Police make arrest yesterdayKrakow Police displayed today the Auschwitz "Arbeit macht frei" sign, broken into three pieces and twisted out of shape.
When four thieves stole the sign last Friday, the thieves left behind the final "i" of the word "frei," police spokesman Dariusz Nowak told a news conference, adding that the sign is now being examined by forensic scientists.
“We did not reveal all this information before because we took into account that the suspects may ask for ransom. Only the real thieves could have known that the letter "i" was missing,” he said.
He also confirmed that the sign was stolen for money and no ideological purpose appears to have been a motive for the theft which outraged many inside and outside Poland.
Three of the three suspects accompanied investigators to the scene of the crime this morning. Two of the suspects are apparently not cooperating with enquiries.
The Swedish connection?
Reports also emerged today that the thieves had told police that they committed the crime after being contracted to do by a buyer in Sweden, who had offered 20,000 euros for the sign.
The "Arbeit macht frei" sign, which was stolen last Friday, was found in woodland in three pieces near Torun, 500 kilometres from the Auschwitz site and near the home of one of the accused.
Five men are currently in police custody. Four of them are suspected of stealing the sign from Gate 1 at the site of the former Auschwitz Nazi death camp where over one million perished. (pg/di)