Karl Marx is far from forgotten, well over a century after his death. This is especially true for those who fear and despise his political legacy. For decades, Marx’s grave has endured a series of vicious attacks: its bust pulled off with ropes, a pipe bomb nearly forty years ago that damaged its front face, and consistent painted slurs. But after the most recent damage, his grave “will never be the same again.” Even with expert repair, Marx’s memorial will bear the scars of this vandalism indefinitely, according to Ian Dungavell, the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust chief.

The first of the two most recent incidents took place on February 4th when Marx’s name, which is ingrained on the marble plaque from his original 1883 gravestone, was chipped at with a hammer. The second incident took place on February 15th. Bright red paint projected the slogans “Architect of Genocide,” “Doctrine of Hate,” and “Memorial to Bolshevik Holocaust.” The graffiti covered inscriptions of Marx’s final words of The Communist Manifesto, “Workers of all lands unite,” and the most famous of Karl Marx’s Theses on Feuerbach, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways. The point however is to change it.” The contrast between Marx’s messages of hope and the violent smears that covered them could not be more jarring.