Jurecka said the man admitted his guilt but has been released as he awaits further steps.
Pawel Sawicki, a spokesman for the Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum, said the memorial museum’s security team became aware that the man was trying to remove the metal element on the historic rail tracks and then alerted police.
The memorial site has faced multiple attempts of theft and vandalism in recent years. The most dramatic case was the 2009 theft of the sign with the Nazi slogan “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work Will Set You Free”) at the death camp’s main gate. It was found cut into pieces and was eventually repaired and stored in a safe place. A replica is now in its place.
Some 1.1 million people were killed during World War II at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the most notorious of Nazi Germany’s death camps. Most of the victims were Jews but many Poles, Roma, Soviet POWs and others were also killed there.
Gathering momentos for the future Trump Presidential Library?
The only thing I brought back from my visit to Auschwitz were some awful memories.
Wow, this is sick on multiple levels. What was his motivation? Did he want a piece of the 3rd Reich to put on his wall to show off to his neo-Nazi friends or is he just stupid?
Reading the news about the behavior of Americans and of the President of the United States has become such a humiliating experience
If I ever had the chance to Auschwitz, I wouldn’t touch anything. I genuinely believe that the horrific memories of the place will reside there forever. The idea of trying to steal any part of the place goes beyond blasphemy.