The Shoah Museum in Rome has added a work by contemporary pop artist aleXsandro Palombo to its collection after the artwork was repeatedly vandalized.

The mural, portraying Auschwitz survivors Liliana Segre and Sami Modiano, was repeatedly defaced and even completely erased by vandals.

Segre and Modiano are depicted in striped uniforms, wearing green bulletproof vests with yellow Stars of David, and bearing the Nazi-tattooed serial numbers. The attackers targeted Segre and Modiano’s faces and the stars, but left the numbers intact.

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

Palombo subsequently recreated the piece, which is now part of the museum’s permanent collection.

“Art is the highest expression of freedom, and repeatedly attacking a work that portrays two Auschwitz survivors highlights the danger to democracy and our freedoms,” Palombo commented. “The Shoah Museum of Rome and the Italian Jewish community’s response to this vandalism and hatred is a powerful lesson in civilization, countering these new forms of social and cultural terrorism with a strong act of resistance.”

Palombo has created numerous Holocaust-themed works, several of which have also been targeted by vandals.

A mural titled “Arbeit macht frei,” depicting Hungarian Holocaust survivor Edith Bruck wrapped in an Israeli flag, was also defaced, with much of the flag removed. The title, a Nazi inscription at Auschwitz, translates to “work makes you free.”

Bruck told an Italian newspaper that while saddened, she wasn’t surprised by the vandalism, calling antisemitism “a tsunami.”

The Bruck mural has also been acquired by the Shoah Museum in Rome.

Another vandalized piece, “Halt! Stoj!,” features Segre, Modiano, Bruck, and Pope Francis (in a Simpsons-style depiction with a cross and an “antisemitism is everywhere” sign). While the Pope’s image remained undamaged, the Stars of David on the three survivors were defaced.

Palombo, a contemporary pop artist and activist, incorporates pop culture references, including celebrities and cartoon characters like the Simpsons and Disney figures. One notable work is “Simpsons deported to Auschwitz,” showing the Simpsons family before and after their concentration camp experience, highlighting the emaciated state of survivors.