The Auschwitz Memorial Museum criticized Illinois residents who used Nazi slogans Friday to protest the state's coronavirus lockdown orders-not the first time its happened at such a rally-calling it "a symptom of moral [and] intellectual degeneration."
People held signs during a protest demanding to reopen the Illinois economy, hit hard by ... [+] 
At a Chicago rally where hundreds of protestors demanded a rollback on coronavirus restrictions, a woman was photographed carrying a sign bearing the words "Arbeit Macht Frei, JB," apparently referring to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who comes from a prominent Jewish family.
The Auschwitz Memorial Museum, the organization that maintains the former concentration camp in Poland, replied to the photo via Twitter, calling the phrase one of the " icons of human hatred," and saying it was "painful to see this symbol instrumentalized [and] used again to spread hate."
The woman's sign, with what appears to be a stylized, upside-down "B," is startlingly similar to the phrase's appearance on the sign at the entrance of Auschwitz, the most notorious of Nazi Germany's concentration camps, where more than 1 million people were murdered.
The photo quickly went rival and earned condemnation; Illinois native and the American ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro called the sign " disgusting" while the head of the American Jewish Committee David Harris said it was " shameful, shocking [and] sickening. "
The first person to post a picture of the sign was nurse Dennis Kosuth, who told The Hill he had attended the Chicago rally as a counter protestor-he said he took the photo himself and that the woman holding the sign told him she was not a Nazi and "[has] Jewish friends," according to Kosuth.
Another protester at the Chicago rally reportedly held a poster that read: " Heil, Pritzker," and included an image of a swastika.
"Arbeit Macht Frei," a German phrase translating to " work sets you free," was a slogan displayed at Nazi concentration camps like Auschwitz and Dachau. Holocaust survivors say the display of the phrase was a way Nazis lied to concentration camp prisoners to give them false hope of being freed if they worked hard enough. In reality, about 85% of the prisoners sent to Auschwitz are estimated to have been murdered in the camp during its five years of operation.
It's not the first time anti-lockdown protesters have incorporated Nazi phrases and imagery into their rallies. A rally in Lansing, Michigan earlier last month drew in thousands to protest Governor Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order. One protestor carried a sign that appears to have meant to read " Heil Whitmer," though the governor's name was misspelled.
FURTHER READING
Auschwitz memorial condemns presence of Nazi slogan at US anti-lockdown rally ( The Guardian)
'Arbeit Macht Frei': Nazi Slogans Show Up at Illinois Rally Protesting Coronavirus Lockdown ( Haaretz)
Auschwitz Museum condemns Nazi slogan at 'Re-open Illinois' protest ( The Hill)
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I am a Texas native covering breaking news out of New York City. Previously, I was a Forbes intern in London. I am an alum of City, University of London and Texas State
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