Is it offensive to say or write arbeit macht frei?

Answer 1

"Arbeit macht frei" is a German phrase meaning "work sets you free" or "work liberates." The slogan is known for having been placed over the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust, including most infamously Auschwitz I, where it was made by prisoners with metalwork skills and erected by order of the Nazis in June 1940.

I woud say yes.

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It was placed over the entrances to all major Nazi concentration camps except Buchenwald, which had it own slogan, 'Jedem das Seine' (which means 'To each according to his merits/just deserts').

The general proposition that a person with a job has more freedom than, for example, a person living on unemployment benefit is not objectionalbe. However, I'd suggest using that particular expression with the utmost care, if at all, and preferably not the German version!

The phrase is a classic case of irony, where the actual outcome is the exact opposite of the stated meaning. In English, this phrase has become solely referential to its use in the Nazi death camps, and any use of it carries the connotation of a similar ghastly irony. It cannot be used without carrying the Nazi connection, though it does not have to explicitly be used in association with genocide.

It is not generally offensive to use the phrase properly (that is, it is not a solely and inherently offensive saying), though one should be aware of the Nazi overtones that the phrase has.

For example, a completely valid use of the phrase would be thus:

[said by one employee to another of the same company, after that company has just laid off half of the work force, and cut everyone else's salary drastically]

"The CEO might as well have hung arbeit macht frei over the door when we came in today."

An improper use would be:

[said by the leader of a sports team during practice, to encourage athletes to work harder]

"We have to work harder in order to beat Team X tomorrow. Remember: arbeit macht frei ! "

It would also be hideously offensive to suggest it be used for a slogan to any government agency, except when explicitly using to label that agency as a parallel to a Nazi Gestapo/SS-like organization.