Since Derb brought up the phrase Arbeit Macht Frei over in the Corner, and since I’ve been so remiss around here, I thought  some might be interested to know that arbeit macht frei (work makes you free, or work brings freedom) was not first and foremost a Nazi slogan. It originally was the title of a novel by Lorenz Diefenbach, but gained wide currency as a good progressive/liberal catchphrase in the Weimar Republic to justify big New Dealish public works programs. For what that’s worth.