A Calgary couple say they feel targeted after their Christmas display was vandalized over the weekend.
Silvana Stoesser and her husband Christian Fruhen, who are of German descent, were coming back home from a Christmas party on Friday night to find the holiday-themed inflatable’s on their lawn had been spray-painted with a red swastika.
Stoesser says her husband discovered the graffiti covering one of the inflatables when he went out take some photos of their display around 11:30 p.m.
“We had some damages done a couple a years ago where some of our inflatables were sliced, but we were able to repair them,” says Stoesser. “This one was beyond…I can’t even tell you.”
Stoesser calls the discovery “heartbreaking” and says she doesn’t know if it was just a horrible prank by some kids or something more sinister.
“I’m not sure if these were just stupid people who don’t know what it means, especially to Germans,” she says.
Stoesser shared a photo of the vandalism on social media, calling it an act of racism.
One of her neighbours brought a replacement inflatable for the couple after seeing the online post.
“We got over 200 responses,” she says. “Not even an hour after we posted on Facebook, we had a replacement at our doorstep.”
For the past decade, the couple has been setting up their Christmas display featuring dozens of inflatables at their Deer Run home along with taking in donations for the Calgary Food Bank.
The couple also started a website called Lighten Up Calgary that allows residents to highlight their Christmas displays. It gives Calgarians the ability to find homes near them that are decked out in holiday decorations.
“We just love Christmas,” says Stoesser. “This is just about helping others and spreading the joy of Christmas.”
The pair filed a police report on the incident right after it happened but say they haven’t heard anything since.
A Calgary police spokesperson says those responsible for the graffiti could face fines of up to $5,000 and the matter could also lead to a hate crime investigation.