"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, "work makes free".
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.
The slogan can also be seen at the Dachau concentration camp, Gross-Rosen, Sachsenhausen, and the Theresienstadt Ghetto-Camp.
At Buchenwald, however, "Jedem das Seine" ("To each his own") was used instead.
In 1938 the Austrian political cabaret writer Jura Soyfer and the composer Herbert Zipper, while prisoners at Dachau Concentration Camp, wrote the Dachaulied (The Dachau Song). They had spent weeks marching in and out of the camp's gate to daily forced labor, and considered the motto, "Arbeit macht frei," over the gate an insult. The song repeats the phrase cynically as a "lesson" taught by Dachau. (The first verse is translated in the article on Jura Soyfer.)
Other uses
The first line of the song Design For Life by Welsh rock group Manic Street Preachers references the phrase. Libraries gave us power, then work came and made us free. The phrase also appears on the bands 1995 album, The Holy Bible.
The early 1970's Italian progressive rock band Area named their 1st album Arbeit Macht Frei.
In 2004, The Libertines album of the same name was released with a track called Arbeit Macht Frei. The song explored the contradiction of the words 'arbeit macht frei' and the reality for concentration camp members. This song was used in the film Children of Men during a scene where the main characters are entering an internment camp.
On their 1993 Heartwork album, Carcass have a song called "Arbeit Macht Fleisch" in which they parody the phrase "Arbeit macht frei". "Fleisch" is German for "meat", and "Macht", as a noun, means "power".
In Elie Wiesel's book Night, Eliezer mentions seeing "Arbeit Macht Frei" signs in Auschwitz and Buchenwald.
Arbeit Macht Frei also appears over the main gates of Villa Baviera (formerly Colonia Dignidad), a settlement in Chile founded by a group of German immigrants led by pederast and ex-Nazi Paul Schäfer.
In the Japanese band, Dir en grey's "Inward Scream" tour of North America in February 2007, the singer Kyo's trademark MAD STALIN crate had Arbeit Macht Frei printed on it.
Two Young British Artists, Jake and Dinos Chapman's work "Arbeit McFries" parallels Nazi fascism with American consumerism.
"Le travail, c'est la liberté" (work is freedom) was used as a recurring slogan during the 2007 french election campaign by the president Nicolas Sarkozy. He used it during his 14/1/2007 nomination speech [2]. It was also the opening sentence of his official TV clip on his labour program (13/4/2007: [3])
James May of Top Gear fame often says "Work sets you free" during various challenges on the show.
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