- - Pennsylvania diocese condemns Holocaust imagery displayed on Catholic school’s Halloween parade float

Dalia Faheid, CNNNovember 2, 2025 at 1:25 AM

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg is seen in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on August 16, 2018. - Carlos Barria/Reuters/File

A Catholic diocese in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has condemned Holocaust imagery that appeared on a Catholic school’s Halloween parade float on Thursday.

The St. Joseph Catholic School’s float at a community Halloween parade included a replica of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp gate bearing the words “Arbeit Macht Frei.” The German phrase translates to “Work sets you free,” according to the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum website.

The motto is one of the symbols of the camp, and was used to greet people arriving at other concentration camps in Germany, according to the website. The slogan above the Auschwitz Concentration Camp gate was made by prisoners, who deliberately reversed the letter B as “a camouflaged mark of disobedience,” the website says.

The school in Hanover, Pennsylvania, is part of the Diocese of Harrisburg, which called the imagery “a notorious symbol of hate” in a statement Friday.

Bishop Timothy C. Senior, who said he was “shocked and appalled” by the incident, apologized to the Jewish community on behalf of the Catholic diocese.

The original approved design for the float did not contain that imagery, Senior said.

“The inclusion of this image—one that represents the horrific suffering and murder of millions of innocent people, including six million Jews during the Holocaust—is profoundly offensive and unacceptable,” he said in the statement.

“I strongly condemn the inclusion of this symbol on the float. As Catholics, we stand firmly against all forms of antisemitism, hatred, and prejudice, which are rampant in our society,” Senior added. “The Church’s relationship with the Jewish community is one of deep respect, friendship, and shared faith in the one true God.”

CNN has reached out to the St. Joseph Catholic School for comment.

The incident comes amid a surge in recent reports of antisemitic acts. Days ago, a man was arrested with body armor and a suitcase filled with ammunition after threatening multiple synagogues in Alabama and surrounding states, officials said. A month earlier, a late-night fire was set at a synagogue in Florida.

The Anti-Defamation League says antisemitic incidents in the US rose in 2024 for the fourth year in a row, reaching their highest level since the organization started tracking them.

The diocese will work with the school to learn from the incident and review approval processes to prevent it from happening again, Senior said. The diocese will also work with the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition and the ADL to provide information about the Holocaust to the school, Senior added.

“Let us continue to pray for healing, understanding, and unity among all of God’s people,” Senior said.

CNN’s Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.

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