President meets with Polish prime minister in Copenhagen, tells him 'Arbeit Macht Frei' notice stolen from Nazi concentration camp carries 'a deep historic meaning for the Jewish people and the entire world and serves as a memorial for more than one million murdered Jews.' Tusk vows to make every effort to locate criminals

Ronen Medzini
Published: 12.18.09, 16:51 / Israel News

President Shimon Peres met Friday with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Copenhagen and urged him to find and return the infamous 'Arbeit Macht Frei' (work sets you free) sign, which was stolen earlier from the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The president's office reported that he expressed the "deep shock" of the State of Israel's citizens and the Jewish people worldwide following the incident.

Tusk said that "the sign theft is an extremely serious incident and is painful to us just like it is painful to you."

Peres stated during the meeting that "the State of Israel and the entire Jewish people ask you to take the required steps in order to capture the criminals and return the sign to where it belongs."

He noted that the sign "has a deep historic meaning, both to the Jewish people and to the entire world, and serves as a memorial for more than one million Jews murdered in that camp."