An iron gate with the infamous sign 'Arbeit macht frei' ('Work will set you free') at the former Nazi concentration camp at Dachau in southern Germany has been stolen.
The theft of the historic wrought iron gate, which measures two metres by one metre, apparently happened overnight, police said.
The site has no surveillance system, but is monitored by security guards and the theft apparently took place between their rounds, said police, who have appealed for any possible witnesses.
The head of the foundation of memorial sites in the Bavaria region, Karl Freller, called the theft an "ignoble act".
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 people died.
The camp was liberated by US troops on 29 April, 1945.
Around 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 man behind the 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.
