An internationally recognised Holocaust mural depicting the Simpsons as Auschwitz deportees has been defaced in a targeted antisemitic attack at the Shoah Memorial in Milan.
The mural, created by Italian pop artist aleXsandro Palombo in January 2023, showed the cartoon family wearing yellow stars behind a barbed wire – a powerful visual warning against forgetting the atrocities of the Holocaust. It has now been smeared with blood-red paint and the words “Free Pal”, in what Palombo described as “a visual representation of the antisemitic fury spreading through our cities.”
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, the artist confirmed this is the sixth time the work has been vandalised in two years. “Little remains of the original artwork. It has been transformed a tribute to memory into an expression of hatred,” he said.
Close-up of Bart Simpson figure before and after antisemitic vandalism of Palombo’s Holocaust mural in Milan. Photo Credit: aleXsandro Palombo
Palombo, known for his provocative public works on antisemitism, has faced repeated death threats and intimidation but says he will not stop. “These attacks do not intimidate me; they reinforce my determination,” he said.
The mural had not only artistic value but also educational significance, aimed at making Holocaust memory accessible to younger generations through the familiar visual language of the Simpsons. “Using the universal language of cartoons is a key tool for educating young people and fostering a shared historical conscience,” Palombo added.
The vandalism comes amid a surge of antisemitic incidents across Europe. The Anti-Defamation League called it “antisemitism in action”, warning that Holocaust memory is “under attack”. The words “Free Pal” were scrawled across the mural, which is located just metres from Milan’s Holocaust deportation platform.
The aftermath: Marge and Maggie erased, blood-red paint over the Star of David, and ‘Free Pal’ graffiti scrawled across Palombo’s defaced mural in Milan. Photo Credit: aleXsandro Palombo
Palombo has also accused pro-Palestinian student groups of sending him threats following his October 2023 mural dedicated to Vlada Patapov, a survivor of the Nova music festival in Israel. That work too was defaced – the survivor’s head was painted out.
He has called on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to enact emergency measures to combat hatred on campus and expel students involved in extremist activity. “If swift and decisive action is not taken, we risk facing a serious social crisis,” he said.
Several of Palombo’s murals, including tributes to Holocaust survivors Liliana Segre, Sami Modiano and Edith Bruck, have also been repeatedly targeted. Following the defacement of the mural depicting her, Senator for Life Liliana Segre said: “They took away my face, my identity, they erased the yellow star – but they left the number tattooed on my arm.”
Bruck, speaking after her portrait was vandalised, remarked: “The mural lives, it must live, precisely because it was vandalised. After being erased, it has truly come to life.”
Despite the repeated attacks, Palombo says he will continue to create – and may donate future works to international museums as “historical documents bearing witness to the brutality of our time”.
