High School Uses Stickers To Hide ‘Final Solution’ Quote In Yearbook

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — A high school in Wisconsin stopped distributing yearbooks after it was discovered that it contained a published anti-Semitic quote by one of the seniors.
“There will always be one true Final Solution,” read the quote in the year book of the New Berlin West High School, WTMJ Milwaukee reported.
An email was sent to school parents to inform them of the offensive quote. In it, school principal Michael Fesenmaier called it “inappropriate and offensive.”
“The quote, unfortunately, went undetected during the yearbook vetting process and was published in the yearbook. We are embarrassed by this oversight, and we apologize that this offensive quote was not detected sooner,” read the email.
Jostens, the yearbook publisher, will supply the school with stickers to cover up the quote. The student’s name has not been identified in media reports and he apparently has not commented.
Elana Kahn, director of Jewish Community Relations at the Milwaukee Jewish Community Federation told the news channel that he quote “is not innocuous and it is not funny.”
“It’s recorded in history as this being his most important quote,” she said. “I think it’s very disturbing and upsetting.”
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