More than 1 million people died in gas chambers or were starved to death in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp complex ; about 90 percent of the victims were Jews . The `` Arbeit Macht Frei '' sign was emblematic of Nazi camps . In the early 20th century, a number of German cities were built with large numbers of Jewish refugees from Russia and Eastern Europe who had fled pogroms in their home countries to escape persecution by local authorities The sign was later recovered , chopped into three pieces .
The `` Arbeit Macht Frei '' sign was emblematic of Nazi camps . In the early 20th century, a number of German cities were built with large numbers of Jewish refugees from Russia and Eastern Europe who had fled pogroms in their home countries to escape persecution by local authorities The sign was later recovered , chopped into three pieces .