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An audio memorial bench honoring late Holocaust survivor Chaim Ferster was destroyed and dumped into a lake at Clowes Park in Salford, England, near Manchester, on Wednesday, prompting a police investigation into a suspected hate crime.
The memorial, installed in 2019, allowed park visitors to hear Ferster recount his Holocaust survival in his own voice. Later that day, residents discovered the bench smashed apart, with its audio unit torn out and discarded in a frozen lake.
Salford City Council created the bench to preserve Ferster’s testimony and ensure public access to it. Officials placed it along the route of his daily walks, a location chosen with his family’s involvement.
Ferster survived eight concentration camps as a child before settling in Manchester. For decades, he spoke to schoolchildren across the UK, determined to confront denial through firsthand testimony. He died in 2017.
What a disgusting act of vandalism.
An audio bench, bearing the testimony of Holocaust survivor Chaim Ferster, has been smashed and dumped in a lake at Salford’s Clowes Park.
Several members of Chaim’s family were murdered in the Holocaust and he survived numerous concentration… pic.twitter.com/aDqcXnFQ00
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) January 7, 2026
Family Warns Against Minimizing the Attack
Ferster’s grandson, Marc Fertser, addressed the incident publicly, stressing that the bench carried meaning far beyond its physical form. “This was not an ordinary bench,” he said. “It was an audio bench, created so that anyone who wished could sit, listen, and hear my grandfather tell his story in his own words. It was placed in his favourite spot in the park — the place where he would regularly walk with his beloved dog, Blue.”
Fertser said the destruction reflects more than vandalism. He warned that it exposed how antisemitism continued to surface in public spaces. He also cautioned that dismissing such acts carried consequences.
Police Treat Incident as Hate Crime
A local resident reported the damage to a city councillor, who then referred the matter to police. Authorities classified the incident as a suspected hate crime.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed that investigators have not yet identified suspects. A spokesperson said officers were treating the case seriously and pursuing all available leads.
An Assault on Holocaust Memory
Attacks on Holocaust memorials aim to do more than destroy property. They seek to erase testimony, silence survivors, and intimidate Jewish presence in public life. The destruction of Ferster’s memorial represents an attempt to strip meaning from remembrance itself. When such acts occur, silence only empowers those responsible. Protecting Holocaust memory remains a moral and civic obligation. When that memory comes under attack, the response must be immediate, visible, and unequivocal.
Take Action
CAM has launched Report It — a secure app to report antisemitic incidents anonymously and in real time. Don’t stay silent — download it today on the Apple Store or Google Play. See it. Report it. Stop it. Together, we can fight this hate.
