Swastika Destroys Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Plaque; Plaque Was Dedicated to Poles Who Fought Nazis

A plaque erected in 2008 in the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw -- dedicated to the "memory of those who suffered, fought and died" during the Nazi occupation of Poland -- was defaced with a large swastika, the Jerusalem Post website reports today (December 9, 2015).

"The damage is too large. The plaque could not be saved," a city official said. "Therefore, the plaque will be disassembled....and recreated."

Jonny Daniels, Founder and Executive Director of "From The Depths" -- an organization dealing with Holocaust memory and anti-Semitism -- said in a statement: "It's so sad to see this kind of graffiti in the heart of Warsaw, a city that understands perhaps more than others the extent of Nazi evil...."

The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of all Jewish ghettos in Europe during World War II. Over 400,000 Jews lived in it. By the end of World War II, however, some 300,000 Jews of the ghetto were either killed by the Nazis or died of starvation.