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Martin Greenfield, a Jewish tailor who survived Auschwitz and went on to create custom-made suits for presidents, generals and a list of who’s-who in Washington and New York, is featured in . Greenfield’s bespoke suits retail for about $2,000 and he’s dressed everyone from Bill Clinton to Bob Dole. Colin Powell is a friend and regular customer and he’s on the White House list of visitors—though Greenfield won’t say if the current commander-in-chief is a customer as well.
Liberated alongside Elie Wiesel, Greenfield remembers shaking General Eisenhower’s hand after the general arrived in Buchenwald. “He looked like he was 10 feet tall,” Greenfield recalled. Years later, their paths crossed again, when Greenfield made suits for the general-turned-president. As the Post reports:
Weeks later, the White House placed a call to his boss, who came over to Greenfield. “The president loved the suits,” the boss said, “but there’s somebody here who writes notes in his pockets.”
“Greenfield had been reading about the 1956 conflict over the Suez Canal and was troubled at the thought of the English and French back in battle, along with Israel. His note, inserted in a pocket that was sewn closed, posed a simple question to Eisenhower, who had committed troops and weapons: ‘Why don’t you send dollars?’
“Confronted by the boss, Greenfield didn’t shy away. ‘I write nice notes!’ he said. ‘And I give him good advice, if only he would listen to me.'”