Two tourists from Turkey were arrested by guards at the Auschwitz death camp museum for allegedly making a Nazi salute, news agency JTA reported Monday.
A man and a woman, tourists, both 22, took pictures of each other in front of the gate to the former Nazi death camp under one of the most recognizable signs of the Holocaust, “Arbeit macht frei,” or work will free you, raising their right hands as if performing the Nazi salute.
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The man and woman are studying history in Budapest. They were staying at a hotel in Krakow prior to making their visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and State Museum.
The 'Arbeit Macht Frei' sign in Auschwitz (Photo: Reuters)
“They probably will be accused of public promotion of Nazi symbols,” which is illegal in Poland, police spokesman Mariusz Ciarka said to the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper. If the two are found guilty, they could be facing up to two years in prison.
In a similar case in October, two students from Turkey made similar signs at the Majdanek museum at a group of Israeli students. The Turkish students are accused of promoting a fascist regime and insulting Jews, and could be facing up to three years in prison.