Poland declares state of emergency after 'Arbeit Macht Frei' stolen from Auschwitz

[P-Sleazy]

I wouldn't be surprised if in a few days when the security dulls down at auschwitz, they replace the fake sign with the real sign and no one notices till several weeks/months later.

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by NonCon

No offense intended, but holy fuck you are naive if you actually believe that. Even if their parents found out, which there is almost no reason to think that they would, if something is a big enough deal to cause a "State of Emergency" they aren't turning their kids in unless they really don't like their kids or are stupid.

That's just me wearing my imaginary sunglasses and pretending I'm a badass. I started the post being cynical and just kind of delved into "man, that would totally stop theft forever" idiotic idealism mode. Fuck, if my kid did something like that, I'd have words to no end, but no parent in any civilized nation on EARTH is going to rat their kid out. Maybe wait for things to die down and then drop it somewhere convenient, since having it around means deep shit if you actually get caught.

That said, no fucking way teenagers would be smart enough to case the joint well enough to avoid guard detection AND all the security cameras. They'd just go and grab it like idiots. Being able to pull off a heist like that requires an intimate knowledge of the place that teens are, in general, too impulsive and lacking enough forethought to gain.

[Geminex]

Argh. National state of emergency seems a bit of an overreaction, but I can totally undertand them. This is a bit of history that nobody who was involved wants to shake up. This needs to be remembered, a lot of this remembering happens through symbols. Somebody seems to be interfering.

Best case scenario really is that these were just drunk kids who did something rather stupid. Worst case, somebody is actively trying to suppress aknowlegement of the holocaust. The polish government seems to believe in the latter...

[bluestarultor]

I hate to say it, but lacking an intimate knowledge beforehand of the place and all its security, a bunch of drunk kids would not be able, on a whim, to go and grab it without being noticed. There's only so much "playing secret agent" can do, especially when you're drunk, and the fact that it was trucked off through a hole in the fence via a van indicates that there was also a knowledge of the surrounding area. Unless the kids for some reason spent a lot of time there and somehow knew the ranges of all the cameras, they couldn't be reasonably expected to do it.

Being realistic here, it looks like it was pretty purposeful and planned.

[Loyal]

The article mentioned nothing about security (from what I remember) and I don't see why someone would be guarding it. It's a monument and a relic, not a secret weapon.

[edit] Okay so there were security cameras. Still. You're talking as if the sign was one of those radioactive crystals of infinite power, borne of sci/fi films.

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by Loyal

The article mentioned nothing about security (from what I remember) and I don't see why someone would be guarding it. It's a monument and a relic, not a secret weapon.

[edit] Okay so there were security cameras. Still.

And a guard patrol that was there at 5AM. And possibly all night, given they seem to think it was stolen between 3:30AM and 5:00AM, indicating there was reason for them to have knowledge of it being there at 3:30.


Edit @ your edit: Not what I'm indicating. Obviously, security was pretty lax if there was that much time unaccounted for. But there was still security, and one would assume it wasn't pathetic, given they had a paid guard patrol, no matter how modest. Cameras are cheap.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Originally Posted by bluestarultor

I hate to say it, but lacking an intimate knowledge beforehand of the place and all its security, a bunch of drunk kids would not be able, on a whim, to go and grab it without being noticed. There's only so much "playing secret agent" can do, especially when you're drunk, and the fact that it was trucked off through a hole in the fence via a van indicates that there was also a knowledge of the surrounding area. Unless the kids for some reason spent a lot of time there and somehow knew the ranges of all the cameras, they couldn't be reasonably expected to do it.

Being realistic here, it looks like it was pretty purposeful and planned.

When did being teenager stop planning.
I remember at our university one week, some 1st years stole the "School of Engineering" sign and replaced it with a "School of Drinking" sign which looked EXACTLY the same except for the word change- as in I didn't notice for a few hours until I read it. This sign was thick metal, over 5 m long and attached to the building about 10 m up. It has a security camera pointed at it and guards patrolling the area constantly. Students knew who did it- it bunch of drunken first years.
This kind of shit happens all the time- just because you a teenager stealing something for the sake of stealig doesn't mean you can't plan it.


Also honestly- putting it through a hole in a fence into a van while avoiding security is one of the easiest jobs you'll ever pull. That was like every week for us and we didn't never planned it. Seriously if that's all you had to do I'm pretty sure I could have rolled up and stolen it with no preknowledge of the area.
Edit: And it's not like I'm a master thief of anything. I'm just saying this is a fairly routine job for teens looking to steal shit and the fact that it was't replaced suggests to me that's what it was because anyone with an agenda probably would have put something up in its place.

[Meister]

I'm gonna have to go with scrap metal thieves on this one. They're not exactly known for their tact. In fact:

This week, a particularly audacious bandit apparently made off with over 1,000 bronze plaques from the Holocaust memorial Theresienstadt just outside of Prague. The plaques were emblazoned with the names of prisoners who died at the Nazi concentration camp there -- and Czech police said this week that many of them had been discovered at a scrap yard in northern Czech Republic.

[BitVyper]

scrap metal thieves

That's another good possibility. I used to work security at a refinery, and I can say with confidence that those guys are fucking tenacious.

[krogothwolf]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks and acts like SMB. Well when I was a kind anyways.

It's either teens or like Miester said, Scrap Metal thieves. Teens would steal it for props and bragging rights or in a competition amongst each other. I used to break into construction sites or other schools and steal shit from there all the time. It's not that hard to do either. Considering most security guards for these kind of places only check things every couple of hours or so.