Memorial to Holocaust survivor Simone Veil vandalised with swastikas in France

A memorial in Perros-Guirec, France dedicated to Simone Veil, a Holocaust survivor and former Minister of Health, was found vandalised on Wednesday.

The stone memorial in north-western France was daubed with red swastikas and has prompted a police investigation.

Ms Veil, born in 1917, was deported to Auschwitz concentration camp as a teenager where she narrowly avoided murder. Her father and brother were deported and presumed dead, her sister was sent to Ravensbrück camp, and her mother died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. She went on to become President of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1982 and served as the French Ministry of Health.

Minister Delegate for Citizenship Marlène Schiappa wrote on Twitter that “Simone Veil is a French and global figure in women’s rights, in Europe and in the fight against antisemitism,” adding that “these heinous acts must not go unpunished.”

In 2019, letterboxes depicting images of Simone Veil were also defaced with swastikas.

In a similar incident that took place last month, antisemitic vandals used a blowtorch to engrave a Holocaust memorial with swastikas in Grenoble, France.

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