Auschwitz Sign Stolen - Neo-Nazis at Work?

The theft of one of the most notorious signs of the fascist regime and the holocaust, on Friday has led to worldwide indignation and the suspicion that it is the work of Neo-Nazi miscreants. The sign, which was erected in 1940, was stolen in a matter of minutes in the wee hours of morning, on December 18, the same day that Germany announced a contribution of 60 million Euro for the preservation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp.

The Polish police have said that the suspects are either Neo-Nazis or people working for collectors. They are reviewing surveillance footage and have said that the sign seems to have been stolen in just about six minutes - the time taken by the guards to change shifts.

Arbeit Macht Frei, a misanthropic welcome sign proclaiming the ability of work to set you free, was what millions of Jews first saw when they entered Auschwitz, the infamous extermination camp, which in Adolf Hitler's regime was the antithesis of hope. Weighing about 40 kg, the sign was supposed to be an indication of how hard work would allow prisoners to roam freely, but with Auschwitz turning into the funeral grounds for more than 1.1 million inmates, the sign became an ironic commentary.

Tracing the sign has now become a question of national honor with President Kaczynski appealing to Polish citizens to help recover the sign adding, "A worldwide symbol of the cynicism of Hitler's executioners and the martyrdom of their victims has been stolen. This act deserves the strongest possible condemnation."

Mirroring the world's shock at the event, at the Copenhagen summit, Israel's President Shimon Peres, met with Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk. President Peres said, "The sign holds deep historical meaning for both Jews and non-Jews alike as a symbol of the lives that perished at Auschwitz."

Unlike other museums, which use creative reproductions and visual mediums to tell stories, Auschwitz is stuck in the 1950s, in desperate need of modernization. But it didn't matter, because a visitor to Auschwitz, as he entered the camp and passed that monolithic mocking sign, knew that he was revisiting a massacre, that lasted too long. Now he may not.