THE AUSTRALIAN: ORGANISERS of an auction of Adolf Hitler's reading glasses and other personal effects were on the verge of abandoning the sale last night after an outcry over profiting from Germany's Nazi past.
The Fu[e]hrer's glasses were due to be put up for auction for a reserve price of €4800 ($A6700) at a Munich auction house this month, while bidding for a silver cigarette case monogrammed with the initials of the non-smoking dictator was set to begin at €10,000.
Stung by accusations that the sale was a "stain" on modern Germany, Hermann Historica, the auction house, issued a statement last night insisting that it never intended to cause offence and had not sought publicity for the items on sale.
But it refused to confirm who would receive the money, although some items, such as a fob watch starting at €10,000, were believed to originate from the estate of Rudolf Hess, Hitler's former deputy.
There were also items of cutlery with A.H. monograms for €1800, and a Hitler Youth badge encrusted with diamonds and rubies, given to the Fu[e]hrer in 1942, marked up for €22,000.
While public display of the swastika is illegal in Germany, and they have been carefully airbrushed out of the auction catalogue, there is no ban on the sale of Nazi memorabilia. » | David Charter | The Times | Wednesday, October 05, 2011
