KrakowInformer.com

The police are taking the sign for conservation works to restore it to previous form

The five men worked for greed..

..cutting and stealing...

...a historical and painful symbol

The famous sign has been recovered on Sunday night. The culprits, aged 20-39, mostly unemployed, may serve even 10 years for stealing and damaging a culture-vital object. The five men come from kujawsko-pomorskie district in the north of Poland. According to the police, they already have a criminal record. - The motive was money, not neonazi inspirations, as some suspected - says the police spokesman Andrzej Rokita.

The police has engaged huge forces to find the sign, as its appaling theft caused anxiety all over theworld . Some informations from the citizens helped enormousy in finding the Auschwitz main gate sign, unfortunately cut in three pieces. It was found in a forrest near the city of Torun, north off the capital city, Warsaw. The thieves have lost the last letter, 'I' during transportation.

The Auschwitz Muzeum itself will also be subject to investigation, as the security means proved to be insufficient. According to the police, the same crew had already tried to accomplish th etheft before, but had no appropriate tools and had to withdraw.

As for now the police would not say who commissioned the theft. According to many sources, it was a Swedish collectioner, who offered to pay 20,000 PLN (ca. 5 000 euro) for the sign, but the information has not yet been confirmed.