Replica included Nazi symbols, a crematorium-like structure and the words 'Zyklon B'; police found more Nazi symbols at his home and suspect incitement to hatredA 33-year-old advertising agency manager was arrested after placing a replica of the entrance gate to the Auschwitz death camp outside a tax office in southern Germany, alongside a structure resembling a Holocaust-era crematorium. Authorities launched an investigation on suspicion of incitement to hatred and violations of Germany’s strict laws on the use of Nazi symbols.According to German media reports, the suspect, a Polish national living in Germany, erected in April a roughly two-meter-high gate outside the tax office in the Bavarian town of Eggenfelden. The gate was built as an almost exact replica of Auschwitz’s entrance bearing the infamous inscription “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work sets you free”). Reports said even the reversed letter “B” in “Arbeit” — a distinctive detail from the original sign — was reproduced.1 View gallery Man erects Auschwitz gate replica outside German tax office over €70,000 tax debtWooden swastikas were also placed beside the gate replica. Later, a black chimney-like structure was positioned in the parking lot, allegedly intended to resemble a crematorium furnace from Nazi concentration and extermination camps. The words “Zyklon B” were written on the structure, referring to the cyanide-based chemical used by the Nazis in gas chambers.Police arrested the suspect, identified only as Marius, in mid-April after examining fingerprints found at the scene. Authorities later discovered additional Nazi symbols in his home. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.The suspect’s mother told German newspaper Bild that her son “is neither an extremist nor an antisemite,” but had fallen into psychological distress over a tax debt of about 70,000 euro. She said he had become “filled with rage” toward tax authorities and sank into depression.Germany strictly enforces laws governing the display of Nazi symbols and actions perceived as glorifying, trivializing or justifying crimes of the Nazi regime. Eggenfelden Mayor Martin Biber strongly condemned the act, calling it “disgusting insolence” and “an insult to society.”