Security officials at former concentration camp report that part of entrance gate with ‘work sets you free’ slogan is missing

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

German police say part of a wrought-iron gate at the former Dachau concentration camp bearing the Nazi slogan “arbeit macht frei” (“work sets you free”) has been stolen.

Police said security officials noticed early on Sunday that the gate section measuring 190cm by 95cm (75in by 37in) was missing. They say that whoever stole it during the night would have had to climb over another gate to reach it.

Police say they found nothing in the immediate vicinity of the camp and appealed for anyone who noticed any suspicious people or vehicles to come forward.

Dachau, near Munich, was the first concentration camp set up by the Nazis in 1933. More than 40,000 prisoners died there before it was liberated by US forces on 29 April 1945.