The grave of Helmut Schmidt, former chancellor of West Germany, has been desecrated by orange swastikas, police said on Saturday.

His wife, Loki, is also buried at the same grave at a cemetery in the northern city-state of Hamburg.

Police said painted swastikas were found on the grave on Friday night and immediately removed.

The Helmut and Loki Schmidt Foundation condemned the act as "mindless vandalism."

"This mindless vandalism is a massive attempt to damage the memory of both [Helmut and Loki Schmidt]," it said in a statement. "Both Loki and Helmut were always committed to freedom, democracy and mutual understanding between the world's peoples."

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called the vandalism an "abominable" and "historically oblivious" act.

"Helmut and Loki Schmidt always stood against contempt for humanity, racism and antisemitism," she said, adding that the pair maintained "awareness of [German] history."

Who was Helmut Schmidt?

Schmidt, who was a member of the Social Democrats (SPD), led West Germany from 1974 to 1982. West and East Germany were reunited in 1990 and became the Federal Republic of Germany, as it is officially known today. 

Germany's current chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is also a member of the SPD.

The former chancellor died in November 2015. From 1983 until his death, he was a co-editor of the weekly newspaper Die Zeit.

The vandalism incident on Friday occurred a day before Schmidt's birthday.

sdi/lo (AFP, dpa, EPD)

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