Zyklon Coaster's Name Conjures Bad Memories
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. (CBSMiami.com) – If you head out to the Broward County Fair this year, you have the opportunity to experience a new roller coaster with a potentially controversial name.
The roller coaster comes from Wade Shows Attractions and is called the Zyklon. It's the first year the ride has been offered at the Broward County Fair.
The potential for controversy comes because during the Holocaust, the name of the poisonous gas used to kill millions of Jews was "Zyklon-B."
In German, the term Zyklon translates to cyclone in English.
Given that South Florida has the most Holocaust survivors outside of New York City, some were not pleased with the new ride coming to South Florida.
"Of all the names in the world, why do they need to name rides that?" Holocaust survivor Rita Hofrichter told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "It's upsetting to me to come across that, as a survivor. I lost my whole family in the gas chambers, particularly in Auschwitz."
CBSMiami.com contacted the fair and an office employee, who declined to give his name, said that the first they had heard of the controversy was when the South Florida Sun-Sentinel ran its article Wednesday morning.
