Once We Were Brothers

Ben Solomon is an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor who lives in Chicago, Illinois. In September 2004, he stuffs an antique German P08 Luger into his belt and enters a taxi headed to the Civic Opera House.

Elliot Rosenzweig is an octogenarian living in a giant mansion in Winnetka, one of Chicago’s wealthiest suburbs. He is known throughout the city as a Holocaust survivor who came to the United States penniless in the 1940s and became one of the most successful businessmen and philanthropists in the city. Elliot and his granddaughter Jennifer enter a limo headed to the Civic Opera House.

In the mezzanine of the Civic Opera House, Ben approaches Elliot and asks him, “What did you do with all that jewelry?” (8). When Elliot pleads ignorance, Ben pulls out the Luger and presses it against Elliot’s forehead. Ben accuses Elliot of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek whom he recognizes from his youth in Poland. To prove he is not a Nazi but rather a camp survivor, Elliot reveals his tattoo from the Auschwitz extermination camp that reads “A93554.” Unconvinced, Ben continues to hold the pistol against Elliot’s head until a hulking bodyguard tackles him.