The Dismantling of Arbeit Macht Frei

Arbeit Macht Frei hung from the entrance gate of Auschwitz. Auschwitz was the largest Nazi concentration camp and extermination center. During the Holocaust, it was surrounded by high electric barbed wire fences, which were guarded by SS soldiers armed with machine guns and rifles. It is now a museum devoted to the memory of those who were murdered and held prisoner during World War II and the Holocaust. December 18, 2009 the Arbeit macht frei sign over the gate of Auschwitz was stolen.  After a three-day hunt and the arrest of five suspects, the sign was found cut into three pieces.  The sign represents a major historical importance to the Jewish people and is considered a tombstone for more than a million Jews.  After the theft, authorities replaced the stolen sign with a replica.  The original sign was found cut into three pieces. The Aftonbladet newspaper reported that the sign had been stolen by Polish thieves, who were working on behalf of a Swedish extremist group.  The group was hoping to sell the pieces of the sign and use the proceeds to finance a series of terror attacks to influence voters in the upcoming Swedish parliamentary elections.  March 18, 2010, Polish court sentenced three men to prison for stealing the sign.  They pleaded guilty. Museum authorities announced that the sign will not be returning to its old location, but will be shown in an enclosed room of the museum.