A US Army commander has been suspended after he reportedly sent a memo to Army recruiters that included the Nazi motto of the notorious Auschwitz death camp.
Around 1.3 million people died at Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp that operated between 1940 and 1945. Prisoners at the camp had to walk under an iron gate with a sign that read “Arbeit macht frei,” which in German means, “Work sets you free.” An Army commander in Houston used the slogan – including the original German – on a memo encouraging recruiters to secure more enlistment contracts, according to Newsweek.
“Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Will Set You Free) NO CHANGE,” the memo read. “1 Contract=No Saturday work days for the remainder of the PL [phase line].”
“If you write 6 contracts or more in a PL you are a god and I make a shrine to you in the CCG [Company Command Group],” it added.
An image of the memo was posted to a Facebook page called “Truth of Army Recruiting,” which is dedicated to scrutinizing the U.S. Army Recruiting Command and is an anonymous place for recruiters to let off steam about the difficulties of the job.
Officials running U.S. Army Recruiting Command Facebook page responded to the post and noted that the commander had been suspended pending an investigation.
“Recruiting Command leadership is aware of the memo sent out by a recruiting company commander in the Houston area. The commander has been suspended pending the outcome of our current investigation into the situation,” the reply read. “Army Recruiting leaders will take appropriate action once the investigation is complete and all facts are known. Soldiers who choose not to live up to our values will be held accountable for their actions.”
In a statement, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum spokesman Andrew Hollinger called the memo “offensive to the legacy of the U.S. military which played a decisive role in defeating Nazi tyranny and liberating Nazi camps.”
“Arbeit Macht Frei was a cruel, cynical, and deceptive slogan at the gate of Auschwitz and other Nazi camps. Misusing Nazi phrases is demeaning to Holocaust victims and survivors,” Hollinger said.
