Dachau concentration camp gate feature stolen The main entrance gate of the former concentration camp in Dachau missing its inscription 'Work sets you free' (Arbeit macht frei). The original gate is pictured below. Berlin: An iron gate with the infamous sign "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work will set you free") at the former Nazi concentration camp at Dachau in Germany has been stolen. The theft of the historic wrought iron gate, which measures two metres by one metre, apparently happened overnight, police said in a statement. The site has no surveillance system, but is monitored by security guards and the theft took place between their rounds of the camp, said police, who have appealed for any possible witnesses. Memorial director Gabriele Hammermann condemned the theft of the gate, which she described as "the central symbol for the prisoners' ordeal," news agency DPA reported. The Dachau camp, located a few kilometres from Munich, opened in 1933, less than two months after Adolf Hitler became German chancellor. It was initially set up as a place to incarcerate political prisoners before becoming a death camp during World War II where more than 41,000 Jews were killed. The camp was liberated by US troops on April 29, 1945. Today some 800,000 visitors from around the world visit the camp each year. The same "Work will set you free" sign at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp in Poland was stolen in 2009, sparking a global outcry. The mastermind of that theft, Swedish neo-Nazi Anders Hoegstroem, was jailed for two-and-a-half years. The metal sign was eventually recovered cut up into three pieces, leading museum officials to display a replica above the entrance until it was restored in 2011.