Auschwitz, thieves are prejudiced nobody is a member of neo-Nazi groups

KRAKOW (Poland) – The five men arrested for the theft of the iron sign of the Auschwitz extermination camp are undermined without any connection with the neo-Nazi movements, found in the night in northern Poland. “We can state that none of the five is a member of neo-Nazi groups or supports these ideas. They are just convicts, already convicted of other crimes, both for theft and for aggression. Their intent was undoubtedly only to steal. We will be able later to determine if the crime was commissioned or if they acted on their own initiative, “said Andrzej Rokita, head of the Krakow police district at a press conference. According to the Polish broadcaster Rmf Fm the theft would have been carried out at the request of a collector who could have ordered it through the internet. 

The five risk a sentence of up to ten years in prison which comes under the penal code imposed for theft of objects considered cultural heritage. 

Poland, which had offered a sum of 30,000 euros for information that could lead to the discovery, had asked for the help of Interpol and Europol to find what was widely considered the symbol of Nazi horror. 

December 21 2009