Who was it who created the slogan 'Work Liberates' as a welcome sign to Auschwitz?

Question

Does anyone know who actually came up with the wording for the sign?

Answer 1

Either Himmler, Reinhardt Hydrich. I also think it translates exactly to Work will set you free"

In Buchenwald it says "Jeden Das Sein" "YOu get what you deserve"

THese were all slogans used to help with the psychological breakdown of the camp prisoners.

I have been to Buchenwald and all I can say is that it is a very Sad somber place of silence. Auschwitz I am sure is not difference. You can still smell the charred flesh it seems when you are in the crematorium. Maybe it is just a psychological thing thinking i smell it, but then again who knows.

They ALSO if you note were written so you could not read them correctly until AFTER you entered the camp and the gates were closed. That had to have had a horrible effect on them.

DId you know even Americans and Brits were held at Buchewald too? Fortunately a German Luftwaffe officer came for a camp inspection and was approached very daringly by one of the American Airmen, and they explained they were POW's and USA airforce. They though it went on deaf ears.

Luckily a few weeks later he returned and had the American airmen removed and placed in the Stalag camps which were under the Geneva convention. I am sure he did this because he knew German airmen were also in camps on their side. I hope who ever he was that he knows he saved several US and British lives. It had to have taken courage to stand up against the Gestapo and SS from within.

Just a little history for you.

Answer 2

"Arbite Macht Frie" is the slogan set up over the gate to the death-camp of Auschwitz by it's camp commandant, Commandant Rudolf Hoess.

Auschwitz and the holocaust Amongst the victims was an early camp commandant's wife. Polish peasants from the surrounding district were also cremated here.) * Auschwitz pregnancies ...
http://www.judicial-inc.biz/Auschwitz.htm

Auschwitz - The Death CampAuschwitz Commandant Rudolf Hoess mentioned a death camp which does not exist. Does this mean his entire confession is false? The paradox is examined and ...
http://www.holocaust-history.org/auschwitz

BBC - History - Rudolf Höss - Commandant of Auschwitz. What sort of man was the commandant of Auschwitz, the site of the largest ... children in a house just yards from the crematorium in Auschwitz main camp, ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/genocide/hoss_commandant_auschwitz_01.shtml

Answer 3

In 1995, I spent a month touring Europe. During that time I visited many concentration camps, and noticed that many had that specific statement at their gates. The German tour guide stated that the statement means : Work will set you free/will free you, work brings freedom, or even Work Liberates (so you were right).

The slogan was not used as a propaganda tool, or even as a promise for the prisoners. It was placed there as a clear reminder that self sacrifice (hard work) could, if fact, bring spiritual "freedom."

The slogan was first used as a title of a novel written by Lorenz Diefenbach in 1872. It was adopted by SS General Theodore Eicke, who was the inspecting general of the concentration camps and the first commandant of Dachau.

He later died in 1943 at the Eastern Front.

Answer 4

From Wikipedia: Origin

In 1872 the German-nationalist author Lorenz Diefenbach used the expression, "Arbeit macht frei," as the title for a novel, causing the expression to become well-known in nationalist circles. It was adopted in 1928 by the Weimar government as a slogan extolling the effects of their desired policy of large-scale public works programmes to end unemployment, and mocking the individualist slogan, "Stadtluft macht frei" ("Urban air liberates"). It was continued in this usage by the NSDAP (Nazi Party) when it came to power in 1933.

Nazi use

The slogan, "Arbeit macht frei," was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps, not as a mockery, not even literally – as a false promise that those who worked to exhaustion would eventually be released – but rather "as a kind of mystical declaration that self-sacrifice in the form of endless labour does in itself bring a kind of spiritual freedom." [1]

Although it was common practice in Germany to post inscriptions of this sort at entrances to institutional properties and large estates, the slogan's use in this instance was ordered by SS General Theodor Eicke, inspector of concentration camps and first commandant of Dachau Concentration Camp.

The slogan can still be seen at several sites, including the entrance to Auschwitz I—although, according to Auschwitz: a New History, by BBC historian Laurence Rees, it was placed there by commandant Rudolf Höß, who believed that doing menial work during his own imprisonment under the Weimar Republic had helped him through the experience. At Auschwitz, the "B" in "Arbeit" is placed upside-down.

Answer 5

It was placed there by the camp commandant Rudolf Hob.
The literal English translation is 'work makes free'.
It was originally the title of an 1872 novel by Lorenz Diefenbach.It was adopted in 1928 by the Weimar government.The slogan can also be seen at Dachau,Sachsenhausen and Theresienstadt.

I don't know if this is true or not,but apparently you never hear birdsong near Auschwitz and birds don't fly over it.This may just be a legend,if anybody knows please post it,Thanks.

Answer 6

The sign actually says "Arbeit Macht Frei" which literally translates as "work brings freedom"

German novelist Lorenz Diefenbach, who used it as the title of an 1872 novel. It was adopted in 1928 by the Weimar government as a slogan extolling the effects of their desired policy of large-scale public works programmes to end unemployment, and mocking the individualist slogan, "Stadtluft macht frei" ("Urban air liberates").

It was continued in this usage by the NSDAP (Nazi Party) when it came to power in 1933. Thus the slogan, "Arbeit macht frei," was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps, not as a mockery, not even literally – as a false promise that those who worked to exhaustion would eventually be released – but rather as a kind of mystical declaration that self-sacrifice in the form of endless labour does in itself bring a kind of spiritual freedom.

Although it was common practice in Germany to post inscriptions of this sort at entrances to institutional properties and large estates, the slogan's use in this instance was ordered by SS General Theodor Eicke, inspector of concentration camps and first commandant of Dachau Concentration Camp.

The slogan can also be seen at the Dachau concentration camp, Gross-Rosen, Sachsenhausen, Auschwitz, and the Theresienstadt Ghetto-Camp (Czech Rep).

At Buchenwald, however, "Jedem das Seine" ("To each his own") was used instead.

Answer 7

"Arbeit macht frei" is a German phrase meaning "work brings freedom" or "work shall set you free/will free you" or "work liberates" and, literally in English, "work makes free".

The slogan's use in this instance was ordered by SS General Theodor Eicke, inspector of concentration camps.

Origin
In 1872 the German-nationalist author Lorenz Diefenbach used the expression, "Arbeit macht frei," as the title for a novel, causing the expression to become well-known in nationalist circles. It was adopted in 1928 by the Weimar government as a slogan extolling the effects of their desired policy of large-scale public works programmes to end unemployment, and mocking the individualist slogan, "Stadtluft macht frei" ("Urban air liberates"). It was continued in this usage by the NSDAP (Nazi Party) when it came to power in 1933.

Nazi use
The slogan, "Arbeit macht frei," was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps, not as a mockery, not even literally – as a false promise that those who worked to exhaustion would eventually be released – but rather "as a kind of mystical declaration that self-sacrifice in the form of endless labour does in itself bring a kind of spiritual freedom."

Although it was common practice in Germany to post inscriptions of this sort at entrances to institutional properties and large estates, the slogan's use in this instance was ordered by SS General Theodor Eicke, inspector of concentration camps and first commandant of Dachau Concentration Camp.

Answer 8

The sign actually says "Arbeit Macht Frei" which literally translates as "Work Makes Free" but generally means "Duty before Pleasure", rather ironic really considering the conditions the poor wretches interned there suffered.

Answer 9

Goebbels an other evil man

Answer 10

Goebbel's Ministry of Propaganda borrowed the phrase from German novelist Lorenz Diefenbach, who used it as the title of an 1872 novel.

The Weimar Republic used the phrase for its public works programs (similar to the US's WPA projects during the Depression).