Unknown persons have defiled the Memorial at Sandbostel in Wednesday night with right wing and anti-semitic graffiti, the police assumes two offenders at least. A criminal procedure because of Incitement of People, Use of Anti-Constitutional Organisations‘ Symbols, Disturbing of the Deads‘ Tranquility and Damage to Property was initiated. Till copy deadline, nothing could be found out about the investigations‘ progress. The responsible Police Station at Selsingen was not manned yesterday and the officers at Bremervoerde and Rothenburg were not able to give informations. On the Cemetery, mostly victims of the former Sandbostel POW– and KZ Reserve Camp lie buried. We‘ll report soon about the investigations‘ further progress.

The Police investigations in the case of the memorial defilement at Sandbostel have till now no tangible results concerning the offenders‘ identity. Unknown persons had last week defiled the Memorial there with anti-semitic and right-wing slogans.
The Police inquiries have been transfered to the State Security at Verden who specialises in offenses like Incitement of People and Use of Anti-Constitutional Organisations‘ Symbols. There are no results about the criminals‘ identity, as was confirmed by a Police spokesman in Rotenburg. In connection with the bomb attack at Düsseldorf and the right extremistic incidents at Eisenach, the desecration of the Sand bostel Memorial is mentioned often in the German media. In the recently started discussion about the extent of the extremist right wing scene in Germany and it‘s reason, the name Sandbostel could be found often in the week-end’s papers.
The incumbent district administrator Reinhard Brünjes said about the incident, he is shocked, that such an incident is possible at Sandbostel. The offenders must know, that the people in the district do think different. The graffiti are despicable, said Brünjes, who is wishing for a fast arrest made by the Police.
Meanwhile at Sandbostel, works were in progress to remove the mess on the Memorial. Klaus Schlesselmann is employed by the community since twelve years, and during this time, it’s the only occasion that the Memorial was defiled in this extent. Also on the Sandbostel town sign and the adjacent one, proclaiming the partnership with the French town Danizy, swastikas have been applied.

Four weeks have pased since the cowardly attack on the Sandbostel Cemetery. The Memorial, remembering the sufferings and deaths of thousands of prisoners-of-war and KZ-inmates, who rest here mostly anonymous and in mass graves, and it‘s surroundings have been soiled with swastikas, SS runes and neo-nazi, anti-semitic paroles.
About this disgraceful deed, media all over the land did report; citizens, representatives of the communities and the Memorial Association Sandbostel did condemn them in public declarations.
Because of the Anti-War-Day, the Memorial Association Sandbostel is calling to all citizens of our region to proove by their appearing on the desegregated Cemetery:
We don’t accept the spread of hatred against foreigners, rascism and exclusion of handicapped persons!
We support with all our means the protection of those citizens threatened by Neo-Nazism!
We won’t allow the further hollowing-out of our democracy by Neo Nazis abusing the constitutional freedoms, while more and more citizens aren’t interested in political cooperation.
We demand the determined and consistent investigation and judgemnet of neo-nazistic offenders.
We conserve the memory of war’s horrors, honour it‘s victims and fight against all neo-fascistic tendencies. The „Third Reich“ will NOT return.
Demonstration at the Memorial on Sandbostel Cemetery
Anti-War-Day – Friday, September 1st, 2000, 18.00
Visitors are asked, to bring flowers, candles, etc. as signs of their resistence against neo-nazism to the demonstration. These can be placed on the Memorial in Saturday and Sunday, too.

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