Call for swift action on Jedwabne vandalism

The vandalism happened as Poland marked the 72nd anniversary of the country's invasion by Nazi forces, which started the Second World War.

Elan Steinberg, the vice-president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, called for the Polish authorities to punish the perpetrators of "this violent act of hate" as swiftly as possible.

Mr Steinberg said that the memorial's existence showed Poland's commitment to confronting its antisemitic past.

He said: "Coming on the anniversary of the Second World War, the target of the vandals' hatred was not only the Jewish community but the standing and reputation of modern-day Poland."

Commenting on the desecration of the Jedwabne Monument, Lord Greville Janner of Braunstone, Chairman of the Holocaust Educational Trust, said: "Jedwabne is a place where hundreds of innocent people were callously murdered. The desecration of the monument is a gross insult to the memory of those massacred there and all their descendents – and it is vital that those responsible are caught and brought to justice."