“Arbeit macht frei.” Work makes you free. Those three German words sat over the entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camp in southern Poland for the better part of a century until the 16-foot, 90-pound sign went missing Friday. Police found it in northern Poland on Sunday, cut into three pieces. Five men were arrested.

Why take it? Was it to become a morbid souvenir? Perhaps it was meant to be destroyed. Authorities have announced no motive, reports the BBC.

BBC:

Its theft, the motive for which was not being reported, caused outrage in Israel and among Polish politicians.

Five men in their 20s or 30s were detained and were being taken to Krakow for questioning, a police spokeswoman said.

More than a million people – 90% of them Jews – were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz during World War II.

Read more

 WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...

This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.

At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.

Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.

Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.

Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.

Donate now.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG
In this Article:
#auschwitz#concentration camp#History#holocaust#jewish#poland#theft