A 33-year-old advertising executive of Polish origin has been arrested in Germany after erecting a shocking display outside a tax office in Bavaria that featured a replica of the entrance gate to Auschwitz, Nazi symbols, and a structure allegedly meant to resemble a crematorium.

The incident took place in April outside a tax office in the town of Eggenfelden in southern Germany. Authorities say the suspect constructed a nearly exact replica of the infamous Auschwitz gate bearing the words “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work Sets You Free”), including the reversed letter “B” that appeared on the original sign at the Nazi death camp.

The display also included wooden swastikas and a black chimney-like structure that investigators believe was intended to resemble the crematoria used in Nazi concentration camps. The structure reportedly bore the words “Zyklon B,” the name of the cyanide-based poison used by the Nazis in gas chambers during the Holocaust.

German police launched an investigation and arrested the suspect last month after fingerprints recovered at the scene led investigators to him. Additional Nazi-related symbols were allegedly discovered during a subsequent search of his home.

Authorities have opened a criminal investigation on suspicion of incitement to hatred and other offenses related to the display of Nazi symbols. If convicted, the suspect could face up to five years in prison.

According to the suspect’s mother, the disturbing display was motivated by personal and financial frustration rather than extremist ideology. In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, she insisted that her son is neither antisemitic nor politically radical.

She said he had been struggling with severe emotional distress and depression stemming from a tax debt of approximately €70,000, and had become increasingly angry at German tax authorities.

Germany maintains some of the strictest laws in the world regarding the display of Nazi symbols and any actions perceived as glorifying, minimizing, or justifying Nazi crimes.

The incident has drawn widespread condemnation. Eggenfelden Mayor Martin Biber denounced the display as a “disgusting outrage” and an insult to society.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)