Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., February 01, 2008 Shvat 25, 5768 | | Israel Time: 08:03 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

A worker preparing a carnival float depicting the Holocaust, at the Viradouro samba school's warehouse in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. (Reuters) Last update - 21:22 29/01/2008 Local Jewish group protests 'Holocaust float' at Rio Carnival By Reuters Tags: Jewish groups, Rio, Brazil  A Carnival float with a pile of model dead bodies commemorating the Holocaust is causing unease before the lavish parades in Rio de Janeiro this weekend. The Viradouro samba school plans to feature the grim display when it marches in the Sambadrome parade strip on Sunday, despite objections from a local Jewish group. "Really, it makes no sense addressing this theme with drums and dancing girls," said Sergio Niskier, president of the Israelite Federation in Rio de Janeiro state, referring to the slaughter of six million Jews by Nazi Germany in World War Two. Advertisement "There are still survivors of that horror who have the marks of that tragedy on their skin," he said. Rio's Carnival is famed for the parades by samba schools with glitzy floats and costumes and street parties where costumed revelers drink and dance all night. The elaborately decorated floats are a key part of each samba school's presentation, along with thousands of dancers and drummers led by near naked Carnival queens. Viradouro insisted its Holocaust float is not meant to offend anyone. "The float is extremely respectful, it's a warning, it's something shocking that we don't want to happen ever again," said Paulo Barros, Viradouro's artistic director. Viradouro's parade theme is "Shockers" and it includes floats depicting the shock of birth, the shock of horror and the shock of cold. Barros said the Holocaust float would be the only one without dancers on top. "If we had people dancing on top of dead bodies that would indeed be disrespectful," he told Reuters. Traditionally, the use of religious references causes last-minute problems for samba schools. In the past, the Roman Catholic Church has barred floats with figures of Christ and the Virgin Mary and samba schools had to cover or modify them. Related articles: Austria investigates woman, 85, in concentration camp murders Fun Munich carnival held on Holocaust remembrance day angers Jews Synagogue in Brazilian town Recife considered oldest in the Americas Simon Wiesenthal Center launches new Nazi hunt in South America More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us   Painful lessons The IDF has already learnt lessons of the Second Lebanon War. Brothers in guilt 'We are all guilty; is an effective summary of the final Winograd report.   1.   I Wouldn`t Get Worked Up About It Unless... 17:42  |  Yosemite 29/01/08   2.   from what i read its more than okay. must get into mainstream not 18:04  |  ralph 29/01/08   3.   This is not a religious reference,. 18:24  |  Serge 29/01/08   4.   It doesn`t need to be dead bodies, at least 18:35  |  Empresaria 29/01/08   5.   Frivolity and Shoah don`t mix beneficially 18:38  |  Fortuna Benmayor 29/01/08   6.   Yosemite - Very true 19:39  |  Day of the dead 29/01/08   7.   carnival 20:04  |  Shmuelshachor 29/01/08   8.   Does the word stupid come to mind? 20:33  |  Gilles 29/01/08   9.   Yosmite and dancing on the dead 20:46  |  Connie 29/01/08   10.   don`t expect the goyim heathens in rio to understand shoah 21:59  |  don 29/01/08   11.   To # 3 22:13  |  Montrealer 29/01/08   12.   This is why we Nazis chose countries in South America as a 22:30  |  Josef Megele 29/01/08   13.   Rio float 22:47  |  Berry 29/01/08   14.   Carnival in Rio 23:00  |  Pedro 29/01/08   15.   Not the place, nor the moment, nor the way for remembering 23:08  |  Alain 29/01/08   16.   At least better than denying or forgetting 23:09  |  Alain 29/01/08   17.   you wanted an INTERNATIONAL day of holocaust remembrance 23:45  |  nobodysacred 29/01/08   18.   They`re right 00:52  |  James 30/01/08   19.   Lets all fly out to Rio to Protest 01:09  |  Matthew Freedman 30/01/08   20.   If Jews could care that much about Palestinians... 01:16  |  Yaakov Sullivan 30/01/08   21.   Local Jewish group protests `Holocaust float` at Rio Carnival 03:18  |  Michel Neumark 30/01/08   22.   Rio floats 06:31  |  Wellington 30/01/08   23.   I support Matthew`s idea; let`s go to RIO!!! 09:30  |  Paulo 30/01/08   24.   Goyim heathens 09:43  |  Paulo 30/01/08   25.   Ask the survivors... 12:03  |  Maureen Ann 30/01/08   26.   IT`S NOT DIFFERENT FROM ZIONISTS` EXPLOITATION OF HOLOCAUST 17:20  |  JACKAL 30/01/08   27.   Look at above picture and tell me these partying people are not 17:57  |  thoroughly disgusted 30/01/08   28.   Josef Megele - Are you kidding? 22:09  |  Euro 30/01/08   29.   Shmuelshachor - Islam? 22:52  |  WOW 30/01/08   30.   `holocaust float` 10:48  |  GCL 31/01/08   31.   The float got banned apparently 02:28  |  Matthew Freedman 01/02/08

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