3-29-25

By Lee Goodman

“I lost most of my family,” the woman told me. I knew what she meant. She had approached me as I stood at the outdoor Cloud Gate sculpture, which is more commonly known as The Bean. It is one of Chicago's most popular tourist attractions, and it was a beautiful spring day. People from all over the world, speaking lots of languages, were taking pictures of their reflections and the skyline in the highly polished stainless steel. I was careful not to get in the way of their picture-taking.

I was wearing a replica of a Nazi concentration camp uniform and silently holding a sign that said, “It's happening again.” The sign pointed out that the Nazis had put migrants in concentration camps during World War II, that the U.S. had put Japanese-Americans in camps as soon as we entered that war, and that today Trump is putting migrants in concentration camps in Guantanamo and El Salvador.

All these years later, the woman's eyes teared up as she remembered those who had perished. We looked into each other's eyes for a long time. We nodded to each other. Finally I asked, “Where?” and she answered. One camp among thousands, one family among millions of people. The Holocaust. It's important that we remember, and that we allow the memory to guide us. She thanked me for being there. My presence, recalling what happened, and teaching people about it meant something to her. Meeting her meant a great deal to me. I thanked her for sharing her story.

An African-American man pointed me out to two teenagers, whom I assume were his sons. He asked them a series of questions, probing their reactions to my sign and uniform. He responded to one of their answers by saying, “That's right. If they can do it to anyone, they can do it to everyone.”

A couple of Jehovah's Witnesses stood nearby with their literature on a rack. As I walked by them, one said, “Is that a concentration camp uniform?” I said, “Yes,” and, pointing to the blue triangle sewn onto my jacket, I asked, “Do you know the triangle?” One of them said, “Yes, the purple triangle.” I corrected her and explained that Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi camps wore purple triangles, but my triangle was blue, which is what migrants wore in the camps. She said she hadn't known that.

I didn't approach anyone, but dozens of people came up to me, mostly to tell me they agreed with me. They understood that as Trump is arresting and deporting people for merely disagreeing with him, it is important that those of us who oppose him support one another.

Very few people expressed any disagreement with my message. The most remarkable one was a man who sneered, “You're darn right we're doing it again!” I am accustomed to hearing from Trump supporters, but it was still jarring to be in the presence of someone who favors putting people in concentration camps.

On my walk home, a woman came up to me and asked about the uniform. I explained the blue triangle. She said, “I'm gay.” Almost simultaneously, we said, “Pink.” She knew that LGBTQ people in Hitler's camps wore pink triangles.

I arrived home in time to attend Friday night Shabbat services. I can still do that, and other people can still worship as they like. Most of our freedoms are still intact. Most groups are not under attack. But for how long?