Thieves steal Auschwitz entrance sign

A gang of thieves in Poland has stolen the infamous wrought-iron sign announcing “work sets you free” that spans the main gate of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The long curving sign “Arbeit macht Frei” was erected by the Nazis soon after the old Auschwitz barracks was converted into a labour and extermination centre in 1940 and was supposed to suggest that hard work could eventually allow inmates to walk free.

But as Auschwitz was turned into a major hub for the Holocaust, murdering over a million people, the majority of them Jews, the sign became a mocking, cynical commentary.

“It seems that a gang of perhaps three people unscrewed the sign between three o’clock and five o’clock on Friday morning,” said the spokesman for the police in southern Poland, Dariusz Nowak, “they must have used a ladder and had a car waiting for them.”

Video camera footage is being analysed. Dog teams are being used to hunt through the 20 square kilometres surrounding the camp.

The Jewish community in Poland and the Israel authorities expressed deep shock and dismay

“This is very saddening,” said Jaroslaw Mensfelt, the museum’s spokesman. “The thieves either didn’t know where they were or – what’s even worse – they did know but that didn’t prevent them from stealing."

Police say they are investigating all possible options. The obvious explanation seems to be that the theft – carefully planned said Inspector Nowak – was carried out by neo-Nazis.

(Via Times Online)