A mural of The Simpsons dressed as Holocaust prisoners was defaced on the day marking the genocide of Jewish people across Europe by the Nazis.
Track 21, the Simpsons deported to Auschwitz by Italian artist aleXsandro Palombo was was painted on the walls of the Shoah Memorial Museum in Milan, Italy. The museum was built on one of the places where Jewish people and other victims of the Nazis—such as political opponents, homosexuals, disabled people, Roma people and Jehovah's Witnesses—were transported to death camps, including Auschwitz in Poland.
The mural depicts the family members from the Fox cartoon The Simpsons looking forlorn, dressed in the white and blue striped uniform of the concentration camps, including the yellow Star of David on their chest. Nazis forced Jewish people to wear the badge in order to identify them.
He also painted a mural of the Simpsons family before their deportation dressed in their everyday clothes, but still wearing the Star of David badge.
Palombo unveiled the mural on January 27, which is the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. He was dismayed to find it vandalized on April 17, Yom HaShoah. Also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day in English, Yom HaShoah is the day when Israel commemorates the 6 million Jewish lives lost.
The artist told Newsweek the crime was an act of antisemitism as vandals drew over the mural with black marks, including covering up the Stars of David on all the characters.
"In this case we are talking about antisemitism that took place in a very important and symbolic place for the city of Milan and the memory of the Jews, a place from which Italian Jews were deported to concentration camps," Palombo told Newsweek.
"Antisemitism hasn't disappeared and the mural, popular and symbolic, certainly disturbed the most extreme supporters of denial and revisionist thoughts."
The museum is working with authorities in its investigations to identify the vandals, using CCTV footage from cameras based above the mural.
"We will proceed in the next few days to check the footage from the cameras trying to identify the person responsible. What worries us is to perceive a possible revisionist and antisemitic trend in this act," said Roberto Jarach, Shoah Foundation Memorial's president.
Jarach added that he and his team hoped people in Milan would "respond with solidarity and empathy, demonstrating that the fight against indifference is the key to overcoming racist and anti-democratic tendencies."
"We hope that the artist wants to come back to 'fix' the work, or expand it, as a further response," he said.
Vandalizing the mural "only bolsters the memorialization's importance," said Professor Jeffrey Demsky, who teaches history and political science at San Bernardino Valley College.
"Blacking out the Stars of David identifying Jews as the Nazis' specific targets only confirms this fact. The vandal's pen marks unintentionally force onlookers to remember the truth of the missing yellow identity label," he said.
The artist himself had a strong message for the vandals.
"They failed. This strong antisemitic act highlights the danger of indifference, of oblivion and forces us to a visual stumble that reveals reality, hatred, racism, cruelty and prejudice towards Jews," Palombo said.
His artworks have become world-renowned for their use of pop culture and cartoons, especially The Simpsons, to convey important messages about societal issues and history.
One work showed world-famous women including former First Lady Michelle Obama, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton as victims of domestic violence.
Last year, Palombo threatened to sue rapper Cardi B over a "sexy" Marge Simpson outfit she wore at Halloween.
In her outfit, Cardi B wore a Thierry Mugler dress, which the artist claimed was directly lifted from a piece of artwork he designed in 2013. Palombo also said Cardi B and her team posted his picture on social media without credit.
Palombo said the image was based on his "Marge Simpson Style Icon," an artwork series from 2013 that showed the Simpsons character in a number of classic outfits, such as Spice Girls Geri Horner's Union Jack dress from the Brit Awards, Kate Moss' Playboy pose, and Madonna's infamous Jean Paul Gaultier bustier.
Instagram later removed Cardi B's post in January for copyright infringement.
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Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
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