November 22, 2019 - Droog Magazine periodical for investigative journalism

Revenue Nazi auction

over 2 million euros

to Hitler Forgery Industry main page - to Droog Magazine

2019| Auctions | Press | Certificates of Authenticity

Alleged Nazi rubbish for Israel

With the hammering of the last lot, a Lineol toy soldier from the Nazi era for 200 euros, the very lucrative auction of alleged Nazi garbage by the Munich auction house Hermann Historica ended, last Wednesday evening. After more than twelve hours of trading, the turnover amounted to 2,052,085 euros.

When one knows that the auction house charges 40 to 55% commission (20 to 30% of the seller plus 25% of the buyer) one will understand why the auctioneers are deaf to all protests against this sick trade, which is a slap in the face for all Nazi era victims and their relatives.

Previously we reported on the objects which were auctioned until Wednesday, 4.15 pm. Thereafter more remarkable sales were made. Two SS sabres were sold for respectively 88,000 and 55,000 euros; a Nazi dagger for 125,000 euros; and someboby paid an incredible amount of 135,000 euros for a damaged part of a Nazi medal. Jo Rivett from Switzerland, one of the few independent specialists in the field of Nazi orders and badges, remarked about it: "That's a lot of cash for a broken piece of jewelry.”

This object, measuring less than 3 cm in hight and weighing 9.3 grams, is a kind of buckle that belongs to a Knights Cross. It is described in the catalog as 'Oak Leaves with Swords and Diamonds for the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross'.

According to the catalog the design of this thing was created 'probably at the behest of Hermann Göring' – a difficult way of saying that no evidence exists that Göring did so. The catalog states also: “It was first awarded in August 1942 to the fighter plot Major Gordon M. Gollob.” Which is true, but this 'it' does not refer to the thing sold, but only to another specimen, awarded to the mentioned pilot.

The catalog also states that it is a second-quality specimen that has signs of wear and that the diamonds on it are 'imitation stones', five of which are missing. All this raises the question why someone would spend so much money on such a damaged piece of jewelry. The current value of silver is 49 cents per gram. This piece of metal therefore has an actual value of less than 5 euros.

Top hat and Mein Kampf to Israel

Leonid Bershidsky of Bloomberg reported about this case and the identity of the buyer of the top hat (50,000 euros), the luxury edition of Mein Kampf (130,000 euros ) and an unknown number of other alleged Nazi artefacts. He turns out to be Abdallah Chatila, a businessman living in Geneva. In a press release, he announced that he was donating the items to Keren Hayessod, an Israeli fundraising organization. Mr. Chatila stated:

“It is extremely important to me that items from this painful historical era do not land in the wrong hands. I would have liked to purchase more items, but unfortunately I did not get all the bids. In these days, where tendencies of nationalism and anti-Semitism are growing in Europe, I would like to set an example with the means I have. I have full trust that Keren Hayessod will take the proper decision to handle this donation. I strongly hope that such delicate items will be exhibited in a holocaust museum that will have a better use than any other entity”

The latter is doubtful. More obvious locations are the False Art Museum in Vledder (the Netherlands) or the Kujau Kabinett in Bietigheim-Bissingen (Germany); two musea dedicated to forgeries.

Since the  authenticity of many of these objects is highly questionable. They are partly post 1945 products, others were never owned by the mentioned Nazis. And even if they are authentic: almost none of them has any historical significance whatsoever. Exhibiting these objects in a Holocaust museum is an insult to the victims.

Aftermath

Meanwhile, in Germany, protest against this sick trade is growing. The Berlin Sonntagsblatt reports:

"The Federal Anti-Semitism Commissioner, Felix Klein, has sharply criticized the auctioning of Nazi memorabilia by the Munich auction house Hermann Historica. "This is where the crime of the Nazis is played down, it is done as if dealing with ordinary historical artifacts," said Klein to the newspapers of the Funke Mediengruppe (Thursday issues).

Auctions such as these "created the ground for statements that relativize the Holocaust, where once again a red line is crossed," the anti-Semitism commissioner continued. (...) "The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution [the German Internal Intelligence Service] should keep a watch on such auctions," demanded Klein. The service needs to know who is buying such items and where they aree going. "There's a danger that Nazi devotional items will become cult objects, around which places of worship for neo-Nazis might develop," Klein told the Funke Media Group newspapers. You can not legally prohibit such auctions. "But they should be banned socially," the anti-Semitism commissioner demanded."

© Bart FM Droog, 2019

---