OSWIECIM, Poland -- Thieves stole the notorious sign bearing the cynical Nazi slogan "Work Sets You Free" from the entrance to the former Auschwitz death camp on Friday, cutting through rows of barbed wire and metal bars before making their escape through the snow.
The brazen seizure of one of the Holocaust's most chilling symbols brought worldwide condemnation.
"The theft of such a symbolic object is an attack on the memory of the Holocaust and an escalation from those elements that would like to return us to darker days," Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev said in a statement from Jerusalem.
"I call on all enlightened forces in the world who fight against anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and the hatred of the other to join together to combat these trends."
The 16-foot sign bearing the German words "Arbeit Macht Frei" - "Work Sets You Free" - spanned the main entrance to the Auschwitz death camp, where more than 1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed during World War II.
Working at night and timing their theft between regular security patrols, the culprits unscrewed the 90-pound steel banner on one side and tore it off on the other, then carried it 300 yards to an opening in a concrete wall.
The opening, which had been left intentionally to preserve a poplar tree dating to the war, was blocked by four metal bars, which the thieves cut. Footprints in the snow led to the nearby road, where police think the sign was loaded onto a vehicle.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who spoke with Israeli President Shimon Peres about the theft, ordered authorities to do all in their power to recover the sign swiftly and catch the perpetrators. "I treat this as a priority," Tusk said.
Police deployed 50 officers, including 20 detectives, and a search dog to the Auschwitz grounds, where barracks, watchtowers and rows of barbed wire stand as testament to the atrocities of Nazi Germany.
The sign disappeared between 3:30 a.m. and 5 a.m., a police spokeswoman said.
An exact replica of the sign, produced when the original underwent restoration work years ago, was quickly hung in its place.
