Jewish Group Outraged by Auction of Hitler Items

Silver pieces believed to have been owned by Adolf Hitler--including lobster forks, ice cream spoons and a cigarette box--are being auctioned on the Internet by a Georgia family. One Jewish group is hoping no one buys them.

Jay Kaiman, southeast director for the Anti-Defamation League, said his Atlanta office has received calls from people upset over the auction.

“We think it would be perverse if an individual bought a fork or a setting and invited people over so they can show them their Hitler plates or cigarette box,” he said. “We’re concerned that they are mass merchandising Hitler in a pop culture way.”

Atlanta-based Great Gatsby’s is conducting the auction, which was set to begin Friday night and continue until Thursday.

The auction house’s manager, Maxine Hyland, said there have been “very few complaints” about the Hitler items, which were among hundreds of items available in Gatsby’s first online auction.

Other items include four original works by Pablo Picasso, a Rolls Royce owned by Bee Gees member Barry Gibb and the original 16mm master print of the Beatles movie “Let It Be.”

Hyland would not identify the Georgia family selling the Hitler merchandise. She said the owner’s father was a U.S. soldier who took the pieces, which bear Hitler’s initials and the German seal, from Nazi headquarters at the close of World War II.

“These things come up all the time,” said Greg Martin, head of the arms and armor department of the San Francisco-based auction house Butterfield & Butterfield. “These are historical artifacts. Whether or not you agree with the political philosophy behind the object is irrelevant.”

Butterfield & Butterfield has sold several Hitler and Nazi pieces over the years and is putting the German dictator’s personal phone book on the auction block Tuesday.

Kaiman said he would have no problem with the silver being housed in a museum or academic archive, but he doesn’t believe the pieces belong in the hands of just anyone.

“We clearly understand that there’s a subculture attracted to Nazi memorabilia. Some people who have a fascination with Nazi memorabilia also have a fascination with Nazi ideology,” he said.

Gatsby’s is breaking up the 125 silver pieces into 52 lots. One lot consists solely of a cigarette box and has an estimated price of $4,000 to $6,000.