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yesterday

Harrisburg Diocese Condemns Auschwitz Gate on Hanover School Float

The diocese says the replica was not in the approved design, pledging Holocaust education with the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition and the ADL.

Image
FILE - The sun lights the buildings behind the entrance of the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Germany, Dec. 6, 2019. (Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg in Harrisburg, Pa., on August 16, 2018.
FILE - A man walks through the gate of the Sachsenhausen Nazi death camp with the phrase 'Arbeit macht frei' (work sets you free) at the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, in Oranienburg, about 30 kilometers, (18 miles) north of Berlin, Germany, Jan. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Overview

  • St. Joseph Catholic School’s float in the Hanover Halloween Parade displayed a lookalike Auschwitz gate bearing “Arbeit Macht Frei,” prompting widespread local condemnation.
  • Bishop Timothy C. Senior apologized to the Jewish community and labeled the imagery profoundly offensive and unacceptable.
  • Designer Galen S. Shelly said he added the gate after a planned lighted archway did not arrive, asserting no ill intent and asking for forgiveness.
  • Metcalf Cleaning LLC, which towed the float, said it did not create the decorations, was unaware of the phrase’s meaning, and apologized for failing to scrutinize the display.
  • Jewish organizations condemned the display and began outreach to the school and parade organizers to pursue educational partnerships as the diocese reviews approval procedures.