Polish police are conducting an intensive hunt for the ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ (‘Work Will Set You Free’) sign stolen on Friday from the former Nazi death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Vehicles crossing the borders with Ukraine and Belarus are being checked. Security at Polish airports has been increased. Forensic experts are examining the site itself for evidence.

The cast iron sign, which hung over an entrance to the camp, weighs at least 40 kilos. The Auschwitz museum has offered a reward of 25,000 euros for tips that lead either to the arrest of the thieves or the retrieval of the sign itself.

Located near the Polish town of Oświęcim and the nearby village of Brzezinka, Auschwitz-Birkenau (the German names for the town and village) was the biggest of the Nazi’s concentration and death camps. Over one million people, most of them Jews, were murdered there during the Second World War. Since the war ended, the site has become a state-run museum.

Photo of Auschwitz-Birkenau's main entrance from Wikimedia Commons

Photo of stolen sign by ANP