An elementary school displayed a concentration camp phrase on a float at Hanover’s Halloween parade

Thursday was a busy work night for arcade manager Max Kunz. But he’d been looking forward to the 83rd annual Halloween parade in Hanover, York County, so he briefly stepped outside as the floats rolled down Carlisle Street. What he saw made him feel ill enough to throw up.

As a black truck pulled St. Joseph Catholic School’s float, Kunz, 46, caught a glimpse of a familiar gate. Not believing his eyes, he focused on the words above it: “Arbeit Macht Frei.”

The German phrase for “Work Makes One Free” was displayed on the entrance gates of Nazi concentration and extermination camps, including Dachau, where Kunz’s grandmother’s siblings died.

“I immediately felt sick. It was almost surreal … to watch the children around it, the people all laughing like it was a fun thing, my brain couldn’t process it,” said Kunz, holding back tears. “What made me even more sad was that nobody else seemed to know what it was. Nobody cared.”

The phrase was used to mock the millions of people who were forced into labor and exterminated inside the concentration camps, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Kunz wondered if he had to fear for his safety in the town his family has called home since 2019. And, he said, he was trying his best not to run to the float and just pull the gate down from the truck.

Three blocks down, Nicole Sellers, 29, was also shocked when she looked past the jukebox playing Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti,” the ghostly figures, and the graveyard display aboard the float.

“I couldn’t believe what we saw. Nobody said anything around us,” said Sellers, who recognized the phrase from history class. “I grew up Catholic, but whether it is ignorance or any other reason is not acceptable to use that with its historical significance.”

Concerned, she took it to a local Facebook group on Friday, urging people to contact both St. Joseph Catholic School and the truck’s operating company, Metcalf Cleaning Services.

The school did not reply to a request for comment from The Inquirer on Saturday. But Bishop Timothy C. Senior of the Diocese of Harrisburg condemned the display in a statement, calling it “a notorious symbol of hate.”

“On behalf of the Diocese of Harrisburg, I express my sincere apology to our Jewish brothers and sisters and to all who were hurt or offended by this display,” Senior said. “As Catholics, we stand firmly against all forms of antisemitism, hatred, and prejudice, which are rampant in our society.”

The diocese has promised to partner with the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition and the Anti-Defamation League to work with the school and turn the situation into an educational and reflective opportunity for the school community, “so that such a grievous incident is never repeated,” he said.

Galen S. Shelly, who identified himself as the head designer of the float, told Harrisburg news outlet PennLive on Saturday that he had made a mistake but had “no ill intent.”

Senior said the approved design of the float did not contain the gate. Shelly told PennLive he added it later, after another part of the design fell through.

“I wanted to illustrate the idea none of us get out of this life alive,” Shelly told PennLive. “I never intended anything to be like this. I couldn’t have anticipated it. I made a mistake and I ask everyone’s forgiveness.”

Shelly did not reply to a request for comment from The Inquirer.

As for Metcalf Cleaning, the company put out a statement on Facebook Saturday morning apologizing but clarifying that, as a volunteer, its role was confined to pulling the float.

“Regrettably, the float contained a phrase in German that was later found to be derogatory. At the time, we were unaware of its meaning and significance. We recognize that we should have taken a closer look at the float prior to the parade, and we are truly sorry for that oversight,” the statement read.

The company said in the statement it would review its participation procedures to ensure something similar didn’t happen in the future.

For Kunz, that is not enough. He places the blame on the parade organizer, the Hanover Area Junior Chamber Jaycees, which did not reply to The Inquirer’s request for comment.

“They saw this and said, OK, that is fine, go ahead. … I wondered, if this is OK, what is next?” Kunz said.

Regardless, he has faith in the people of Hanover.

“We have a strong community that has come together to say this is wrong. We are a good town,” Kunz said. “The response to the people in light of this gives me hope that things like this will eventually come to an end.”