Part of the gate bearing the infamous slogan ‘Arbeit macht frei’ or ‘Work sets you free’ has gone missing from Dachau concentration camp.

The theft of what is considered the ‘central symbol for the prisoners’ ordeal has been widely condemned.

It is not the first piece of Nazi memorabilia to be stolen. A similar sign was taken from Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland in 2009.

Police later discovered it cut into pieces on the other side of the country. A Swedish man and several Poles were imprisoned for the theft.