A mural depicting the Hungarian coat of arms was spray-painted with a Nazi symbol in Cluj-Napoca, Romania

A Nazi symbol and the inscription Romania were spray-painted on the sign of the former Hungarian royal tobacco shop in the centre of Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

An emblem reminiscent of the coat of arms of Hitler’s Germany and a Romanian inscription was sprayed with black paint on the sign of a former Royal Hungarian Tobacco Shop in the centre of Cluj-Napoca, reports the TransTelex.

The owners of the corner house on Eötvös (Konstanca) Street decided not to paint the faded mural, which had emerged from under the plaster during renovation. It bears the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Hungary and the inscription „MK Tobacco, Cigar and Salt Shop.” However, recently, it was painted over with the „Reichsadler”(the „Imperial Eagle”).

The painted symbol consists of the eagle facing right, the Orthodox cross and the inscription Romania, similar to the coat of arms of Nazi Germany.

„The veneration of Hitler and the Iron Guard ideology has not disappeared in Romania. It is in its second youth. The neo-Nazi, neo-legionist movement is gaining strength in Romania. This time, however, it is not targeting Jews, but the Hungarian minority,” commented Cristian Marchiș, an influencer with whom we recently spoke about the ethnic tensions at the Kölcsey statue in Nagykároly.

„Szabadság „[Freedom], the Hungarian-language local daily newspaper published in Cluj-Napoca, understands that so far, no one has filed a complaint with the police, and the regional commission for the protection of monuments has not been informed about the vandalism.

Photo credit: TransTelex