'Nazi' Protest Sign Gets Backlash From Auschwitz Museum, Pritzker

ILLINOIS — At a Reopen Illinois protest Friday in Chicago, a woman holding a sign reading "Arbeit macht frei, JB" created a stir on Twitter. The a German phrase, which translates to "Work sets you free," was written over the entrance of Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps during WWII.

The sign was directed at Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who is Jewish.

NBC reported that Dennis Kosuth, a registered nurse, took the photo of the woman holding the sign.

"This person came up to us, and I saw her sign, and I was just floored. Are you kidding me?" Kosuth told NBC. "They were not respecting our space. They would come up to us and get in our faces."

According to Kosuth's tweet, the woman told him she wasn't a Nazi and said, "I have Jewish friends."

The sign caused thousands of reactions on Twitter, including a statement from the Auschwitz Museum and Memorial in Poland.

"'Arbeit macht frei' was a false, cynical illusion the SS gave to prisoners of Auschwitz," the Auschwitz Memorial tweeted. "Those words became one of the icons of human hatred. It's painful to see this symbol instrumentalized and used again to spread hate. It's a symptom of moral and intellectual degeneration."

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Pritzker also tweeted a statement Saturday saying there were "quite a number of people protesting by carrying signs filled with hate."

"I've spent decades of my life fighting against bigotry and hatred," Pritzker tweeted. "I helped build [Illinois Holocaust Museum] by working with Holocaust survivors. The meaning of that swastika is apparently unknown to the people who are carrying it, or if it is known, it's a demonstration of the hate that is among us."

Pritzker went on to say that there were a few hundred demonstrators but that there are millions in the state doing the right thing.

"I am so grateful to live in a state with those millions of really good people," Pritzker said.

The protesters gathered Friday outside the Thompson Center to demand that Pritzker lift his coronavirus restrictions and reopen the state's economy. The state's modified, extended stay-at-home order took effect Friday and lasts through the end of May. According to rally participants, Illinois cannot afford to keep operating under the current restrictions and Illinoisans desperately want to get back to work.

This was one of the signs at the “Re-open Illinois” event today. She assured those that she was not a Nazi, and stated, “I have Jewish friends.” Thank you for representing yourself and your “movement” for what it is. pic.twitter.com/CcIX2SVu6s
— Dennis Kosuth, RN (@Dennis_Kosuth) May 1, 2020

I've spent decades of my life fighting against bigotry & hatred. I helped build @ihmec by working with Holocaust survivors. The meaning of that swastika is apparently unknown to the people who are carrying it, or if it is known, it's a demonstration of the hate that is among us.
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) May 2, 2020