2023-12-17 19:48:18
Rüsselsheim (Hesse) – Attack on the life-sized Christmas nativity scene in Opelstadt. On Sunday night, all the nativity figures were beheaded: Joseph, Mary, the Three Wise Men from the Orient – and even the donkey.
The people of Rüsselsheim are shocked: At the Protestant market church in the heart of the city, right next to the town hall, there is a nativity scene during Advent. The figures of the Holy Family with Jesus are life-sized. Surrounded by two Christmas trees. Donated by the Rüsselsheimer Gewerbeverein 1888 eV!
But on the morning of December 17th, the manger looks like a battlefield. All figures had their heads chopped off. Joseph was kicked down and Mary was knocked away. Jesus is first missing and later found under the rubble.
also read
The head and left hand of one of the three kings was severed with brute force
Photo: Reinhard Roskaritz
The trade association is trying to downplay the incident: “Unknown perpetrators apparently made a macabre joke and chopped off the heads of the figures.”
The trade association does not necessarily make the situation any better. Things are boiling in Rüsselsheim. A resident told BILD: “A joke is when you can laugh about it. What’s funny about beheading Mary and Joseph?”
Joseph, the father of Jesus, had his head and hands cut off
Photo: Reinhard Roskaritz
People on the Internet are also stunned by the violence that has been directed against the nativity scene. You are angry at the perpetrator or perpetrators. One person wrote on Instagram under the trade association’s publication: “It’s a barbaric act! Crimes must not be trivialized.”
The trade association’s Instagram publication
Photo: Source: Rüsselsheim trade association/Instagram
Police are investigating – also because of a religiously motivated crime
Some figures had their heads chopped off as early as 2021 and 2022. There were no such incidents in the many decades before that.
The trade association writes: “Despite the unfortunate incident, we would like to try to approach this situation with humor (…) We see this ‘headless night’ as an opportunity to stand together and bring light into the darkness together.”
The police will shed light on the matter. A spokesman confirms to BILD that a report has been filed and that investigations are already underway – including into a religiously motivated crime.
#Figures #beheaded #Christmas #nativity #scene #damaged #Rüsselsheim #Regional