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dcmacdaddy · Dec 18, 2009, 01:58 PM

Sign at Auschwitz Gate is Stolen

I read this article and was horrified to think that someone could steal something from Auschwitz. I can't fathom why anyone would want to possess something from that place. Short of being a Neo-Nazi or malevolent psychopath, how could anyone see any "value" in something so horrific as a sign from a Nazi concentration camp. It boggles the mind.

Chuckit · Dec 18, 2009, 02:29 PM

They could mean it as a sign of disrespect for Nazism. They could just think it was funny, like somebody who steals a street sign probably isn't a traffic planning enthusiast.

Face Ache · Dec 18, 2009, 04:00 PM

The Nazis' infamous iron sign declaring ''Arbeit Macht Frei'' -- German for ''Work Sets You Free'' -- was stolen Friday from the entrance of the former Auschwitz death camp, Polish police said.

Now there's a sign of the times.

dcmacdaddy · Dec 20, 2009, 10:47 PM

Sign at Auschwitz Gate Recovered

They found the sign, in three pieces, and have five individuals in custody for the theft. I suspect there will be a few more arrests. Police have yet to release a motive for the theft.

PS: When I posted this update, the Poli/War Lounge had not had a single post in 44 hours.

nonhuman · Dec 20, 2009, 11:49 PM

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy

PS: When I posted this update, the Poli/War Lounge had not had a single post in 44 hours.

Honestly, I'm not really sure what there is too say. Without more information about who did it and what they're motives were what is there but to state the obvious. There isn't really even all that much room for speculation: either it was a misguided but relatively innocent instance of vandalism, or it was something more malign.

A large part of me is happy that it's down and hopes it stays that way, restoring any part of Auschwitz seems like a horrible thing to do. But I would like to see the sign itself preserved as a memorial; three words that might otherwise be uplifting, but instead have become a slogan of horror. I haven't been to Auschwitz, but if/when I do go, if the sign is up on the gates I'd be inclined to go around the gates rather than through as I am to take Dodgers Alley when walking through Odeonsplatz in Munich.

dcmacdaddy · Dec 21, 2009, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by nonhuman

Honestly, I'm not really sure what there is too say. Without more information about who did it and what they're motives were what is there but to state the obvious. There isn't really even all that much room for speculation: either it was a misguided but relatively innocent instance of vandalism, or it was something more malign.

Psst. Re-read my post. I was talking about the entire Poli/War Lounge, not just my thread, when I mentioned the 44 hour lull in posting.

As for the sign theft, I assume it was done for malevolent purposes. And the fact that the sign wad cut into three pieces leads me to suspect it was to be shipped out of the country. Still, I have not read as to why it was done.

Doofy · Dec 21, 2009, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy

PS: When I posted this update, the Poli/War Lounge had not had a single post in 44 hours.

Iz Christmas.

turtle777 · Dec 21, 2009, 01:38 PM

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy

And the fact that the sign wad cut into three pieces leads me to suspect it was to be shipped out of the country. Still, I have not read as to why it was done.

It's not clear if this was the intention, but the sign has been recovered in Poland.

Link [German] here.

As of now, police doesn't think that this was politically motivated.

-t

ort888 · Dec 21, 2009, 02:35 PM

I think Obama had the sign stolen so he could use it over here...

Too soon?

turtle777 · Dec 21, 2009, 02:40 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

Too soon?

It's never too early to troll.

-t

Big Mac · Dec 22, 2009, 07:58 AM

Whatever the cause of the desecration may be - and it's easy to assume a motive - the Holocaust is such a faint memory for so many that it seems the world could be silent in the face of a potential second Holocaust. The taboo against hating and persecuting Jews has seriously eroded, even within the lifetime of Holocaust survivors.

OreoCookie · Dec 22, 2009, 08:13 AM

@Big Mac
According to the news, the accused apparently do not have a right-wing extremist background, indications are that they were in for the money. (Who would buy that sign??)

turtle777 · Dec 22, 2009, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

- the Holocaust is such a faint memory for so many that it seems the world could be silent in the face of a potential second Holocaust. The taboo against hating and persecuting Jews has seriously eroded, even within the lifetime of Holocaust survivors.

Unfortunately, you are right.

And history shows that these kind of events were not just a fluke with the 3rd Reich.

-t

nonhuman · Dec 22, 2009, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

@Big Mac
According to the news, the accused apparently do not have a right-wing extremist background, indications are that they were in for the money. (Who would buy that sign??)

I can think of two kinds of people who would buy it: right-wing extremists and collectors. There are tons of people who collect Nazi paraphernalia (and I would imagine that at least some of them don't do for ideological reasons...).

dcmacdaddy · 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by Big Mac

Whatever the cause of the desecration may be - and it's easy to assume a motive - the Holocaust is such a faint memory for so many that it seems the world could be silent in the face of a potential second Holocaust. The taboo against hating and persecuting Jews has seriously eroded, even within the lifetime of Holocaust survivors.

Do you honestly think hating Jews* suddenly stopped after the Holocaust?

Of course it didn't. It just went underground and became less obvious. The only difference today is that there are those willing to be less circumspect about their anti-Jewish sentiments. But I don't believe, not for a minute, that there was ever a time that people who wanted to hate Jews actually stopped hatting Jews, even after the Holocaust.

*Insert religion of choice here. (Think about anti-Buddhist sentiment in Tibet and parts of India or anti-Catholic sentiment in parts of the Protestant world or severe anti-everything-else in heavily Catholic parts of the world.) I am in no way suggesting that anti-Jewish sentiment is the only anti-religious sentiment in the world or even the most prominent. Certainly anti-Jewish sentiment was most prominent during the Second World War. But I don't think it is the most prominent form of anti-religious persecution in the world today.