A Catholic school in Pennsylvania has apologised after a Halloween float featured a replica of the entrance gate to Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp. The float, from St Joseph Catholic School in Hanover, displayed the words 'Arbeit Macht Frei' ('Work Makes You Free'), a phrase that appeared on the gates of Auschwitz and other camps where Jews were forced into labour.
Video of the float, shared on social media on Friday night, sparked outrage among local residents. One woman wrote on a Hanover Facebook page: 'Why tf would there be a concentration camp entryway on a float? There's literally no reason that archway should be anywhere.' Another commented: 'This is very disturbing.'
By Saturday, the Diocese of Harrisburg and Metcalf Clearing, the company whose vehicle pulled the float, had apologised. Bishop Timothy C Senior said he was 'shocked and appalled' and that the original approved design did not include the gate. 'The inclusion of this image... is profoundly offensive and unacceptable,' he said, adding that the diocese would review its approval process and provide Holocaust education resources.
The float's designer, Galen S Shelley, said he had no 'ill intent' and was unaware of the symbolism. He told the Patriot-News that he had intended to create a sombre cemetery entrance after a pre-made archway failed to arrive. 'I made a mistake and I ask everyone's forgiveness,' he said.
