People are talking about the most extensive attack on artworks in post-war Germany. It only became known on Tuesday thanks to investigations carried out by the German media outlets ZEIT and Deutschlandfunk: on October 3rd, exhibits in several buildings on Berlin’s Museum Island were damaged with an unidentified, oily liquid that does not seem to be corrosive but did leave visible marks. About 70 exhibits in the Pergamon Museum, the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie and the Pergamon-Panorama were affected. Among the damaged objects are several ancient Egyptian sarcophagi and ancient statues as well as 19th century paintings. According to current information, none of the most prominent pieces of the museums, such as the bust of Nefertiti and the Pergamon Altar, were damaged during the attack, which is said to have happened during the opening times of the museums.
Another Crime on the Museum Island
Currently, we do not know anything about the culprit(s). The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation now has to face the question of how such an attack could happen and why it went completely unnoticed. After all, we are not talking about a small museum located in a rural area but about one of the most important museum complexes in Europe and a cultural flagship institution of Germany. The security concept of the Museum Island has been the subject of an ongoing debate since March 2017, when the spectacular robbery of the giant gold Big Maple Leaf from the Bode Museum occurred on that very Island. Apparently, the safety concept has not been improved since then. How can it be possible that three years later one or several perpetrators pull off such an attack during the opening hours, leave the museums without any problem afterwards and are still on the run almost three weeks later? You may laugh or cry about it, in any case, it is proof for the foundation’s shortcomings. Once again we will have to discuss about security in museums and the funds available for it. Moreover, this weakens the Foundation’s reasoning regarding the repatriation of objects with colonial background as they argue that those items should not be returned to their countries of origin since they would not be adequately protected there…
At the same time, one wonders why this crime was kept from the public for so long. Apparently, the museums did not immediately realise that the attack happened, however, the President of the Foundation and the Minister for Culture were informed about it on October 6th at the latest. So far, they only stated that the decision not to inform the public had been made “in coordination with the police and for tactical reasons relating to the investigation”.
An Attack on the “Throne of Satan”?
And of course there is the question as to who committed the crime and why. The motives for a robbery are quite clear. However, the only reasons for deliberate damage of ancient cultural items are probably insanity and extremism.
Although there is no proof or tangible evidence so far, newspapers were quick to find a plausible list of suspects. It might surprise our foreign readers, but Germany has had a problem with far-right extremist conspiracy theorists since the pandemic, at the latest.
The cult figure of the colourful group of esoterists, conspiracy theorists and downright Nazis is Attila Hildmann, a vegan cookbook author who has attracted attention in recent months through incitement of the people, death threats, anti-Semitism and sheer stupidity, which he spreads via the instant messaging service Telegram among his shockingly high number of followers. On October 3rd, German Unity Day and National Day of Germany, Hildmann’s followers protested on the streets in Berlin, they even climbed the steps to the seat of government, a cordoned-off security zone – the media reported about a “storm on the Reichstag”.
In summer, Hildmann called for a storm on the Pergamon Museum. He called it the centre of a “global Satanic scene” and residence of “corona criminals”. “Here they perform their human sacrifices at night and profane children!” is a quote by Hildmann frequently shown in the media. Are you wondering who “they” are? Angela Merkel of course, or – as Hildmann affectionately calls her – the “supreme boss of the Zionist occupation construct of the FRG: a Stasi Satanist trained by Satanist Rothschild in Tavistock”. His “reasoning” is based on three pillars: (1) The Pergamon Altar is the “Throne of Satan”, as it is actually referred to in the bible. (2) The apartment of Angela Merkel is located directly opposite the Pergamon Museum. And there simply must be a secret tunnel connecting the buildings… And (3) there is a Korean restaurant called “Dea Mon” nearby, and that is bulletproof evidence that it is a “demonic” neighbourhood.
This ridiculous rubbish might turn out to be the motive for the crime, however, as I said, there is no evidence yet. But the fact that one of the paintings bears the title “Infernal Damnation” might fit into the general picture.
The Police Ask for the Public’s Help
The police are urgently looking for witnesses who visited Berlin’s Museum Island on October 3rd, 2020 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and saw something suspicious. Please direct any information to LKA 44, Tempelhofer Damm 12, 12101 Berlin-Tempelhof by calling (030) 4664-944409, or contact any other police station.
We repeatedly reported on the robbery of the Big Maple Leaf and the subsequent investigations.
The Dresden Green Vault heist was also quite spectacular.
