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UK teenagers held over theft of artefacts from Auschwitz museum UK schoolboys fined and released after theft of Auschwitz artefacts
(about 3 hours later)
Two British teenagers have spent the night in a Polish jail after being arrested at the former Auschwitz death camp on suspicion of stealing artefacts that belonged to former prisoners.
The boys, both 17, attend the £15,000-a-year independent Perse school in Cambridge and were on a history trip to Poland. They are accused of attempting to steal a comb, spoons, buttons and pieces of glass from a building where Nazi guards stored prisoners’ confiscated belongings during the second world war. Two British schoolboys arrested at Auschwitz have each received a year’s probation, suspended for three years, and a 1,000 zloty (£170) fine after admitting stealing artefacts from the former Nazi death camp.
Sgt Krzysztof Lach, a spokesman at the Krakow police headquarters, said the teenagers were with a group of friends when they were detained at 3pm on Monday. The boys, both 17, were released by Polish authorities on Tuesday afternoon after spending the night in jail. They were arrested on Monday while on a history trip with the independent Perse school in Cambridge.
The boys were questioned on Monday and Tuesday but refused to cooperate with the police investigation, Lach added. A translator was sitting in on the interviews on Tuesday. The pair face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of theft. Polish police said they had tried to steal a comb, spoons, buttons and pieces of glass from block 5 where Nazi guards stored prisoners’ confiscated belongings during the second world war.
Asked what would happen next, the police spokesman said a court would decide whether to release the boys after questioning. “For now it’s hard to say because they are being questioned [by] the investigation team in Oświęcim. The court will decide what to do,” he said. Perse’s headmaster, Ed Elliot, said: “I want to hear directly from the boys as to what led them to take these items. I want to ensure that all necessary lessons are learnt. The opportunity to be able to visit Holocaust sites carries with it the duty to treat those sites with the utmost respect and sensitivity.”
Lach said the boys were arrested because they were suspected of stealing “some stuff from the museum – two pieces of broken glass, spoons, clothes buttons and a comb”. A spokesman for the £15,000-a-year school said: “The boys, neither of whom is yet 18, picked up the fragments in the Canada section of the camp. They cooperated fully with the authorities and admitted taking the items. They are deeply sorry for the offence they have caused.”
“The museum is very important for us and to people from all around the world and the Jewish people,” Lach added. Sgt Krzysztof Łach, a spokesman at the Kraków police headquarters, said the teenagers were with a group of friends when they were detained at 3pm on Monday.
Polish police said the pair were found acting suspiciously in block 5, where belongings of former prisoners were kept during the second world war. “They spent the night in a special jail for youths,” said Lach. He said they were arrested because they were suspected of stealing “some stuff from the museum – two pieces of broken glass, spoons, clothes buttons and a comb”.
Perse school counts theatre director Sir Peter Hall and Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour among its alumni. A spokesman said the boys were being supported by a deputy head and have cooperated fully with the Polish authorities. “The museum is very important for us and to people from all around the world and the Jewish people.” Łach said the boys spent the night in a youth jail.
The headteacher, Ed Elliott, said: “It is still too soon to comment on the details of this case. But it is particularly sad that a situation of this kind had arisen in the course of a visit to a location such as this. The whole party was deeply aware of the scale of the tragedy associated with [Auschwitz] Birkenau and the other camps of the Holocaust. Perse school counts the theatre director Sir Peter Hall and Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour among its alumni.
“We believe that it is essential that young people growing up in today’s world have a proper understanding of just what happened in that time, and these visits are an important part of that process of learning and understanding.”
Related: Men jailed for Auschwitz memorial sign theftRelated: Men jailed for Auschwitz memorial sign theft
A spokeswoman at the UK Foreign Office said officials were in contact with the Polish authorities and were ready to provide consular assistance.A spokeswoman at the UK Foreign Office said officials were in contact with the Polish authorities and were ready to provide consular assistance.
The Holocaust Educational Trust (HET), one of the biggest UK organisers of trips to Auschwitz, said the boys were not on one of its trips.The Holocaust Educational Trust (HET), one of the biggest UK organisers of trips to Auschwitz, said the boys were not on one of its trips.
Auschwitz, near the city of Krakow in southern Poland, has become a poignant symbol of the Holocaust that claimed 6 million Jewish lives across Europe. Auschwitz, near the city of Kraków in southern Poland, has become a poignant symbol of the Holocaust that claimed 6 million Jewish lives across Europe.
About 1.5 million people, mainly European Jews, were gassed, shot, hanged or burned at the camp during the war. About 1.5 million people, mainly European Jews, were gassed, shot, hanged or burned at the camp, which was located in a Polish area annexed by Nazi Germany during the war.
Museum curators say some visitors try to pilfer artefacts as souvenirs. In 2010, a Swedish man was jailed for orchestrating the theft of the infamous “Arbeit macht frei” sign from the entry gate of the Auschwitz site. Museum curators say some visitors try to pilfer artefacts as souvenirs. In 2010, a Swedish man was jailed for orchestrating the theft of the infamous “Arbeit macht frei” sign over the entry gate.