No Jokes Here. That’s Just Awful.

CONTENT WARNING: Antisemitism

About twenty years ago, I was working at a bookstore. I was organizing books in the children’s section when an older man approached. I don’t remember if there was any kind of endcap or display that might have prompted this comment, but I do know it was the first thing he said to me.

Customer: “You know, the Holocaust was actually good for the Jews.”

Me: *In complete shock* “What?”

Customer: “Yeah. Before that, everyone hated them, but there was so much sympathy cause of the camps, so they’re doing much better now.”

Me: “I don’t think the Jewish people see it that way.”

Customer: “They should. It’s much better for them now. They should thank Hitler.”

Me: “I… need to get some stock from the back.”

Mostly, I just wanted to get away from him, but I saw the store manager in the back, so I told her what he’d said.

Manager: “As long as he isn’t bothering any customers, he’s fine.”

I was still pretty young and inexperienced at the time, so I didn’t do anything else, but I think about that encounter all the time, especially as more and more antisemitism shows up in the news and across social media.