Polish police recover Auschwitz gate sign

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Polish police recover Auschwitz gate sign

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22 December,2009 08:07 pm

Polish police unveiled the three parts of the Arbeit macht frei (Work makes you free) sign stolen from former Nazi death camp Auschwitz on Friday.The sign had been cut at each word, showing damage and missing the letter 'i' from frei.Police detained five men on Monday for stealing the metal sign and said they were common thieves, not neo-Nazis. 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. The 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 alleged Holocaust committed by the Nazis against the Jews. 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. 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.