January marks the 65th anniversary of  the Soviets liberating the concentration camp. From Reuters-

Polish police detained five men on Monday for stealing the metal sign that hung over the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz, and said they were common thieves, not neo-Nazis. Last Friday’s theft triggered widespread outrage, especially from Israel and Jewish groups, amid fears of a political motive. The sign, which carries the German motto “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work makes you free”), is a powerful symbol of the Holocaust committed by the Nazis against the Jews. The police said it had been cut into three pieces.

“None of the five suspects is a member of a neo-Nazi group,” said Andrzej Rokita, district police chief in the southern Polish city of Krakow, which is near the site of Auschwitz.

“Their motive was undoubtedly theft. We’ll be able to say later whether the crime was ordered or they acted on their own initiative,” he told a news conference.

Police said the suspects, aged between 20 and 39, had previous convictions for various crimes including robbery and physical assault. One of them ran his own construction firm.

Another news article placed the recovery of the sign taking place somewhere in Northern Poland.

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the thieves intention was to sell the metal for scrap.