世界遺産の独博物館島で「謎の液体」被害　陰謀論が関係？

【ベルリンＡＦＰ＝時事】ドイツ首都ベルリンにある有名な博物館島で、芸術作品70点超に「油性の液体」がかけられる事件があった。警察が21日、明らかにした。ただ、被害を受けたのは半月以上前だという。（写真はドイツ・ベルリンの博物館島にある新博物館で、「油性の液体」による被害を見せるエジプト博物館のフリーデリケ・ザイフリート館長）
　被害が見つかったのは、国連教育科学文化機関（ユネスコ）の世界遺産に登録されている博物館島内のペルガモン博物館、新博物館、旧国立美術館で、開館時間内の犯行とみられている。
　ベルリン市警はＡＦＰに対し、今月３日にこれら３館で貴重な絵画や石像、石棺に「油性の液体」がかけられる被害があったと明かした。作品に目に見える汚れが付いてしまったという。
　地元メディアは「ドイツ戦後史上最悪の芸術と古代遺産に対する攻撃」と報じている。
　被害は２０日夜になってようやく報道された。博物館島、あるいは警察が被害についてより早期に公表しなかった理由や、犯行の動機は不明。
　一方で地元メディアは、政府の新型コロナウイルス対策を激しく非難している活動家のアッティラ・ヒルトマン氏が８、９月に、博物館島をめぐる奇妙な陰謀説を広めていたとしている。
　ヒルトマン氏はメッセージアプリ「テレグラム」の自身のチャンネルで、新型コロナウイルスの影響で夏の一定期間閉鎖されていたペルガモン博物館が「悪魔の王座」を入手したと主張。
　陰謀論を唱え、国際的な広がりを見せる「Ｑアノン」に呼応するように、ヒルトマン氏は博物館島が「悪魔崇拝者らとコロナ犯罪の世界的な中心地」となっており、そこで悪魔崇拝者らが「夜になると人間をいけにえにし、児童虐待に及ぶ」と述べていた。
　独日刊紙ターゲスシュピーゲルは、事件発生日とみられる３日に博物館入場券を予約していた人々に対し、警察が捜査への協力を要請していると伝えている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/10/22-10:15）

Vandals have damaged dozens of artworks and artifacts at some of Berlin's most renowned museums, police said Wednesday, in a stunning attack kept quiet by authorities for more than two weeks.
Egyptian stone sculptures and sarcophagi as well as the frames of valuable 19th-century paintings at three institutions on the German capital's UNESCO-listed Museum Island were among more than 60 objects sprayed with an oily liquid, leaving visible stains, Christina Haak, deputy director of Berlin's state museums, told reporters.
National media, which had earlier referred to around 70 damaged objects, called it one of the biggest attacks on art and antiquities in German post-war history.
The state criminal investigation office (LKA) said it has opened an investigation over property damage to artworks and artifacts on display.
Police believe the vandalism occurred on October 3, German Unity Day, during opening hours at the Pergamon Museum, Neues Museum and Alte Nationalgalerie.
A museum staff member reported the damage to her superiors that day, a national holiday, and the LKA was informed two days later.
LKA criminal division chief Carsten Pfohl told a news conference that the case was not made public initially to protect the investigation and out of consideration for the owners of works on loan.
He said there had been about 3,000 people visiting the museums that day and initial viewing of security camera footage had not turned up any suspects.
German Culture Minister Monika Gruetters expressed shock at the vandalism.
Beyond the pure damage to property, such attacks demonstrate a deep contempt for artworks and culture achievements as a whole, she said, ordering a security review at the museums.
- 'Painful experience' -
The director of the Egyptian collection, Friederike Seyfried, said the restoration work would be extensive and complex because the colourless oily liquid stained many different kinds of materials.
You can't just wipe off oil, she said, calling the attack a painful experience which we weren't expecting.
She said a full inventory of the museums' collections had been taken but that the total damage could only be estimated when the restoration work was complete.
Investigators said they were in the dark about a possible motive.
A joint article by the Die Zeit weekly and public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, which first reported the incident late Tuesday, noted that Attila Hildmann, an activist who has railed against government measures to contain the coronavirus, had in August and September spread outlandish conspiracy theories about Museum Island.
Using his Telegram channel, Hildmann claimed the Pergamon Museum, closed for part of the summer due to the pandemic, held the throne of Satan.
He said the institution was the centre of a global satanist and corona criminal scene where they sacrifice humans at night and abuse children, in an echo of the international QAnon conspiracy movement.
Pfohl of the LKA said that the police would not take part in such speculation about a possible link to Hildmann and that the investigation was pursuing all leads.
Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel said that museum visitors who had booked tickets for October 3 had been contacted by police to ask for help with the investigation.
A UNESCO World Heritage site, Berlin's Museum Island is home to precious artifacts including a legendary bust of the Egyptian Queen Nefertiti and Babylon's Ishtar Gate.
It attracts around three million visitors each year and is undergoing a major renovation and expansion.