Police investigate after attack on German synagogue, none injured
An incendiary device was left at a door of the Oldenburg synagogue in the northern German city of the same name on Friday, the police said.
No one was injured in the attack on Friday afternoon and the perpetrators have not yet been identified, a police spokesman said.
A caretaker from a neighbouring cultural centre discovered the fire immediately and extinguished the flames. One door was damaged. The police are searching for the perpetrators with a large contingent, and state security is also investigating.
"I condemn this attack on a Jewish place of worship in Oldenburg in the strongest possible terms," said the head of the Oldenburg police, Andreas Sagehorn.
"We will take this attack as an opportunity to immediately increase security measures at the Oldenburg synagogue until the circumstances of the offence have been clarified."
The investigators did not initially provide any further details - such as the background to the offence or how they plan to better protect the house of worship.
Politicians and church representatives condemned the offence and expressed their horror. The Alliance against Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism Oldenburg called for a spontaneous vigil in front of the synagogue in the evening.
Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens called for a quick and thorough investigation. "The security authorities will do everything they can to identify the perpetrator(s).
"Even if the background to the offence is still unclear, I am deeply saddened by it. For me, arson attacks on synagogues are absolutely reprehensible and unspeakable," Behrens was quoted in a statement issued by the ministry.
Oldenburg's Mayor Jürgen Krogmann emphasized his solidarity with the Jewish community. "Attacks on synagogues are attacks on all of us," he said. "We will not accept the fact that a Jewish institution in our city has become the target of an attempted attack."
The city's Protestant bishop, Thomas Adomeit, said: "This vile and inhuman attack unfortunately shows once again that we have not overcome the evil of anti-Semitism in our society."
