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“Arbeit macht frei” – this sign that sits above the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp is one of the more infamous examples of Nazi propaganda. The slogan comes from the title of a German book in which gamblers and fraudsters found redemption through labor. The sign was meant to encourage prisoners of the camp to work diligently, falsely promising them freedom if they complied. The sign, which was repeated in several other concentration camps, has since become a symbol of the cruelty and oppression. The Auschwitz sign was stolen in 2009 and recovered by authorities in three separate pieces. Since this incident, the original sign is under lock and key and a replica sits above the entrance today.
“Arbeit macht frei” – this sign that sits above the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp is one of the more infamous examples of Nazi propaganda. The slogan comes from the title of a German book in which gamblers and fraudsters found redemption through labor. The sign was meant to encourage prisoners of the camp to work diligently, falsely promising them freedom if they complied. The sign, which was repeated in several other concentration camps, has since become a symbol of the cruelty and oppression. The Auschwitz sign was stolen in 2009 and recovered by authorities in three separate pieces. Since this incident, the original sign is under lock and key and a replica sits above the entrance today.
