INTL 70 artworks are damaged in mysterious 'hushed up' attack at German museum

Melodi

Melodi

Disaster Cat
This is the UK Daily Mail but I first saw this story in a much shorter (and kind of chopped up version) on the BBC this morning - so the story is real, but being the UK Daily Mail Tabloid, read it like you would the National Enquirer, in other words with a skeptical but open mind. - Melodi
www.dailymail.co.uk

70 artworks damaged in mysterious 'hushed up' attack at German museum

Paintings, stone sculptures and sarcophagi at three institutions on Berlin's UNESCO-listed Museum Island were sprayed with an 'oily liquid' which left visible stains, Berlin police have said.
www.dailymail.co.uk www.dailymail.co.uk

70 artworks are damaged in mysterious 'hushed up' attack at German museum linked to bizarre conspiracy theory about 'global satanic paedophile cult that sacrifices humans'
  • Three institutions on Berlin's UNESCO-listed Museum Island were targeted
  • 'Oily liquid' that left behind visible stains was used during the attack, police said
  • But the episode was kept quiet by authorities for more than two weeks
  • It comes after political activist spread conspiracy theories about the museums
By RAVEN SAUNT FOR MAILONLINE and AFP

PUBLISHED: 12:50, 21 October 2020 | UPDATED: 15:38, 21 October 2020






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Vandals have damaged more than 70 artworks and artifacts at some of Berlin's most renowned museums in a targeted attack that was kept quiet by authorities for more than two weeks.
Paintings, stone sculptures and sarcophagi at three institutions on the German capital's UNESCO-listed Museum Island were sprayed with an 'oily liquid' which left visible stains, Berlin police have said.
The Pergamon Museum, Neues Museum and Alte Nationalgalerie were all targeted with local media calling the episode 'one of the biggest attacks on art and antiquities in German post-war history'.
It comes just weeks after a political activist spread outlandish conspiracy theories about the institutions and branded the Pergamon as the centre of a 'global satanist and corona criminal scene' where 'they sacrifice humans at night and abuse children'.
80 artifacts damaged at museum in pedophile conspiracy theory attack




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Paintings, stone sculptures and sarcophagi at three institutions on the German capital's UNESCO-listed Museum Island were sprayed with an 'oily liquid' which left visible stains (damaged sarcophagus of Prophet Ahmose at the Neues Museum pictured)


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Paintings, stone sculptures and sarcophagi at three institutions on the German capital's UNESCO-listed Museum Island were sprayed with an 'oily liquid' which left visible stains (damaged sarcophagus of Prophet Ahmose at the Neues Museum pictured)
Local media calling the episode 'one of the biggest attacks on art and antiquities in German post-war history' (residual stains on thh sarcophagus pictured)


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Local media calling the episode 'one of the biggest attacks on art and antiquities in German post-war history' (residual stains on thh sarcophagus pictured)
The targeted attack that was kept quiet by authorities for more than two weeks but Friederike Seyfried, director of the Neues Museum, has since highlighted the damage including stains inside a sarcophagus from the Egyptian Court


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The targeted attack that was kept quiet by authorities for more than two weeks but Friederike Seyfried, director of the Neues Museum, has since highlighted the damage including stains inside a sarcophagus from the Egyptian Court
Police believe the vandalism occurred on October 3, Germany Unity Day, during opening hours at the museums.
'The state criminal investigation office of the Berlin police has opened a probe over property damage to artworks and artifacts on display,' spokesman Martin Dams said in an emailed statement.
Dams did not say why neither the museums nor the police had communicated earlier about the attack, which was first reported late Tuesday in German media.
He also did not provide any information about a possible motive.
The 'oily liquid' used during the attack has left visible stains on many of the Egyptian exhibits at the Neues Museum


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The 'oily liquid' used during the attack has left visible stains on many of the Egyptian exhibits at the Neues Museum
Police believe the vandalism (stain pictured on a pillar at the Neues Museum) occurred on October 3, Germany Unity Day, during opening hours at the museums


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Police believe the vandalism (stain pictured on a pillar at the Neues Museum) occurred on October 3, Germany Unity Day, during opening hours at the museums
More than 70 artworks and artifacts were damaged at three of Berlin's most renowned museums - the Pergamon Museum, Neues Museum (left) and Alte Nationalgalerie (right) - in a targeted attack that was kept quiet by authorities for more than two weeks


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More than 70 artworks and artifacts were damaged at three of Berlin's most renowned museums - the Pergamon Museum, Neues Museum (left) and Alte Nationalgalerie (right) - in a targeted attack that was kept quiet by authorities for more than two weeks
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But a report by Die Zeit and public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk noted that Attila Hildmann, an activist who has railed against government measures to contain the coronavirus, had spread outlandish conspiracy theories about the Museum Island in August and September.
Using his Telegram channel, Hildmann claimed the Pergamon Museum, which has been closed for part of the summer due to the pandemic, held the 'throne of Satan'.
He said the institution was the centre of a 'global satanist and corona criminal scene' where 'they sacrifice humans at night and abuse children', in an echo of the international QAnon conspiracy movement.
Activist Attila Hildmann (pictured during a rally against the government's coronavirus restrictions) had spread outlandish conspiracy theories about the Museum Island in August and September


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Activist Attila Hildmann (pictured during a rally against the government's coronavirus restrictions) had spread outlandish conspiracy theories about the Museum Island in August and September
Hildmann branded the Pergamon Museum (pictured) as the centre of a 'global satanist and corona criminal scene' where 'they sacrifice humans at night and abuse children'


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Hildmann branded the Pergamon Museum (pictured) as the centre of a 'global satanist and corona criminal scene' where 'they sacrifice humans at night and abuse children'
Berlin daily Tagesspiegel said that museum visitors who had booked tickets for October 3 had been contacted by police to ask for help with the investigation.
Berlin's Museum Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is home to precious artifacts including a legendary bust of the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti and Babylon's Ishtar Gate.
It attracts around three million visitors each year and is undergoing a major renovation and expansion.
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70 artworks are damaged in mysterious 'hushed up' attack at German museum
 
Melodi

Melodi

Disaster Cat
www.bbc.com

Berlin mystery attack targets 70 museum artefacts

The attack took place on the German capital's Museum Island and took over two weeks to come to light.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
This seems to have been added to since this morning - Melodi

Berlin mystery attack targets 70 museum artefacts
Published5 hours ago
Some of the artefacts targeted were in the Pergamon Museum
IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS
image captionSome of the artefacts targeted were in the Pergamon Museum
It is being described as one of the biggest attacks on art and antiquities in post-war German history, but it has taken more than two weeks to emerge.
At least 70 artefacts were sprayed with an oily liquid on Berlin's Museum Island, a Unesco world heritage site that is home to five famous museums.
The attack took place on 3 October, the anniversary of German reunification.
German reports have speculated whether supporters of a far-right conspiracy theorist may have been involved.
Attila Hildmann, who has spread conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 pandemic, has also claimed that one of the five museums, the Pergamon Museum, is home to the "Throne of Satan".
What we know
Berlin's state criminal police agency released details of the attack late on Tuesday, 17 days after at least one unknown attacker targeted Ancient Egyptian sarcophagi, stone sculptures and 19th Century paintings.
The reason for the initial secrecy is unclear, and the story was only confirmed after police were approached by Die Zeit magazine and Deutschlandfunk radio. Other museums were not informed of the possible risk either, they report.
Investigators have emailed people who bought museum tickets on the day of the attack appealing for information.
Police told Der Tagesspiegel website they had been investigating the attack for a while "but for strategic reasons we've not made the case public".
Which museums were hit?
The oily liquid sprayed on to the dozens of artefacts has caused damage and left visible stains. A museum worker told Berliner Morgenpost that most of the damage was superficial. "Some of it we had to use a torch to find."
The museums targeted include the Pergamon Museum, which is home to the renowned Pergamon Altar, erected by King Eumenes II in the Second Century BC. Pergamon was an Ancient Greek city in Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey.
Local reports said a 9th Century BC sculpture had been attacked along with a 3D exhibit of the original Pergamon Altar, which is currently under renovation.
Artefacts were also attacked in the Neues Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie and elsewhere. The Neues Museum is home to a bust of Egyptian Pharaoh Nefertiti.
Museum Island has been targeted in the past.
In March 2017, a giant, gold coin worth around $4m ($3m) was stolen in a night raid on the Bode Museum.

media captionThe stolen Canadian coin was stolen from behind bulletproof glass
Two cousins and a museum security guard were jailed in February for the theft of the Big Maple Leaf coin, which bears an image of Queen Elizabeth II. The thieves climbed in through a rear window and the gold coin was never recovered.
What was the motive?
It is unclear if the attack was meant to coincide with German Unity Day.
But German reports have highlighted social media messages from Attila Hildmann in August in which he made outrageous claims about night-time practices surrounding the magnificent Pergamon Altar. The Pergamon Museum itself was built to house the monument.
Attila Hildmann speaks through the megaphone during a rally against the government's restrictions following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Berlin
IMAGE COPYRIGHTREUTERS
image captionVegan chef Attila Hildmann has led a number of rallies against the government's Covid measures and promoted conspiracy theories
In June, the conspiracy theorists addressed supporters from the steps of the nearby Altes Museum.
Then in August, while the Pergamon Museum was still closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, he described the altar as being the "centre of global satanists and Corona criminals".
 
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