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Karl Marx's London grave vandalised for second time in two weeks

‘Whatever you think about Marx’s legacy, this is not the way to make the point,’ says cemetery charity

Saturday 16 February 2019 18:04 GMT

Vandals daubed graffiti reading "doctrine of hate" on Karl Marx's grave (PA)

The London tomb of German philosopher Karl Marx has been vandalised for the second time in two weeks.

The words “Doctrine of Hate” and “Architect of Genocide” were daubed in red on the grave of Highgate Cemetery’s most famous resident.

A marble plaque was also smashed up in the “senseless, stupid, ignorant” attack, said the charity which runs the cemetery.

The latest defacement comes after the monument, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors a year, was damaged with a hammer earlier this month.

Visitor Maxwell Blowfield said he was shocked to discover the vandalism on Saturday morning.

Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

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1/11Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

German social, political and economic theorist Karl Marx. His theories of class struggle predicted that capitalism breeds inherent tensions that will lead to its self-destruction and make way for socialism.

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Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

The sculpture of German philosopher and revolutionary Karl Marx is revealed during its inauguration at the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx in Trier, Germany.

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Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

Karl Marx with his eldest daughter. His writings became a fundamental basis for revolutionary movements across the globe, particularly the Russian Revolution that led to the creation of the Soviet Union. Revolutionary, armed struggles with the goal of creating socialist or communist societies had a powerful influence on the course of the 20th century in nearly every part of the world.

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Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

The dilapidated exterior of 41 Maitland Park Road, Hampstead, in 1958, where Karl Marx spent the last 15 years of his life. He lived and wrote mostly in exile in London.

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Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

Marx collaborated with fellow German thinker Friedrich Engels in London. A statue of both, The Marx-Engels monument, stands in Berlin, Germany.

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Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

The bronze statue, by Chinese artist Wu Weishan, weighs 2.3 tons and measures 4.4 meters. It was a present from the People's Republic of China.

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Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

The tomb of Karl Marx at Highgate Cemetery in London.

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Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

Karl Marx is buried in a different part of the cemetery. Both Highgate East and West Cemetery's contain the graves of a number of famous people such as Marx, William Friese-Greene, Douglas Adams and Beryl Bainbridge. Karl Marx's tomb, the Eyptian Avenue and the Columbarium are Grade One listed buildings.

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Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

Karl Marx Monument in Chemnitz, Germany. The sculpture and base stands over 13m tall. "Workers of the world, unite!" appears behind engraved on the wall.

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Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks on the podium at an event to mark the bicentennial of Karl Marx's birth at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi praised Karl Marx as "the greatest thinker of modern times," calling his theories a tool for China to "win the future."

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Karl Marx: social, political and economic theorist in pictures

Some of the 500, one meter tall statues of Karl Marx, in front of the Porta Nigra, in Trier, Germany. The statues, created by artist Ottmar Hoerl, are part of an exhibition at the Museum Simeonstift Trier that were created to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the death of Marx in 1883. Marx, who was born in Trier, is the author of The Communist Manifesto, and his ideas on the relationship between labour, industry and capital created the ideological foundation for socialist and communist movements across the globe.

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Mr Blowfield, 31, who works as a press officer with the British Museum, said: “It’s a highlight of the cemetery. It’s a shame. The red paint will disappear, I assume, but to see that kind of level of damage and to see it happen twice, it’s not good.

“I wouldn’t like to say who or why someone did it but it was clearly someone very critical of Marx and that part of history. I am just surprised that somebody in 2019 feels they need to and do something like that.”

A post on the cemetery’s Twitter account condemned the vandalism.

“Whatever you think about Marx’s legacy, this is not the way to make the point,” it added.

The Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust said that Marx’s grave appeared to have been targeted in a “deliberate and sustained attack” following the first incident of vandalism on 4 February.

Ian Dungavell, the trust’s chief executive, described the damage as “very upsetting”.

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The marble plaque on the tomb was first used on the grave of Marx’s wife, Jenny von Westphalen, in 1881. It was moved when the couple’s remains were exhumed and reinterred in a more prominent location in the cemetery in 1954.

In the 1970s, the memorial was damaged by two homemade bombs. It is Grade I-listed, putting it on a par with the most important buildings in the country.

The monument is owned by the Marx Grave Trust, which is represented by the Marx Memorial Library in Clerkenwell.

Police said no arrests have been made over either the 4 February vandalism or the most recent attack.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We would appeal to anyone who has any information to contact us.”