The Shoah Museum in Rome has acquired a piece by reserved contemporary pop artist aleXsandro Palombo after it was defaced in an apparent act of antisemitism.

The mural, which depicts Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano, the last two Italian survivors of Auschwitz, was defaced multiple times and even erased by vandals.

Segre and Modiano are shown in striped clothing under green bullet-proof vests with yellow Stars of David on them, and there are even representations of the serial numbers tattooed on them by the Nazis. The perpetrators vandalized Segre and Modiano’s faces, as well as the stars on their chests, but left the numbers on their arms untouched.

“They took away my face, my identity, they erased the yellow star, but they left the number tattooed on my arm,” Segre said.

aleXsandro Palombo’s mural depicting Holocaust survivors Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano before it was vandalized (aleXsandro Palombo)

aleXsandro Palombo’s mural depicting Holocaust survivors Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano after it was vandalized (aleXsandro Palombo)

Another one of Palombo’s pieces that was vandalized was entitled “Halt! Stoj!,” which depicted Segre, Modiano and Burk alongside Pope Francis, who is outfitted with a cross and a sign reading “antisemitism is everywhere.” The four are depicted as Simpsons characters, a common motif for Palombo. While the image of the pope was not damaged, vandals defaced the Stars of David on the three Holocaust survivors.

aleXsandro Palombo’s mural of three Holocaust survivors and Pope Francis before and after it was vandalized. (aleXsandro Palombo)

Palombo, a contemporary pop artist and activist, used pop culture references in his artwork, including celebrities and cartoon characters from the Simpsons and Disney. One of his most iconic works is the “Simpsons deported to Auschwitz,” which shows Marge, Homer, Maggie, Bart and Lisa before and after the concentration camp, referencing the emaciated state of Holocaust survivors liberated from Nazi camps.