Berlin woman, 70, covers up neo-Nazi hate messages with her own graffiti

'Freedom of speech has limits. It ends where hatred and contempt for humanity begins,' says Irmela Schramm

Irmela Schramm has been covering racist graffiti for the last thirty years

(CNN Berlin)

A grandmother in Berlin has been spray-painting over neo-Nazi and racist graffiti with hearts.

Irmela Schramm, aged 70, has been fighting racist messages in her local neighbourhood for the past thirty years describing herself as "Polit-Putze" - a political cleaner.

She told CNN: "I'm really concerned by this hate propaganda. And I want to take a stand.

"Not just hollow words. But to do something. I could look at that swastika and "Nazi Kiez" graffiti and say 'oh, that's awful' and walk by.

"But no one would dare to do anything. Well, I don't want to wait for someone else to do something about it."

She was first inspired to take up her decades-long mission after she saw a flyer supporting Nazi criminal Rudolf Hess in a local bus stop.

When she saw it still there returning from work, she was disgusted, got out her house keys and scratched it off.

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Ms Schramm said:"I just scrubbed the hate away until it was all gone It was a fantastic feeling afterwards. This mind pollution was gone!

"The threshold on the misuse of freedom of speech has deteriorated over the last few years. I think it has now reached rock bottom

"People tell me I am intolerant, that I don't respect the far-right's freedom of speech. But I say: Freedom of speech has limits. It ends where hatred and contempt for humanity begins."