Chesapeake City, United States of America (USA)- The wristwatch of Adolf Hitler, German’s former Chancellor, has been auctioned for US$1.1 million at the Alexander Historical Auctions.
According to the Alexander Historical Auctions, the wristwatch was given to Hitler as a birthday present in 1933, the year he was named Chancellor of Germany.
“A spectacular wristwatch, especially given to the dictator by his most ardent supporters, has never seen the light of day. It is an absolutely unique and important historical object,” said the Alexander Historical Auctions.
Historians believe that the watch was seized by a French soldier on May 4, 1945, when his unit became the first Allied force to arrive at Hitler’s retreat at Berchtesgaden, in the mountains of Bavaria.
Prior to Friday’s auction, the European Jewish Association (EJA) had written a letter to the Alexander Historical Auctions to abandon its auction.
“This auction, whether unwittingly or not, is doing two things, one, giving succor to those who idealize what the Nazi party stood for. Two, offering buyers the chance to titillate a guest or loved one with an item belonging to a genocidal murderer and his supporters.
The sale of these items is an abhorrence (Hitler’s wristwatch, candy bowl and items belonging to his partner, Eva Braun, including a dress and dog collar for her terrier). There is little to no intrinsic historical value to the vast bulk of the lots on display. Indeed, one can only question the motivation of those buying them.
Whilst it is obvious that the lessons of history need to be learned and legitimate Nazi artifacts do belong in museums or places of higher learning, the items that you are selling clearly do not. That they are sold to the highest bidder, on the open market is an indictment to our society, one in which the memory, suffering and pain of others is overridden for financial gain,” said EJA chairperson, Rabbi Menachem Margolin.
However, Mindy Greenstein, senior vice-president at Alexander Historical Auctions, said their aim was to preserve history and that most of their collectors kept the acquired items in private collections or donated them to Holocaust museums around the world.
“If you destroy history, there is no proof that it happened. Whether good or bad history, it must be preserved,” said Greenstein.
In addition, the senior vice-president said a lot of the collectors were Jewish and that no one in her family had any issues with the auctions.
