December 21, 2019
Ms. Alice Cichon
Offensive Crayons, LLC
1820 Avenue M
Unit #370
Brooklyn, NY 11230
info@offensivecrayons.com
Dear Ms. Cichon,
Congratulations on starting a new Company. As someone who has been in marketing & merchandising for over 30 years, I know how difficult it is to develop & market new products that break through the clutter in the retail space. I also understand the barriers that can’t be crossed in the process.
I am reaching out to you regarding Offensive Crayons. Your crayon of “Auschwitz Ash” and “Little Dictators” (coloring book featuring Adolf Hitler) are intolerable.
During the Holocaust, 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis. At, Auschwitz- Birkenau, Jews were sent to gas chambers and their bodies cremated to ASH following in the ovens. More than one million Jews were murdered at Auschwitz.
Hitler compared Jews to germs. He stated that diseases cannot be controlled unless you destroy their causes. Hitler set out to exterminate the Jews across the world and eliminated 2/3 of the Jews in Europe. Featuring Adolph Hitler in a coloring book trivializes the horrors he committed.
According to Rabbi David Saperstein, “the Holocaust is used as the ultimate benchmark for our generation of the worst atrocity ever committed against one group of people.”
I keep a book in my office to remind me every day of the atrocities committed by the Nazis. The book has the word JEW written on each page with 40 columns per page and 120 lines per page. The word JEW is written 4800 times per page and there are 1250 pages in the book. The book contains the word JEW 6,000,000 times, conveying the magnitude of the tragedy.
At a time when anti-Semitic activity is at an all-time high, your products ignite the flame that encourages hatred by dehumanizing & minimizing the lives of those brutally murdered.
Holocaust distortion is a form of antisemitism, prejudice against or hatred of Jews. Holocaust distorters generally perpetuate long-standing anti-Semitic stereotypes, hateful beliefs that helped lay the groundwork for the Holocaust. Holocaust distortion & misuse undermine the truth and our understanding of history.
While I will not comment on the acceptability or not of your other products, I am reaching out to ask that these products (and those like them) noted be removed immediately and forever from the marketplace.
Thank you so much.
Regina Raphael
Los Angeles, Ca
Gina Raphael 
Dark humor is often funny. It touches those realities we fear but know are certain.
This? This is not humor in any sence. The war cost 50 million lives. Jews, jehovah witnesses, Roma, intellectuals, the religious died after being tortured. Slavs were killed in their millions. 6 million Jews, many children were gassed and burned.
Find another black, like stalin’s soul. Stop the gross attack n.j on a sad memory.
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Just horrible all around. These are things not to be joked about. Thank you for standing strong! Only great things in the new year!
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Outrageous, when will antisemitism end ? Ignorant individual is unaware Jesus was Jewish?
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We must stand strong against hatred. Thank you for reaching out. Only great things in the year ahead.
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Gina Raphael, I fully support your writing to Offensive Crayons. What a bloody shame to misuse the Holocaust in creating products and productnames. This is not just offensive but sickening. In particular for survivors and familymembers of the so many murdered people. I visited Sobibor where my grandparents were burned to ashes after being gassed. This sickening marketing kept me awake already a full night not be able to release the pictures with piles of ashes in Sobibor and the burning of my grandparents. Shame on this bloody company.
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Thinking of you and your family. Wishing you only the best.
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of course with a company name like offensive crayons, this obviously wasn’t an inadvertant error.
what was their response?
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No response to me directly to others the brand name is what it says it is (basically). There are certain lines we don’t cross with crayons or other forms of communication.
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What a powerful, honest and truthful, letter,
Ur professionalism, caring, knowledge, concern speaks loud and clear, I totally respect and agree 100% with ur letter,,
It’s people like yourself who believe and care in the right and wrong ,,
Best wishes ,
Judi
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Thank you Judi!
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What the f#@* were they thinking making these products? They are not only anti semetic but hurtful and damaging. I demand that the company removes these products and the very company themselves should be boycotted. NOT HAPPY!!!
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I am horrified that anyone would develop such a company! Because it was done knowingly, it speaks volumes as to its intent! It reminds me of the hate that is taught to children when they have books denoting Jews as “pigs”. Will there ever be a world where respect and acceptance of “others” is the benchmark?
Thanks for your amazing response!
Adriane Kreisberg
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What a horrific thing to market. My grandparents went through the Holocaust. How dare this company be so cruel about the atrocities that so many Jews and family members had to go through. Truly disgusted. This must be taken off the market ASAP.
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Gina, good for you to reply the way you did. What this company did is despicable and totally unacceptable!
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The address of this obnoxious company is Flatbush, on a major street of a Jewish community. Whenever the owner of this company goes to the office, he or she passes Jewish residents, many of whom are survivors or family of survivors. How insensitive and ignorant can one be?
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I will definitely not buy anything from this company! They should be ashamed!
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Gina – thank you for standing up for what is right. As a Jew, I am appalled. I would like to say to Alice Cichon, “Who are you and what are you? You don’t seem human. Where is your heart and soul? How can you laugh at human suffering and think it is funny? Where is your compassion and empathy? Your brain is hollow. Go back to the planet you came from.” RLB
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Thank you for sharing.
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Gina,
The evil miscreant who owns this company is a Polish antisemite atheist who heads several NCY organizations, including NYC Skeptics and Secular Action. I doubt she will respond to your correspondence, although, if enlightened, some of her affiliates may take offense to her degradation of those who were so brutely and senselessly murdered in the Holocost.
Additionally I find it interesting that she took a hands off approach to mocking issues such as slavery, Islam and transgenderism. As those communities wouldn’t tolerate her vitriol for any length of time without dire retribution.
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WOW! You are the first person to mention that. Thank you Ahava for sharing. This is truly sad.
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Thank you for speaking up and speaking against this blatant antisemitism.
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I am appalled to hear about this new business venture,why is this still happening,millions of innocent adults and children tortured,burnt alive,and this evil person makes a mockery of these innocent souls,may you rot in hell
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How truly disgusting. To put crayons in the hands of children promoting anti-semitism is unbelievable. What is it that makes it ok for anyone to think that the life of any people does not matter. What do you say to a child asking about the name of the crayon? How hurtful can one company be. I think you have hit the Mark for the most hateful, insensitive and antisemitic company. Not something one wants to aspire to become. You need to be shut down forever!
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I have also sent a comment to the company , how unfeeling are these people , as long as it bring money in they couldn’t care about feelings of people who have lost loved ones by that tyrant . This should not be allowed to go on sale , it’s only sick minded people who will buy this product .. A petition needs to be started and sent to the company I’m sure enough decent people in this world would sign it .. Thank you for bringing this to people attention Gina ..
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Thank you for standing strong!
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It was with sadness and unbelief that I saw this advert.
Antisemitism is probably at its highest across the world and is insidious how it manifests itself.
We have to make a stand to stamp out this hatred and I pray that, with Gods help, we will be strong to voice our non acceptance of all types of antisemitism, racism and disregard for each other.
Thank you for the stand you have taken.
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Thank you for standing strong!
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I am a very proud Jew. And I can tolerate a lot of bad jokes made at our expense, because we Jews know how laugh at ourselves. But some things are not funny; they are just intolerable. This product is one of them. Whoever came up with this idea, has proven themselves to be an unthinking, uncaring and heartless disgrace to humanity. And I am grateful to you, Gina, for your thoughtful response.
DDG
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Thank you for standing strong!
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