Auschwitz sign 'stolen to fund Swedish terror attacks'
The main gate entering the Nazi Auschwitz death camp at sunrise

The Nazi gang that ordered the theft of the infamous 'Arbeit Macht Frei'
sign from the gates of Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland planned to
sell it to fund violent attacks against the Swedish Prime Minister and
Parliament, it was claimed today.

A spokesman for the Swedish security police confirmed that the
authorities were taking seriously a threat by a militant Nazi group to
disrupt national elections next year.

"We are aware of the information about the alleged attack plans," said
Patrik Peter, the security police spokesman.

“We have taken actions. We view this seriously.”

The wrought-iron sign, whose inscription – translated as 'Work sets you
free' – was viewed by hundreds of thousands of Jews as they entered the
Nazi death camp where they met their deaths during the Second World War.
It was stolen from the camp – now a museum – last Friday, provoking
worldwide expressions of dismay and revulsion.

It was recovered on Monday, hacked into three pieces and wrapped in
cloth. Police suspect that it was initially hidden in woodland before
being transferred to a builder’s yard where it was found.

Allegations concerning who ordered the theft, and why, have surfaced
today in Swedish newspaper reports after the former leader of a Swedish
Nazi group claimed that it had been stolen to order for a collector in
England, France or the United States.

"We had a person who was ready to pay millions for the sign," the
unnamed source told Aftonbladet, Sweden's biggest-selling daily newspaper.

The Nazi source said that the money would pay for an attack on the home
of Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Swedish Prime Minister who has held the
rotating presidency of the European Union for the last six months, and
on the Swedish Foreign Ministry, the paper reported.

A third attack allegedly involved plans to bombard Swedish MPs from the
public seats of the parliament.

"The sign was to be delivered to Sweden, since it was here the deal
should be made," the source said. "My role was to find a buyer. We had a
person who was willing to pay millions but he had no political agenda.
These things have a huge collector value... The biggest collectors are
from England, the United States and France."

The source allegedly said that five men were to be paid for carrying out
the theft. He reportedly insisted that he personally was not guilty of
any crime as the deal had not been completed. Aftonbladet reported that
he had been convicted several times in connection with his Nazi
affiliation, and that he had made repeated visits to Poland.

Polish television has reported that police were investigation a Swedish
connection in the theft of the Auschwitz sign. Mr Peter said that no
arrests had yet been made.

"A prosecutor has been informed and the Government offices have been
informed," said Mr Peter. He declined to discuss any details of the
attack plans.

Five men, aged between 20 and 39, from the Torun area of northern
Poland, have been arrested for the theft of the sign. The decisive
tip-off came in one of 120 calls to a police hotline over the weekend.
The museum had offered a £23,000 reward for information leading to the
recovery of the sign. The caller gave enough information for all five
suspects to be rounded up within three hours.

Andrzej Rokita, the deputy commander of Cracow police, described them as
non-political. All had previous convictions for theft or assault.

They are being interrogated in Cracow, the city responsible for the
nearby Auschwitz camp museum. If charges are pressed, they could face up
to ten years in jail for the “theft of a cultural treasure of particular
significance”.

Museum authorities are urging the police to release the three portions
of the sign so that they can be re-erected before the 65th anniversary
of the liberation of the death camp next month. In the meantime, a
replica has been placed over the entrance.

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The real threat, as usual, is from the right.