Arbeit macht frei. This phrase from German means “work brings freedom” or “work shall set you free” or “work liberates.” I think in authentic employee engagement this may be a valid expression but in the context of WWII is was a sinister message that was being communicated at the entrance to Auschwitz and other concentration camps.
Picture form Wikipedia Creative Commons.
Stolen. And now, the original sign was stolen from Auschwitz on December 18. A replacement sign has already been put into place but there is a massive search for the original sign.
History. The sign bearing the German words “Arbeit Macht Frei” – “work makes you free” – spanned the main entrance to a number of concentration camps including, Auschwitz death camp, where more than 1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed during the Second World War. The grim Nazi slogan was so counter to the actual function of the camp that it has been etched into history:
“The fact is that the ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ sign has become the defining symbol of the Holocaust, because everyone knew that this was not a place where work makes you free, but it was the place where millions of men, women, and children were brought for one purpose only – to be murdered,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the centre’s founder and dean.
Canada’s Globe and Mail wrote that Poland has made the hunt for these thieves a national priority.
Never again. I hope the sign is found and brought back to Auschwitz. I also hope messages like this about the potential of work are never cruelly twisted in such a sinister, mocking, and appalling way again.
The real inscription might have read ‘Work keeps you alive….for a while”
The physical capacity to work as assessed on arrival at the camps (and at subsequent selections) often meant the difference between a trip to the gas chambers and remaining alive for many.
Pleased to hear that the sign has been recovered this morning. I hope it reminds us that perversions of language and meaning like this aren’t just historical or the preseve of the Nazis; they’re all around us today in service of politicians, corporations and individuals. Do we know them when we see them?
Sam:
I am glad the sign was recovered. I appreciate your phrase “the perversions of language.” On a much less significant scale it is when organizations refer to employee engagement as something noble when in that specific organization it just means sucking out as much discretionary effort as possible.
David
I’ve been in so many sessions with clients where it’s clear that their interpretation of ‘Employee Engagement” is ‘I don’t care what you do, just make them more productive”. That kind of thinking takes a while to change and then only if you can develop challenging relationships at the highest level.
As a side note, it was interesting to see that in a recent review of the ’12 top factors’ that constitute ‘Engaged Employees’, finding a sense of purpose &/or meaning in my work wasn’t one of them, or, for that matter, anything to do with an individual’s self-esteem.
Sam:
What do you make of that side note? I am not sure how to interpret it.
David
It is interesting to think about the relationship between the concept of work, freedom and employee engagement. I heard about a study where they surveyed people in prison and people in the work place asking them whether they felt free, and the answers from the two groups were strangely similar. We do have a strange relationship with the workplace here in America where our professions and careers are such a central part of personal identities, and yet we see them as severely limiting our freedom.
Victoria:
Work = Prison in sense of freedom. Not good, not good at all. As you said, “so central” and yet we are not centered and loose and enjoying.
David