Infamous Auschwitz Sign Stolen

Thieves remove 'Work Makes You Free' inscription from gate
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 18, 2009 3:26 AM CST
Updated Dec 18, 2009 6:10 AM CST
Infamous Auschwitz Sign Stolen
"It's a profanation of the place where more than a million people were murdered," a spokesman for the Auschwitz museum said of the theft. "It's shameful."   (Getty Images)

Thieves have made off with the "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign that spans a gate at Auschwitz. The sign—which reads "Work Makes You Free" in German—was unscrewed and carried away overnight, AP reports. Police have no suspects but they are reviewing surveillance video footage and pursuing several theories.

"It's a terrible thing," an official at the Auschwitz museum told the BBC. "The sign means everything—it's a symbol of what Auschwitz stands for. But a place where hundreds of thousands of people died obviously doesn't mean anything to the thieves." (More Auschwitz stories.)

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