Arbeit macht frei

This story is just too full of ironic contradictions for me to form a real opinion about it. The sign over the gate at Auschwitz, stolen last week, has been found. It was apparently cut into three parts by the men arrested near Torun. Since it went missing, a copy has been installed over the gate. My first question: was this copy made for the occasion, or did they already have a "spare" lying around? Anyway, now that the original has been recovered, it is to be returned to its place, but first it has to be repaired. My second question: what are the ethical implications of all this, and what does it say about the course of history that destroying this universally acknowledged symbol of evil will land you in prison while its preservation and restoration are not only legally permissible but morally required? Just to be clear, I'm not at all trying to call into question the goal or the means of keeping the memory alive of Auschwitz as a paradigm of Nazi atrocities. I just find it surprising that these aporiae can (or must?) be ignored in the press. I'm just sayin'....