Thursday 11 February 2010

Auschwitz sign theft: Swedish man arrested in Stockholm

A Swedish man has been arrested in Stockholm over the theft of the Arbeit Macht Frei sign from Auschwitz death camp, officials say.

The arrest came after a Polish court last week issued a European arrest warrant for Anders Hogstrom.

The metal sign was stolen in December from above the entrance to the notorious Nazi death camp. It was later recovered, cut into three pieces.

Five Polish men have already been arrested over the theft.

The sign, which weighs 40kg (90lb), was half-unscrewed, half-torn from above the death camp's gate.

The 5m (16ft) wrought iron sign - the words on which translate as "Work sets you free" - symbolises for many the atrocities of Nazi Germany.

The theft caused outrage in Israel, Poland and around the world. More than a million people - 90% of them Jews - were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz in occupied Poland during World War II.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8510964.stm

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