Vandals set fire to a mouse statue that’s a TV star and mascot for a German broadcaster

By Stefanie Dazio Associated Press BERLIN Vandals set fire to a mouse statue that s a TV star and mascot for children s offerings at German broadcaster WDR the television station announced Saturday The cartoon mouse known only as Die Maus is the eponymous star of Die Sendung mit der Maus The Show with the Mouse since it first aired in West Germany in Each short episode features other languages and educational segments Related Articles South Bay woman accused of burning Nativity scene at Marin church to undergo mental evaluation Surprise guilty plea in arson that killed San Jose business owner Chris Tran Post office arson situation for Pat Tillman s brother suspended for competency exam Fire at Santa Cruz County mobile home park is being investigated as attempted murder Pat Tillman s brother used grocery store starter logs to set car post office on fire court docs say The statue featuring the character s famous orange body with brown ears arms and legs greets families and children outside a media building in Cologne Germany A receptionist for WDR saw several young people standing around the statue in Cologne on a camera feed overnight Friday into Saturday She then noticed flames and called the fire department WDR explained The fire blackened parts of the mouse s face and arm images show The station noted a police complaint had been filed against an unidentified person Matthias K rnich head of children s programs for WDR disclosed it s not just a figurine that was damaged A piece of childhood a symbol of pleasure and togetherness has been attacked he reported The mouse belongs to Cologne The mouse statue isn t the first German TV character to be attacked In the statue of a depressed German loaf of bread named Bernd das Brot Bernd the Bread was stolen from his traditional place outside the town hall in Erfurt where German children s constituents television channel KiKA is based Bernd a cult classic in Germany was held hostage for nearly two weeks before being discovered unharmed in an abandoned barracks