Pa. church apologizes for Halloween float featuring phrase from Auschwitz gates: ‘Profoundly offensive’

A Pennsylvania diocese has apologized for a shocking grade school Halloween parade float that displayed a replica of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp gate.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg formally apologized Friday for the offensive float’s appearance during Thursday evening’s Halloween parade.

Bishop Timothy Senior said he was “shocked and appalled to learn” the float entered by the St. Joseph Catholic School in Hanover, which resembled the Auschwitz Concentration Camp gate, included the words “Arbeit Macht Frei.”

The German phrase — translating to “Work Makes You Free” — was prominently displayed at World War II-era concentration camps across Europe, including the front gate at Auschwitz, where more than 1 million people were executed.

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum notes the phrase was used to mock the largely Jewish populations the Nazis sentenced to back-breaking forced labor.

Senior said the float’s approved design did not contain the gate imagery, but recognized “it does not change the fact that this highly recognizable symbol of hate was included.”

The float caused quite a stir in local Facebook groups, according to the Patriot-News.

“Any educator who missed the historical significance of this sign and put it in a parade should resign,” insisted one user, while others insisted there was no excusing what happened.

“There needs to be a reckoning and consequences for this and it needs to happen quickly,” wrote another person.

What happened “was profoundly offensive and unacceptable,” Senior added.

The bishop then offered his “sincere apology to our Jewish brothers and sisters and to all who were hurt or offended by this display.

“We will work with the school community to ensure that this incident becomes an opportunity for education and reflection, and review approval processes so that such a grievous incident is never repeated,” he said.

The diocese plans to also be working with the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition and the Anti-Defamation League to ensure students are given a full understanding of “the horrific suffering endured by the Jewish people during the Holocaust,” and the increasing incidences of antisemitism “seen throughout the world today.”

More than 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.