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it is not, the prisoners worked until they were set free (by death).

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Placed over the entrances to Nazi concentration camps it was a very sick joke.

Irony is a phrase or sentence where the meaning is directly opposite what actually occurs. For instance, "We had a fabulously great meal today", where afterwards it gave everyone food poisoning.

The meaning of the phrase is literally "Work makes [you] free", but that's not an accurate actual meaning. A better translation is "Work brings freedom." When used in the context of a perceived prison camp, "freedom" means return to the normal world. As it was placed over camps explicitly designed to kill everyone admitted to them, the actual outcome of entering the camp and working was exactly the opposite of that promised by the phrase.

It is thus perhaps the most obvious instance of irony.

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Q: How is arbeit macht frei ironic?
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How do you pronounce Arbeit Macht Frei?

Ar bite mockt fry


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Who was Rudolf Hoess and what was his role in the Final Solution?

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Related questions

When was Arbeit macht frei - album - created?

Arbeit macht frei - album - was created in 1973.


How do you pronounce Arbeit Macht Frei?

Ar bite mockt fry


How do you say work brings freedom in German?

Arbeit macht frei


What sign greeted those entering concentration camps?

Arbeit Macht Frei


What was said about Auschwitz front gate?

Arbeit Macht Frei - Work makes you free


Which famous Nazi concentration camp had the slogan Arbeit Macht Frei on its front gate?

The slogan Arbeit Macht Frei was listed on a number of Nazi concentration camps. The most famous of these camps with this slogan was Auschwitz. The slogan can still be seen at several sites.


What does arbreit macht frei mean?

Appearing on the entrance of Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps,was the slogan: "arbeit macht frei" which translates into English as:"work sets you free."


What was written above the gates of Auschwitz?

"Arbeit Macht Frei", Which is supposed to mean "Work makes one free". This was the most infamous slogan of World War II, especially on the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where the innocent victims, mostly Jews were deceived from the terrible end that they would eventually face.


What did it say on the iron gate of the Jewish concentration camp?

"Arbeit Macht Frei" which translates in English to " Work Makes You Free".


What is written on the gate at the entrance to Aushwitz?

Arbeit Macht Frei is written on the gates and literal translation would be work is liberating.


What did the sign above the entrance to Auschwitz say?

"Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work makes you free). Of course it was an attempt to calm the fears of the Jews and others who entered there so that they wouldn't realize that they were about to be executed."Arbeit Macht Frei""Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work brings freedom" or "Work liberates") was the sign over the gates of Auschwitz. It was placed there by Rudolf Hoess, the first commandant of the camp, though he did not invent this saying. ___This slogan was placed above the main entrances to all Nazi concentration camps, except Buchenwald. "Arbeit macht frei" had been adopted in 1929 as the slogan for the Weimar Republic's public works programme, which was introduced to provide jobs for the unemployed. The saying is, however, older ... Buchenwald used the slogan "Jedem das Seine" - "To each according to his merits" or "To each according to his just deserts"), which goes back to Classical Latin "Suum cuique".


What does the famous sign at Auschwitz mean?

The words "Arbeit Macht Frei" at the gate of Auschwitz are generally translated as "Work will set you free".