Vandals spray a giant swastika and graffiti on to memorials at British WWII graveyard in the Netherlands
- Dutch police are investigating after racist graffiti was found in Mierlo cemetery
- Swastika painted on to the inner wall of the chapel of the World War II memorial
- Some 648 British soldiers who died in action during WWII are buried there
Vandals have spray-painted a swastika on a British World War II cemetery and memorial in the Netherlands.
Dutch police are investigating after the racist graffiti was found today on the inner wall of the chapel at the British World War II Commonwealth Graves cemetery in Mierlo, Netherlands.
Some 648 British soldiers who died in action during World War II are buried in the cemetery.
Dutch police are investigating after the racist graffiti was found today on the inner wall of the chapel at the British World War II Commonwealth Graves cemetery in Mierlo, Netherlands
Some 648 British soldiers who died in action during World War II are buried in the cemetery. Pictured is the memorial before and after it was vandalised
A central memorial featuring a cross on a plinth was also defaced and multiple gravestones were left marked.
The cemetery was opened in the spring of 1945 and bodies from surrounding graveyards were transported to it.
Most of the dead soldiers were killed during the autumn of 1944.
A central memorial featuring a cross on a plinth was also defaced and multiple gravestones were left marked
The cemetery was opened in the spring of 1945 and bodies from surrounding graveyards were transported to it. Most of the dead soldiers were killed during autumn in 1944
The cemetery was commissioned by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission – an intergovernmental organisation made up of six member states who aim to mark, record and maintain the graves of those who died in the two world wars.
The Commission is responsible for the commemoration of 1.7million dead servicemen from 153 countries.
They maintain 23,000 burial sites and take care of more than 200 memorials.
While most of the burial sites are located at preexisting sites like churches, the Commission itself has opened roughly 2,500 war cemeteries around the world.