27th February, 2010

posted 1 year ago

everyonesahero asked: This is probably a very strange question, but is "ARBEIT MACHT FREI" a phrase in German, and if so, what does it mean? Sorry, this is sort of a mystery thing.

“Arbeit macht frei” which translates to “Work makes you free” is German, that’s right. The usage of this slogan, which was originally the title of some novel from the late 19th century, has a very dark and sad history to it that you have to be aware of. It was the slogan of some concentration camps (e.g. Auschwitz, Theresienstadt, Dachau) back in WWII and the sign of the gates. I hope I could clear the mystery for you.

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