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Poland: Auschwitz 'Arbeit Macht Frei' sign stolen

mscriv

mscriv

macrumors 601
Original poster
Aug 14, 2008
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Dallas, Texas
OSWIECIM, Poland – The Nazis' infamous iron sign declaring "Arbeit Macht Frei" — German for "Work Sets You Free" — was stolen Friday from the entrance of the former Auschwitz death camp, Polish police said.

The 5-meter-long (16-foot-long), 40-kilogram (90-pound) iron sign at the Holocaust memorial site in southern Poland was unscrewed on one side and torn off on the other, police spokeswoman Katarzyna Padlo said.

The theft from the entrance to the camp — where more than 1 million people, mostly Jews, died during World War II — brought condemnation worldwide.

"The theft of such a symbolic object is an attack on the memory of the Holocaust, and an escalation from those elements that would like to return us to darker days," Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev said in a statement from Jerusalem.

"I call on all enlightened forces in the world who fight against anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and the hatred of the other, to join together to combat these trends."

The sign disappeared from the Auschwitz memorial between 3:30 a.m. and 5 a.m., Padlo said.

....

Poland's chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, said he had trouble imagining who would steal the sign.

"If they are pranksters, they'd have to be sick pranksters, or someone with a political agenda. But whoever has done it has desecrated world memory," Schudrich said.

He said the theft could have been committed by neo-Nazi extremists, or even people scheming to sell the sign of the black market.

"There's a market for everything," he said, adding that it was "like stealing a Picasso. Even a hot Picasso you could try to move after 10 years — but not this."

An exact replica of the sign, produced when the original received restoration work years ago, was quickly hung in its place.

....

The slogan "Arbeit Macht Frei" appeared at the entrances of other Nazi camps, including Dachau and Sachsenhausen. The long curving sign at Auschwitz is considered the best known.

Today the Auschwitz site attracts more than 1 million visitors annually.

This week Germany pledged euro60 million ($87 million) — half the estimated amount required — to a new endowment that will fund long-term preservation work.

This was the first major act of vandalism at the site, which previously has suffered graffiti including spray-painted swastikas.
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This is remarkably sad. The disrespect for history is shocking and the motive behind such action is puzzling.
 
I´m sure it was a bunch of kids never were doing it as a prank or because of a dare and never even thought of the grand repercussions that it would have.

I can't believe anyone would steal such an item with hopes of selling it.
 
"No punishment too severe" ... "a special place in hell" Yeah these people must be untermensch! Oh .. hang on a sec! As for profane and punk you seem to be finding this a bit "sacred".;)
 
imo, it was stolen only as a "prank" or "joke". at the worst, the thieves plan to sell it. honestly, if certain "groups" wanted to steal it, why wait like 50 years later to steal it?

they could have done it last year, or the year before...

not gunning against jews or history but, i wouldn't personally immediately say it is this group or this group or it is because of a political agenda. simply because it hasn'e been proven...
 
Does it have meaning if you weren't affected by the war, the genocide or visited the site?

It's a terrible thing to do and I hope they get caught and punished. But lets not go silly here. The war had a massive impact on my family but I'm not gunning for blood.
 
raggedjimmi said:
Does it have meaning if you weren't affected by the war, the genocide or visited the site?
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It is a piece of iconic world history associated to one of the greatest atrocities conducted by man so I would say that it does have meaning.

However like you I am not gunning for blood, yes they should face punishment for the thief and any other crimes associated with this.
 
True. It's just I have a feeling this is going to be a Big Issue and have Facebook group pages set up about it mostly by people with no connection to Auschwitz at all.
 
Unbelievable! Not sure why anyone would want to steal it.... not like it could be sold and displayed in anyones home!

The only reason I can see is from elements that feel the holocaust never happened - and to remove from history a grim reminder of the false hope as the Jews, GLBT's, and other undesirables went to their deaths.....
 
It could have turned out a lot worse. Imagine if the thieves had separated each letter individually from the sign. :eek:

According to the article I read, each word was intact, so the restoration shouldn't be extremely difficult.
 
dXTC said:
It could have turned out a lot worse. Imagine if the thieves had separated each letter individually from the sign. :eek:

According to the article I read, each word was intact, so the restoration shouldn't be extremely difficult.
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Still the original was broken up.... just think what the Mona Lisa would be worth being cut in to three pieces.... looks like they may want to have the reconstructed piece under guard now... and the replica over the gate... not the same but protect the original...
 
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