Dachau gate stolen

Near Munich, Germany, the wrought-iron gate at the Dachau concentration camp was stolen on Nov. 3. The gate proclaimed the slogan “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work Makes You Free”), as did the gate to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, which was stolen in December 2009. Recovered later, the Auschwitz gate had been cut into three pieces, and a Swedish man with neo-Nazi ties was arrested for having ordered its theft.

Dachau, built in 1933, was the first Nazi concentration camp opened in Germany. Originally a work camp for political prisoners, it was expanded in 1938 to hold Jews and ordinary criminals. There were 32,000 known deaths at Dachau, with many thousands more assumed. The camp was liberated in 1945 by US troops. In 1965 it was turned into a memorial, with the gate remaining in its original position.