The "Arbeit macht frei" sign stolen from Auschwitz in southern Poland has been found in the north and five men have been arrested, police say.

波兰警方称，波兰南部城市奥许维次被盗的“劳动创造自由”标志在北部某地被发现，五名嫌疑犯已被逮捕。

Hundreds of thousands of people passed under the sign to their deaths

They said the metal sign from the main gate, which symbolises for many the atrocities¹残忍，暴行 of Nazi² Germany, had been cut into three pieces.

A major search was launched after the sign was stolen before dawn on Friday.

Its theft, the motive³ for which was not being reported, caused outrage⁴暴行，侮辱 in Israel and among Polish politicians.

Five men in their 20s or 30s were detained and were being taken to Krakow for questioning, a police spokeswoman said.

More than a million people - 90% of them Jews - were murdered by the Nazis⁵ at Auschwitz during World War II.

Scrap⁶ metal yards searched

Police had stepped up security checks at airports and border crossings and searched scrap metal废金属 yards over the weekend in their hunt for the 5-m (16-ft) sign, which translates as "Work sets you free".

The wrought锻造的，加工的-iron sign was half-unscrewed, half-torn off from above the death camp's gate between 0330 and 0500 on Friday.

Investigators⁷ say at least two people would have been needed to steal the 5-m (16-ft), 40-kg (90-lb) sign.

Auschwitz奥斯比次 museum spokesman Jaroslaw Mensfelt said the thieves had apparently⁸ carried the sign 300m (yards) to an opening in a concrete wall. The opening was left intentionally有意地，故意地 to preserve a poplar白杨 tree dating back to the time of World War II.

Four metal bars that had blocked the opening had been cut and footprints in the snow led from the wall opening to the nearby road, where police presume the sign was loaded on to a vehicle.