US EditionCommunity Reacts After Auschwitz Gate Replica Appears on a PA Catholic School's Halloween Float
The Diocese of Harrisburg apologized after a Halloween float showed Auschwitz gates; the designer said he aimed to convey a spiritual message but was unaware of the symbol’s full impact.
- On Thursday, St. Joseph Catholic School in Hanover, Pennsylvania, displayed a replica of the Auschwitz concentration camp gate bearing the phrase Arbeit Macht Frei in a livestreamed Halloween parade with about a dozen children marching beside it.
- After the planned archway failed to arrive, Galen S. Shelly, float designer, said he added the gates not in the original approved float design, inspired by a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.
- Harrisburg Bishop Timothy C. Senior apologised and said he was `shocked and appalled`, while the York Jewish Community Center and federations condemned the display and Metcalf Cleaning apologised for its unaware involvement.
- As a result, the parish cancelled youth events over the weekend and a suburban Philadelphia man was charged with making terroristic threats after police said a threatening voicemail was left early Saturday for the Saint Joseph principal.
- The diocese pledged to work with the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition and the Anti-Defamation League to teach about the Holocaust and review approval processes, while Debra Smith, Hanover resident and retired educator, criticised the float’s inclusion of the gate.
25 Articles
25 Articles
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Community reacts after Auschwitz gate replica appears on a PA Catholic school's Halloween float
Residents and religious leaders are responding after a replica of the Auschwitz concentration camp gate appeared on a Halloween parade float from a Pennsylvania Catholic school.
US Catholic school features infamous Auschwitz slogan on parade float
Galen Shelly said he constructed the mock gate himself after being unable to find suitable cemetery props and said he was inspired by a recent visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. By Vered Weiss, World Israel News A Pennsylvania Catholic diocese issued an apology after a float featuring a replica of the Auschwitz concentration camp gate appeared in a local parade, sparking outrage in the Jewish community. The display, created by St…
PA Community Outraged Over Holocaust-Themed Halloween Parade Float
A Pennsylvania community is voicing outrage over a Holocaust-themed Halloween parade float. A float entered by a Catholic school in Hanover reportedly featured a replica of a gate displaying a German phrase meaning “Work sets you free” which was used at Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps. The Bishop of Harrisburg, Most Reverend Timothy C. Senior called the float “profoundly offensive and unacceptable,” adding that the original, appro…
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