Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, Chairman of Yad VaShem Holocaust Museum and a survivor of the Holocaust said that the theft of the sign from the gate to Auschwitz was “another step by Holocaust deniers who were bothered by this sign. The sign was one of the existent symbols of the Holocaust.”
The infamous metal signs reads “Arbeit Macht Frei” – “work makes you free.” It was part of a deception by the Nazi government, which presented the camp as a labor camp, and not a death camp.
“As long as the sign 'Arbeit Macht Frei' was there to be seen by a million visitors every year at the Auschwitz museum, this was a hindrance for the various Holocaust deniers,” Rabbi Lau said. “It is likely that the thieves were not motivated by greed but by unparallelled evil and stupidity, to come and deny the Holocaust in this generation – and this is very worrisome,” he added.
Polish law enforcement authorities are making an effort to prevent the sign from being smuggled out of the country.
The Polish Ministry of Interior stated that security forces had been instructed to meticulously inspect all merchandise leaving the country. Cargo loaded on planes at the country's airports will also be more thoroughly examined to prevent the smuggling of the sign.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the government would be awarding a cash prize of 115,000 zloty (about 40,000 dollars) to anyone with information about the sign's whereabouts.