Theft

[John Wilson]

Polish police detained five men on Monday for stealing the metal sign that hung over the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz, and said they were common thieves, not neo-Nazis. Skip related content
Last Friday's theft triggered widespread outrage, especially from Israel and Jewish groups, amid fears of a political motive.

The sign, which carries the German motto "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work makes you free"), is a powerful symbol of the Holocaust committed by the Nazis against the Jews. The police said it had been cut into three pieces.

"None of the five suspects is a member of a neo-Nazi group," said Andrzej Rokita, district police chief in the southern Polish city of Krakow, which is near the site of Auschwitz.

"Their motive was undoubtedly theft. We'll be able to say later whether the crime was ordered or they acted on their own initiative," he told a news conference.

Police said the suspects, aged between 20 and 39, had previous convictions for various crimes including robbery and physical assault. One of them ran his own construction firm.

Authorities had made recovering the sign a national priority and the museum that runs Auschwitz offered a reward worth nearly $40,000. Police said they had received more than 100 calls offering information.

Some 1.5 million people, mostly Jews, perished at the death camp during Nazi Germany's occupation of Poland in World War Two. Arriving prisoners used to enter via a small iron gate topped by the sign.

"ASSAULT ON HISTORY"

More than 200 hectares (500 acres) of the former death camp became a museum after the war ended.

Jewish groups welcomed the news the sign had been recovered.

"The theft of the symbol of Auschwitz was not merely an act of vandalism. It was a crime against mankind and memory," the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants said in a statement.

"Punishment should be swiftly meted out to those involved in this assault on history."

Welcoming the recovery of the sign, Jerusalem's Holocaust remembrance centre, Yad Vashem, highlighted need for education.

"We must continue to work towards meaningful Holocaust education, so that the symbols of the Holocaust will be infused with meaning that will help build a better future, and can serve as catalyst in the fight against anti-Semitism and racism," Chairman Avner Shalev said in a statement.

Israeli President Shimon Peres had personally appealed to the Polish government to recover the sign.

One Polish lawmaker from Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centre-right Civic Platform, Jaroslaw Gowin, said over the weekend he feared the theft had been meant to disgrace Poland internationally.

Museum authorities said the gate from which the sign was removed was not directly monitored by closed-circuit cameras.

The motto became a symbol of the Nazis' efforts to give their victims a false sense of security before murdering them.

Auschwitz prisoners died of diseases, sub-zero temperatures, starvation and in medical experiments as well as being gassed.

Hundreds of thousands visit the museum every year, but ticket sales are not enough to maintain the open-air site with its 155 buildings -- including the gas chambers -- 300 ruined facilities and hundreds of thousands of personal items.

Poland has appealed for international donations and Britain and Germany, among others, have offered money.

In January, Poland marks the 65th anniversary of the camp's liberation by the Soviet Red Army

[John Wilson]

Not stolen by Neo Nazis, not making ticket sales, still bailed out by cash strapped governments?

[kiler]

I don`t know if it is in press articles, but as a Pole I know some more facts about the case from our media.

First of all, we are talking about German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp in Auschwitz. That is oficial UNESCO name:

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/31

I don`t dislike Germans, I even have some German friends who I really like and I do Luftwaffe reenacting but we have to remember that Nazis didn`t come from Mars (I know, there were some Austrians - f.e. Goeth from "Schindlers List", Belgians - Degrelle, but most Nazis were of German nationality). I`m writing this cause I`m sick of hearing about "Polish concentration camps". Let me ask you: is Guantanamo a Cuban camp ? It is on Cuba, isn`t it ?

Secondly, the thieves were not skinheads, as stated before. They were all unemployed and thought it will be easy money for them (each was promised about 10000 Euro). They also weren`t proffesionals - they were in Auschwitz for the first time in their lives and when they entered camp for the first time through the fence they discovered that they didn`t have proper tools to remove the sing so they left and ..... WENT TO 24-HOUR OPENED MARKET TO BUY THEM !!!! Really stupid isnt`t it ?

What I think was not said before is that the person who order the sign was from Sweden and the thieves where planning to smuggle it with a ferry through Baltic. So what at first seemed to bee an antisemitic event turned out to be taking advantage of poor and rather not too wise unemployed people by sinister western collector. Of course we don`t know if Sweden was final destination of sign, but it was the next step in ladder for sure.

[Salacious Crumb]

The mermaid in Kopenhagen was also a couple of times vanalized. it is still the original...
the same with vanalized paintings.

[Hans Gowert]

10,000 euros ? bit much aint it for scrap ?

right , im off to the motorway , big signs there

[kiler]

10,000 euros ? bit much aint it for scrap ?

Well, if you treat it as scrap yes, but if you take into account that after stealing it you`ll be chased by Interpol, Mossad and so on its a bit too little to change personality, have a facial surgery and hide on a small island in Carribeans

[mario33]

but most Nazis were of German nationality).

One thing to mention here - there was more NDSAP members in Austria (by percentage) - estimated at around 11-12% than in Germany (7-9%). There were some prominent Nazi figures originating from Austria, that are a shame to Austria to these days, including KL leaders and personnel. I'm not referring to the 'little austrian corporal' himself here...

Not that what you said is not true but its worth remembering the a.m. facts.

but most Nazis were of German nationality). Of course we don`t know if Sweden was final destination of sign, but it was the next step in ladder for sure.

Latest developments indicate that the 'order' came from known BRITISH collector. Shame...

[Hans Gowert]

crap postage , didnt get his parcel, must of gone through sof....

[FMROMMEL]

Polish Police meant business http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2 ... ft-arrests

[kiler]

Latest info mentioned by Mario:

http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/ ... 16,00.html