Police photo released to press showing moment of arrest.

Four of the five men who are alleged to have stolen the Auschwitz "Arbeit macht frei" sign were interrogated by prosecutors today. If guilty they face up to ten years in prison.

The fifth man, thought to be the ring leader of the gang who were detained by police late last night will be interviewed later, says the prosecutor’s office.

The "Arbeit macht frei" sign, which was stolen last Friday, was found in woodland in three pieces near Torun, 500 kilometres from the Auschwitz site and near the home of one of the accused.

The whereabouts of the priceless sign which hung over Gate I was given to the police in a tip off by one of over 120 calls they received over the weekend.

At a press conference at the Regional Police Headquarters in Krakow, officials stressed that the investigation is still ongoing and it is too early to give all the details in fear of prejudicing a court trial.

What we do know

“The suspects are from the Kujawsko-Pomorskie region in northern Poland,” Marek Woźniczka, deputy commander of the Malopolska provincial police told a press conference. “They are between 20 and 39 years; one of them owns a construction company, the others are unemployed.”

Two men were arrested in a car in Gdynia on the Baltic coast, the other three at a residence near Wloclawek near Torun. None of the accused resisted arrest, say police.

According to Jaroslaw Mensfelt, a lawyer acting for the Auschwitz museum, it is difficult to say when the sign will be back in its rightful place but repairs could make it ready for the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp on January 27. “It‘s up to the conservators,” he said.

“The Auschwitz-Birkenau wishes to express great appreciation and thanks to the police, which after several hours found the most important symbol of the twentieth century,” said Bartosz Bartyzel from the press office of the Auschwitz museum.

According to experts interviewed by Polskie Radio today, the thieves were probably acting on behalf of a Nazi memorabilia collector. In their view, the sign would be difficult to sell on the black market without a previously agreed contract. (pg)