Around the World: Poland

5 held in Auschwitz theft

Polish police detained five men yesterday 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. 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.