An American man who visited the former Auschwitz concentration camp tried to steal part of the rail tracks where prisoners were unloaded, according to Polish officials.
The man has been charged with attempted theft of an item of cultural importance, police spokeswoman Malgorzata Jurecka told the Associated Press.
Jurecka said the 37-year-old admitted to the attempted theft and has been released. The crime can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
A spokesman for the Auschwitz-Birkenau state museum said the museum’s security team noticed the man was trying to take part of the tracks and alerted police.
In 2009, someone stole a sign with the Nazi slogan “Arbeit Macht Frei” from the former concentration camp’s main gate. It was eventually found but needed to be repaired. The sign, which means “Work Will Set You Free,” has since been in storage, and a replica hangs in its place.
More than one million people were killed during World War II at Auschwitz, one of the most notorious of dozens of concentration camps operated by the Nazis.
