Auschwitz death camp sign stolen

How can anyone do this?

It reminds me a bit of my visit to the Sachsenhausen concentrationcamp where two barracks were burned down by neo nazis. What remain of the barracks is preserved so the public can see that there's still nazis around.



Jakob

What exactly did the Neo-Nazis intend to prove by burning it? Shouldn't they be proud of their heroic forefathers or some such insanity?

 

Can't believe it. Guard house gate next to it, houses on the other side and the whole thing looks to be about 5 to 10 metres across. Must have weighed a bit, but I wouldn't think a collector would string it above his entrance.
david

 

On the news last night they said they had entered the camp through a drainage tunnel and exited the compound by cutting through the wire and put the sign into a vehicle.

I've never been so I don't know the layout of where everything is.

 

What exactly did the Neo-Nazis intend to prove by burning it? Shouldn't they be proud of their heroic forefathers or some such insanity?

I don't really know. One can only imagine what goes on inside the heads of these maniacs. Maybe they were angry at the government because they had opened the place to the public, so they can see the horrors that went on in there with their own eyes.



Jakob

 

So long as the sign eventually gets returned i'm not too concerned about the theft.

My reason being that the news reports will help to educate some kids/people who are uninformed about World War 2 events and this incident creates an interest.An act such as this,though despicable,can always bring out some good.Lets hope so.

 

On the news last night they said they had entered the camp through a drainage tunnel and exited the compound by cutting through the wire and put the sign into a vehicle.

I've never been so I don't know the layout of where everything is.

Thinking about how many people would have wanted to escape from that place back in those dark days, I'm sure I'm not the only person who finds the thought of people breaking in through a drainage tunnel and then cutting through the wire pretty distasteful, and thats before you even think about the theft of the sign...

 

That's a good point, James. There's something more sick about breaking INTO Auschwitz.

Some people have no respect for history, and that's a fact.

 

When I saw that, I was SO angry, I rang Hannah on the phone (she dont like my history stuff) and she was angry too. How stupid does someone have to be to do something like that, I mean come on!

 

Considering there are replicas of Zyklon B cannisters for sale on the net, nothing surprises me any more.

 

BBC News - Police in Poland find sign stolen from Auschwitz gate

The "Arbeit macht frei" sign stolen from Auschwitz in southern Poland has been found in the north and five men have been arrested, police say........

 

Heard it on R4 early this morning. At least it has been recovered, if damaged. I am sure there will be a strange tale to tell once the full details come out.

 

I shall be following this news item with much interest.

 

good news tht the sign has been found.
The news also announced it had been cut into 3 pieces
im sure it will be repairable

 

Good news.

 

BBC News - Poland police question men over stolen Auschwitz sign

The "Arbeit macht frei" sign stolen from Auschwitz in southern Poland has been found in the north and five men are being questioned by police.

The five suspects, aged in their 20s and 30s, were not members of a neo-Nazi group, Krakow police said.
The metal sign from the main gate, which symbolises for many the atrocities of Nazi Germany, had been cut into three pieces, they added.
A major search was launched after the sign was stolen before dawn on Friday.
Andrzej Rokita, the local police chief in Krakow - where the men were being questioned - said the theft had been financially motivated, and it remained unclear whether it was carried out to order.
"From the information we have, none of the five belong to a neo-Nazi group nor hold such ideas," Andrzej Rokita said of the suspects.


'Enormous relief'

The sign's theft had caused outrage in Israel and among Polish politicians.

This symbol, probably one of the most important of the past century, can be put back in its place


Pawel Sawicki
Spokesman for Auschwitz museum



More than a million people - 90% of them Jews - were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz during World War II.
Pawel Sawicki, a spokesman for Auschwitz museum, said the recovery of the sign was an "enormous relief".
"We are extremely grateful to the police who have done fantastic work," he told AFP news agency.
"This symbol, probably one of the most important of the past century, can be put back in its place."
The museum is preparing to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Auschwitz-Birkenau's liberation by Soviet troops on 27 January.

Scrap metal yards searched
Police had stepped up security checks at airports and border crossings and searched scrap metal yards over the weekend in their hunt for the 5m (16ft) sign, which translates as "Work sets you free".

The sign has been restored since the camp was liberated in 1945


"We have arrested five men aged from 20 to 39 in the north of Poland," said Krakow police spokesman Dariusz Nowak.
"They were picked up shortly before midnight and the sign was found in a house," he added without giving further details.
The wrought-iron sign was half-unscrewed, half-torn off from above the death camp's gate between 0330 and 0500 on Friday.
Investigators said at least two people would have been needed to steal the 40kg (90lb) sign.
Auschwitz museum spokesman Jaroslaw Mensfelt said the thieves had apparently carried the sign 300m (328 yards) to an opening in a concrete wall. The opening was left intentionally to preserve a poplar tree dating back to the time of World War II.
Four metal bars that blocked the opening had been cut and footprints in the snow led from the wall opening to the nearby road, where police presume the sign was loaded on to a vehicle.

 

Very strange indeed. And a bit unsettling. If this is what unscrupulous Collectors are willing to do then is any Historical site and its contents safe?

 

It was certainly not your normal scrap metal thief!

Glad that it is recovered albeit in 3 pieces.

I wonder how long it will be before the sign is relocated back to its rightful position?

Regards
Tom

 

It was certainly not your normal scrap metal thief!

Glad that it is recovered albeit in 3 pieces.

I wonder how long it will be before the sign is relocated back to its rightful position?

Regards
Tom

I wonder now after this if the original will find it's way back above the gates.

I would think the original maybe better kept inside a secure museum type building on the camp grounds and leave the copy in situ....