Illinois anti-lockdown protester waves Nazi slogan from Auschwitz concentration camp

The sign, reading 'Arbeit macht frei, JB' appeared to be addressed to Governor JB Pritzker who is Jewish

An anti-lockdown protester in Illinois brandished a Nazi slogan on Friday (Twitter/Dennis_Kosuth)

An anti-lockdown protester in Illinois has been widely condemned for brandishing a sign bearing a Nazi slogan from the gates of Auschwitz concentration camp.

The woman, who has not been identified, was part of a group protesting to "Re-Open Illinois' in Chicago on Friday.

The sign, reading "Arbeit macht frei, JB" appeared to be addressed to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker - who is Jewish.

The German words translate to "work will set you free", the phrase that was hung above the gates of the Nazi German concentration camp in occupied Poland where more than 1m people died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust.

An anti-lockdown protester in Illinois brandished a Nazi slogan on Friday (Twitter/Dennis_Kosuth)

The sign was widely condemned including by representatives of the Auschwitz Memorial, who tweeted: "'Arbeit macht frei' was a false, cynical illusion the SS gave to prisoners of #Auschwitz. Those words became one of the icons of human hatred. It's painful to see this symbol instrumentalized & used again to spread hate. It's a symptom of moral & intellectual degeneration."

The photograph of the sign was taken by nurse, Dennis Kosuth, on Friday afternoon, who was at the event as a counter-protester with other frontline medical workers who are battling the pandemic.

Kosuth, who lost a friend and colleague from the coronavirus this week, told The Independent that he was disgusted by the sign.

The gates of Auschwitz, the former Nazi concentration camp which is now a museum. More than 1m people died here during the Holocaust (AFP)

He said: "I don’t read German but I knew what that phrase meant and asked if she was a Nazi. She denied that she was and told me that she has Jewish friends, as if that was a legitimate argument."

Mr Kosuth said that anti-lockdown protesters confronted him and other nurses, accusing them of being actors and claiming that the Covid-19 death toll was inaccurate.

He added: "I’m glad this picture is out there because we must never forget history. I understand that people are suffering, losing their jobs, health insurance, struggling to pay bills and buy food. I am fortunate to still be working, and think those who cannot right now must be given more help then that have been."