Tuesday, August 26
Who stole Gandhi’s glasses?
The crime occurred between 2 and 6 August at the Mauermuseum, or Wall Museum, the privately run institution beside Checkpoint Charlie on Friedrichstrasse in central Berlin.
Among the museum’s exhibits is a bronze bust of the Indian political and freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi. Visitors in the past week have noted that the figure is missing a pair of spectacles. According to Berlin police, unknown perpetrators stole them.
The glasses were also made of bronze, with no hinges, measuring approximately 23 cm wide and 6 cm high, and they lacked any glass. Police are treating this as a particularly serious theft and are requesting information from anyone who may have seen such items offered for sale, used as collateral, or otherwise exchanged.
The Mauermuseum presents itself as an institution celebrating peace and the triumph of democracy over communism. Its director is Alexandra Hildebrandt, who, at age 66, recently welcomed her tenth child.
