fire. The entrance to the ceremonial hall was burned. Swastikas were painted on the outer walls. No one was injured. Firefighters and police are investigating,” Deutsch announced on the social site “X”, formerly known as Twitter.
The circumstances under which the event took place are unknown, and according to the Vienna Police in a statement published this Wednesday, the investigation is still ongoing.
This photo taken on Nov. 1, 2023 shows Nazi swastikas painted on the exterior wall in front of the ceremonial hall at the Jewish Central Cemetery in Vienna, Austria. (Credit: GEORG HOCHMUTH/APA/AFP via Getty Images)
“During investigation, it was found that National Socialist symbols were painted on the outer wall of the room. The State Office for Constitutional Law and Combating Terrorism has been informed and investigation is on at full speed,” the police statement added.
The Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Karl Nehhammer, responded this Wednesday that he “strongly condemns the attack on the Jewish cemetery in Vienna”.
(Credit: @DeutschOskar)
“Anti-Semitism has no place in our society and will be fought through all political and legal means. I hope the perpetrators will be found soon,” he declared.
