December 18, 2009: Poland declares a state of emergency. Why? The infamous wrought iron 'Arbeit Macht Frei' sign that hovered over the gate of Auschwitz was stolen. Some might think it was a trivial reason to declare a state of emergency, but at the same time, the sign was incredibly symbolic to many, many people. More than a million people died at Auschwitz -- and they along with the those who were lucky enough to survive -- all passed under the cynical phrase.
Every public authority figure seemed to be in shock and incredibly upset about the theft. BBC reported the following statements: Polish ex-President Lech Walesa described the theft as "unthinkable", while Poland's chief rabbi said he could not imagine who would do such a thing. Polish President Lech Kaczynski called on the public to help recover the sign, which he described as a "worldwide symbol of the cynicism of Hitler's executioners and the martyrdom of their victims". Israeli President Shimon Peres also condemned the theft during a special meeting with Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
It was quite shocking at the time. No one knew why someone would do something like that or how they went about it. First of all, it would have been difficult to take because the area is closed off, watched by cameras, and patrolled at night. Second of all, the sign is so well known, it would have been very difficult to sell had that been the motive for taking it.
A few days later, after intensive searching, five men were arrested and the sign was recovered, albeit in three pieces. The thieves had turned out to be ordinary criminals (not neo-nazis as some has speculated) with past records of brawling and theft, who had wanted to sell the sign for money.
I think that this event is most important in the way that it conveys the importance of the Holocaust to different people. For many people - especially Jewish individuals and Holocaust survivors - the theft was horrible. To them, the sign was incredibly symbolic of what they as a people had endured. It is really difficult to understand how the men that stole the sign could not understand the severity of their action. Not in terms of punishment (which could be up to ten years in jail) but in terms of emotional stress that it caused. It seems like the importance of an event is incredibly subjective. The men clearly knew that they were doing was wrong - stealing - but one would question their integrity in relation to human condition. It is unfathomable that while the sign might have been of no importance to them, they did not understand its importance to others. They had to know -- otherwise there would have been no motive for theft.
On the other hand, it is interesting to see the perspective from the other side as well. Some people do not understand or recognize the significance of the sign. I have seen numerous comments on video clips and news articles that say "big deal, who cares" and other things with the same sentiment. Some are are incredibly ignorant, and it really goes to show how little has changed over time - that some people still recognize the severity of or want to try understand the Holocaust.
In anycase, I found the theft to be an interesting example of how the Holocaust is ever-present in society. It is still stirring emotion within people more than sixty years after the camps were liberated.
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