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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Auschwitz death camp sign stolen | Auschwitz death camp sign stolen |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The infamous Arbeit Macht Frei sign at the entrance to the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Poland has been stolen. | |
| The wide metal sign was unscrewed and pulled down from its position above the gate overnight. Police are searching for the culprits. | |
| It is the first time the sign, made by prisoners, has been stolen since it was erected in the early 1940s. | It is the first time the sign, made by prisoners, has been stolen since it was erected in the early 1940s. |
| More than a million people - 90% of them Jews - were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz during World War II. | More than a million people - 90% of them Jews - were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz during World War II. |
| "It's a terrible thing," Auschwitz official Pawel Sawicki told the BBC. | "It's a terrible thing," Auschwitz official Pawel Sawicki 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," he said. | "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," he said. |
| Mr Sawicki said the theft was probably planned. | Mr Sawicki said the theft was probably planned. |
| The missing sign, which is occasionally removed by officials for conservation work, has been replaced by a replica. | The missing sign, which is occasionally removed by officials for conservation work, has been replaced by a replica. |
| During the Holocaust, hundreds of thousands of prisoners passed under the sign, whose words mean "Work Sets You Free", but the vast majority were murdered or worked to death. | During the Holocaust, hundreds of thousands of prisoners passed under the sign, whose words mean "Work Sets You Free", but the vast majority were murdered or worked to death. |
| The theft comes just days after the German government pledged 60m euros ($86m) to an endowment fund to help preserve the camp. | |
| Auschwitz, which receives more than a million visitors a year, has been run as a state museum since 1947. |