fbpx

Auschwitz sign stealer sentenced to prison

A Swedish neo-Nazi leader who organized the theft of the \"Arbeit Macht Frei” sign from Auschwitz was sentenced to nearly three years in prison.
[additional-authors]
December 30, 2010

A Swedish neo-Nazi leader who organized the theft of the “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign from Auschwitz was sentenced to nearly three years in prison.

A Polish court on Thursday sentenced Anders Hogstrom, who acted as a middleman between a neo-Nazi buyer and five Polish thieves, to 32 months in prison, according to news reports. The sentence was part of a plea bargain struck in late November.

Hogstrom could have faced up to 10 years in prison. He will serve his sentence in a Swedish prison.

The iron sign, which measures 16 feet across and means “work makes you free,” was stolen from the former Nazi concentration camp on Dec. 18, 2009 and recovered across the country 72 hours later. It was found cut into three pieces.

Hogstrom, who was arrested in February in Stockholm and extradited to Poland in April, founded the National Socialist Front, a Swedish neo-Nazi movement, in 1994.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Print Issue: Got College? | Mar 29, 2024

With the alarming rise in antisemitism across many college campuses, choosing where to apply has become more complicated for Jewish high school seniors. Some are even looking at Israel.

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.