A Dutch woman was arrested on Sunday at the site of the Auschwitz death camp after she made a Nazi salute while posing for a picture.
Police said the 29-year-old tourist was standing in front of the gate that says "Arbeit Macht Frei," or "Work Sets You Free," when she made the salute. Auschwitz is in Poland, where people who promote Nazi propaganda can receive up to two years in prison, and a security guard detained the woman until police arrived.
The woman and her husband were questioned by officers, and she told them making the gesture was "a stupid joke," the Auschwitz Museum tweeted. She has been fined an undisclosed amount.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Auschwitz was the largest Nazi death camp, and at least 1.1 million people — most of them Jewish — died there, with many immediately gassed upon their arrival and others dying after working hard labor in deplorable conditions. The "Arbeit Macht Frei" gate is one of the most well-known parts of Auschwitz, and this wasn't the first time someone was arrested for making the Nazi salute there; in 2013, two Turkish students made the gesture at the gate, and were fined and sentenced to six months in prison, the Polish News Agency reports.
-
Farage’s £9m windfall: will it smooth his path to power?In Depth The record donation has come amidst rumours of collaboration with the Conservatives and allegations of racism in Farage's school days
-
The issue dividing Israel: ultra-Orthodox draft dodgersIn the Spotlight A new bill has solidified the community’s ‘draft evasion’ stance, with this issue becoming the country’s ‘greatest internal security threat’
-
Codeword: December 13, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Benin thwarts coup attemptSpeed Read President Patrice Talon condemned an attempted coup that was foiled by the West African country’s army
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
UN Security Council backs Trump’s Gaza peace planSpeed Read The United Nations voted 13-0 to endorse President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza
-
Chile picks leftist, far-right candidates for runoff voteSpeed Read The presidential runoff election will be between Jeannette Jara, a progressive from President Gabriel Boric’s governing coalition, and far-right former congressman José Antonio Kast
-
Venezuela mobilizes as top US warship nearsSpeed Read The largest and most advanced US aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has entered the Caribbean and put Venezuela on high alert
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
