Four young men have been arrested as suspects in an arson attack five weeks ago against a synagogue in the northern city of Lubeck. The men will be charged with attempted murder and arson.
The four suspects, who range in age from 19 to 24, were arrested Monday, the state prosecutor announced. Hatred of foreigners and Jews prompted the attack, which was planned a few hours before it was perpetrated, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
Early March 25, the four allegedly threw two Molotov cocktails into the entrance of the building which houses the synagogue, then ran away.
Five people who live over the synagogue were asleep. They were alerted by neighbors who heard glass breaking and discovered the fire in its early stage. No one was hurt and only slight damage was caused to the synagogue.
According to a newspaper in Lubeck, the four arrested live in a city district known as a stronghold of extreme right-wing parties.
Following the attack, thousands marched in Lubeck and other cities against racial hatred.
Last Sunday, 100 German artists opened an exhibit in Lubeck to raise money for repairing the synagogue. The organizers said the exhibition is “a sign of solidarity with our Jewish neighbors.”
Ironically, the Nazis spared the Lubeck synagogue during the Nov. 9-10, 1938 Kristall-nacht pogrom so as not to damage a nearby art museum. The firebombing of the Lubeck synagogue was the first such attack on a synagogue since the Nazi era.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
