Man Jailed for Taking Barbed Wire at Auschwitz
An Italian man who stole a one-foot piece of barbed wire from Auschwitz was released from police custody a day after being arrested at the airport in Krakow.
The man, 66, tried to leave the country Saturday night with the wire in his luggage. He explained he did it because his father died in Auschwitz.
He was released after leading police to the artifact, the Associated Press reported Sunday evening.
This is not the first theft at Auschwitz. The most well-known case of theft at Auschwitz occurred in December 2009. Thieves have stolen the inscription “Arbeit macht frei” from above the gate of the former camp, and cut it into at least three pieces. The perpetrators were sentenced to jail.
At least 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
