British Teens Busted for Stealing Auschwitz Artifacts
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Two British teenagers were arrested in Poland after police found in their backpacks items believed to be stolen from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum.
Polish police were notified Monday by museum security guards of the suspected theft of buttons, a fragment of a hair clipper, and a piece of a spoon which belonged to prisoners of Birkenau. The British teens, 17 and 18, were interrogated by police with the assistance of a translator on Monday and maintained their innocence, according to Deputy Inspector Mariusz Ciarka of the Malopolska police. They remain in police custody, the Krakow Gazette reported.
Ciarka told local media that the teens do not appear to realize the gravity of their alleged crime and are unfamiliar with “the dramatic history associated with Auschwitz. In contrast, museum staff are particularly sensitive to these types of incidents.”
If the teens are found guilty they could be jailed for one to 10 years, though a fine and probation are the more likely punishment.
Polish police were notified by museum security guards of the suspected theft of buttons, a fragment of a hair clipper, and a piece of a spoon which belonged to prisoners of Birkenau.
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