Accessibility links

Breaking News

Holocaust Victims' Memorial Stone Vandalized In Belarus


It is the second time the Holocaust memorial has been vandalized in the past five years.
It is the second time the Holocaust memorial has been vandalized in the past five years.

MAHILEU, Belarus -- Vandals have desecrated a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust in the eastern Belarusian city of Mahileu.

Authorities said on November 21 that unknown perpetrators had poured black paint on the stone over the weekend.

The stone marks the site of the Jewish ghetto in Mahileu during the Nazi World War II occupation of the 1940s.

In June, 2012, unknown perpetrators poured brown paint on the same stone. Nobody was held responsible then.

Jews have lived in Mahileu since the 16th century. In the 19th century, the town was a center of Jewish religious study and Hassidism.

  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL's Belarus Service

    RFE/RL's Belarus Service is one of the leading providers of news and analysis to Belarusian audiences in their own language. It is a bulwark against pervasive Russian propaganda and defies the government’s virtual monopoly on domestic broadcast media.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG