Overview
- The rainbow‑coloured bench at the Tiergarten memorial was discovered heavily damaged on Tuesday morning and removed by the district for restoration.
- Bezirksamt Mitte had installed the bench and a replacement maple tree on August 6 as a small site of remembrance and solidarity after the July 25 CSD attack.
- Berlin police opened an investigation for property damage and are working with the Staatsschutz to determine whether the destruction had a political or hate motive.
- The July 25 attack that the memorial commemorates involved a driver and a subsequent machete assault that killed one woman and injured 31 people, and the suspect was shot by police the next day.
- Queer representatives and district officials condemned the vandalism, the district said it will restore and reinstall the bench, and investigators have not yet identified suspects or the exact time of the damage.