A Brazilian court has axed a float celebrating the murder of 6 million European Jews from the country's legendary Carnival parade, international media reported Friday.
Judge Juliana Kalichszteim slammed both the Unidos do Viradouro samba school and parade organizers, saying racial hatred had no place in the annual celebration in the streets of Rio De Janeiro "[The] Carnival should not be used as an instrument of hatred, any kind of racism and clear trivialization of barbaric and unjustified acts against minorities," she said in her injunction banning the float."
The Jewish Federation of Rio de Janeiro (FIERJ), which filed the request to ban the float, welcomed the ruling and said the Holocaust theme was inappropriate for one of the world's premier celebration events.
"The monstrosity that is the Holocaust just cannot be combined with the excessively festive nature of the carnival, a festival recognized worldwide for its joy, humor, entertainment and eroticism," said FIERJ attorney Ricardo Brajterman.
Designers insisted the float was not intended to cause offense. One man, Paulo Barros, said the float was a work of art meant to honor both Holocaust victims and freedom of speech.
"This an extremely serious work," he said, "and people think we're mocking… We're going to speak now of the right to freedom (of speech)."
Spokespeople for the Viradouro samba group bemoaned the loss of money and time spent on the float. Artist Andreia Vieira, the creator of the plastic mound of dead bodies, called it "a major loss, a lot of money and labor spent," and the club's percussion director Master Cica said he was "frustrated" about the last-minute ban.
Traditionally, Carnival is a Christian celebration marking the start Lent, a 40 day period of repentance and self-introspection that precedes the Easter holiday. Traditional Catholics abstain from many worldly pleasures, including the consumption of meat, during this time.
In more recent times, however, the festival has become South America's most renowned party, with parades, beachfront parties and wild celebrations more reminiscent of college students on spring break than religious penitents seeking spiritual exultation. In addition, local police have been accused of "protecting" the festivities by attacking local violence-ridden slums near the festival grounds. Locals say many innocents have been killed in police raids in the past.