Cambridge college sorry for confusion over Auschwitz photo on welcome pamphlet
Dean of Emmanuel College says implication image meant as a joke ‘infuriating,’ explains photo meant to accompany sermon about trip to death camp
A college at England’s Cambridge University apologized after the use of a photograph of Auschwitz on a welcome pamphlet caused a backlash among students. But the college’s dean explained that it was published to relate to a sermon he was giving about a trip to the death camp.
The photo of the infamous “arbeit macht frei” — “work will set you free” — sign at the entrance to the Nazi death camp was used on a pamphlet in the college’s chapel Thursday night during a ceremony for new students.
One student said that many people were “understandably upset” by the image.
“I have no idea at all what the possible aim of this is or whether it’s some kind of joke about entering university life,” the student told the Cambridge News. “I cannot imagine any reason. I am conscious there are a lot of very upset students at the moment, though.”
The student also said “there will be quite a lot of Jewish students seeing this.”
The college’s dean said the image was not intended to offend anyone. He said that allegations that the use of the picture was meant as a “sick joke” are “infuriating,” as he explained the photo was meant to accompany a sermon he gave.
The college has apologised after students said they were “very upset” by the image https://t.co/tQTs1wkWDE
— Cambridge News (@CambridgeNewsUK) October 6, 2017
“It is there because some of the choir went on a trip to Poland,” said Reverend Jeremy Caddick. “It included a visit to Auschwitz. The sermon is a reflection of that.”
“The point of putting the picture there is that it is an iconic image of evil,” he added. “The first thing I’ll do in the service is explain why it is there. It is a sermon about our response to gross evil.”
Caddick said his sermon was inspired by the story of Polish priest Maximillian Kolbe, who took the place of a prisoner he did not know at Auschwitz, where he was later murdered by the Nazis.
A spokeswoman for the college told Cambridge News “we understand that without context, this image may have upset people and we apologize for its use in a way that has caused distress.”
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