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Police doubt Swedish ties to Auschwitz theft

Published: 24 Dec 09 09:43 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/24038/20091224/

Amid speculations about a 'mysterious Swede' being behind the the theft of the Nazi "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign from Auschwitz, Swedish police have said they had no information about about a possible Swedish connection to the crime.

"We do not have any information, we are not in touch with Polish authorities," detective-inspector Christian Pena of the Swedish criminal police told AFP.

Meanwhile, Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet reported on Thursday that the sign was to have been transported to Sweden for sale, the proceeds of which would have been used to finance a nazi attack against Swedish political leaders prior to the 2010 elections.

Säpo, the Swedish intelligence service, confirmed the existence of a militant Nazi group, saying that “measures had been taken” against the threat.

Polish investigators said Tuesday that a foreign resident was the mastermind behind the theft, but refused to confirm Polish news channel TVN24's report that the trail led to Sweden.

Pena said Swedish police only had the information they had seen in the media coverage of the theft. Polish police recovered the metal sign – which means "Work Will Set You Free" in German – on Sunday in northern Poland, three days after it disappeared.

Polish police said they arrested five men who may have been working for a neo-Nazi collector.

According to Pena, Swedish police who would have been aware of any cross-border investigation have not been involved.

Poland contacted Interpol and its European equivalent Europol after the theft at the former World War II concentration camp where about 1.1 million mainly Jewish detainees were killed.

AFP/The Local (news@thelocal.se)

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15:35 December 24, 2009 by Jan M
There's a strange timelag here :-)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6967449.ece
00:31 December 25, 2009 by calebian22
Yes of course! The Jews are behind it all, like always. Good grief, Trowbridge.
00:57 December 25, 2009 by dsc
I wouldn't put it past Swedish Nazi groups to pull off this one.
03:31 December 25, 2009 by Davey-jo
Maybe they should take the guy who stole this lump of Nazi cr*p and make him wear it round his stupid neck for the rest of his natural.
22:36 December 25, 2009 by wxman
You're right Trowbridge, If it wasn't for the Jews the world would be a better place. Everyone in the Middle East would live in peace and harmony and there never would have been a Hitler. It's all their damn fault.
01:45 December 26, 2009 by lingonberrie
This is old hat.

The sign has been recovered and the economically challenged Polish have increased their funds to cover the sign's future security.

Why has not super-rich AIPAC donated the money themselves?

No answer is required, I already know.
08:48 December 26, 2009 by boston2boulder
It is a great this has been recovered. Before I comment, please allow me to collectively dismiss Trowbridge H. Ford, DSC, and Wxman and the tribe of haters who will use this as a forum for senseless rhetoric.

Over the years I have learned that you simply "can not fix stupid."

To jump from 5 theives in their twenties to a plot by Jews to, "revive interests in The Holocaust..." would be funny, if it did not so sadly mirror the blind hate of anti-semits. I do pity them. Can you imagine a heart so cold and damaged it can not even understand the crime against humanity the theft of a symbol represents.?

As to the criminals...let the punishment fit the crime.

I think 10 years as groundskeepers in Auschwitz would be appropriate. They could work there, cleaning the death chambers, dusting the photos of the mass graves, raking the leaves in the largest Jewish Cemetery in the world. We can furnish them with a tattoo so they never forget it.

After all...Arbeit Macht Frei. They certianly knows what that means.
13:06 December 28, 2009 by ou2chi
Mr editor

Naked anti-Semitism is to me a reportable abuse. It is not freedom of speech to have little Ahmadinejads peddling their poisonous hatred on this forum.

And to all thinking humanity, please stop wasting your energies and intellect engaging anti-Semitists. Gets you nowhere. To be sure many a reasonable people tried to engage Hitler, are trying to engage Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, with what result? As boston2boulder reminded us you "cannot fix stupid."
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