A group of 11 people took off their clothes, killed a sheep and chained themselves together by the main gate of the former Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz in Poland before being detained by police. The memorial was temporarily shut down during the incident, but operations resumed shortly thereafter. Bartosz Bartyzel, a spokesman for the Auschwitz memorial, said their motives were not clear as they briefly stood by the notorious "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work sets you free") gate on Friday afternoon. Bartyzel said museum guards ordered them to dress and called the police. Visits to the site were temporarily suspended. A statement by the Auschwitz memorial's authorities said that "using the symbols of Auschwitz for any manifestations or happenings is reprehensible and outrageous" and "hurts the memory of all victims" of Auschwitz. Malgorzata Jurecka, a spokeswoman for the local police, said 11 young people -- Poles, Belarusians and a German -- were detained for questioning on allegations that they insulted a memorial site. If convicted, they could face hefty fines.
