Vandals Deface Bishop’s Home

Vandals sprayed swastikas Thursday on the home of a bishop who has spoken out against neo-Nazi violence and they set fire to his garden shed, police said.

The Nazi symbols were sprayed in white paint on the front door and three windows of the Rev. Karl-Ludwig Kohlwage’s house. The swastikas and the fire were discovered early Thursday, police said.

Kohlwage, the Luebeck bishop, condemned right-wing violence after the 1994 firebombing of a synagogue in this northern port city and a 1992 arson attack that killed three Turks in Moelln, 12 miles to the south.

It was the second time in six weeks that swastikas were sprayed on Kohlwage’s home. His family also received a threatening phone call last month. Luebeck police said they had no suspects in the cases.