- Front cover of programme for chapel service at Emmanuel has caused concern
- 2nd year student says: ‘Students who’ve seen that are understandably upset’
- College Dean Rev Jeremy Caddick says it was for sermon on gross acts of evil
- University says sorry because ‘without context this image may upset people’
A Cambridge college has apologised after it used an image of a Nazi death camp on a pamphlet for new students.
The gates of concentration camp Auschwitz bearing the German slogan ‘arbeit macht frei’ – work brings freedom – was used by Emmanuel College’s chapel for a welcome service last night.
A second-year student at Emmanuel, who asked not to be identified, said ‘The students who have seen that are understandably upset.
‘I have no idea at all what possible aim of this is or whether it’s some kind of joke about entering university life.’
A Cambridge college has apologised after it used an image of a Nazi death camp on the front of a pamphlet for new students last night
College Dean Rev Jeremy Caddick defended the pamphlet which were produced for a service held on Thursday.
College Dean Rev Jeremy Caddick defended the pamphlet which were produced for a service held on Thursday saying it was linked to his sermon on coping with acts of gross evil
He condemned suggestions the cover was a ‘sick joke’ about how hard students will have to work at the prestigious university.
He said the image tied in with a sermon which was a ‘reflection’ of the college choir’s visit to the Polish death camp last year and added: ‘The point of putting the picture there is that it is an iconic image of evil.
‘It is a sermon about our response to gross evil.’
However the college later apologised for the use of the image.
An Emmanuel College spokesman said: ‘We understand that without context this image may have upset people and we apologise for its use in a way that has caused distress’.
Emmanuel College has apologised for the picture, admitting without any context it could have caused distress
The service drew comparisons between the sacrifice by Polish priest Maximilian Kolbe, who asked to take the place of another prisoner at Auschwitz who was due to be killed, and Jesus Christ.