Source:Dozens of artefacts from the Third Reich condemned as being "morally repugnant" and "tools of the devil" went under the hammer at a public auction in Kalgoorlie-Boulder over the weekend as collectors look to snap-up increasingly rare World War II relics as an investment.
Two large Nazi flags bearing the swastika, which are illegal in Germany, sold for $1,500 and $1,000 respectively at the Western Australian auction.
A Knights Cross, one of the highest awards for German troops during World War II, was sold for $1,250.
A book titled Adolf Hitler with photographs of the German leader's time in power sold for $375, while a nickel-plated bayonet and a metal flask engraved with a swastika fetched $750 and $120 respectively.
A Hitler figurine with a moving arm which performs the Nazi salute sold for $100.
Most of the memorabilia was from the estates of dead Australian soldiers who souvenired the items during World War II.
Nazi relics 'tools of the devil'
The Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), a Jewish group that aims to fight anti-Semitism, condemned the auctioneers for profiteering from the Nazi regime which killed an estimated six million Jews in the Holocaust.
Chairman Dvir Abramovich called for state and federal governments to immediately stamp out the "hawking" of such items.
"Even the pursuit of profits must have its limits, and this morally repugnant trade is wrong on so many counts and makes me sick," Dr Abramovich said.
"We know that in the real world, anti-Semitic incitement, as represented by this evil paraphernalia, often results in violence and deadly attacks.
"As we witness the growing threat of white-supremacist organisations in our nation, we know that such groups have an appetite for these monstrous relics of oppression.
"The tragedies at Pittsburgh, Christchurch and San Diego should prompt everyone to do some very serious soul-searching and to choose the high road.
"We call on all sellers to put morality before financial gain by withdrawing these grisly items from their shelves."
Dr Abramovich said Nazi items were sometimes listed for sale on online auction sites and his group was working with internet retailers such as eBay and Gumtree to stamp it out.
Collectors not just 'bikies and neo-Nazis'
Don Mahoney has worked in the military collectables industry since 1973 and operated his own shop in Melbourne for many years.
Mr Mahoney, whose father fought German troops in Africa commanded by the "Desert Fox" Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, said the global market for Nazi military memorabilia was worth "millions".
"We sell history. There's good guys and bad guys, and you can't change history," he said.
"Most of the items we were selling, they were brought home by our Diggers as a souvenir and given out to their families to say 'we won the war'."
Mr Mahoney said most of the market is driven by private collectors who want to own a piece of world history's most notorious era.
He said Russian and Chinese collectors are among the biggest buyers of Nazi memorabilia.
"People think it's only bikies and neo-Nazis who are buying this stuff, it's not. Far from it," he said.
"We've sold it to some politicians in Australia, bank managers, solicitors, accountants, some really top people collect Third Reich items.
"I won't name names, but one particular doctor I know has one of the biggest collections in Australia of Third Reich items.
Collector's house full of Nazi memorabilia
The ABC spoke with one bidder, a man identified only as Henry, who purchased one of the Nazi flags at Saturday's auction.
He said his family has German heritage and he has been collecting Nazi memorabilia for the past decade.
"I've got glass cabinets full of it … a lot of SS stuff," he said.
Henry told the ABC he purchased a similar Nazi flag five years ago for $1,000 and has had offers to buy it for $2,500.
His favourite item on display at home is the dress uniform of a Waffen-SS officer, worn by members of the armed wing of the Nazi Party.
The SS, or Schutzstaffel, which translates to 'protection squadrons', was the unit most responsible for the Holocaust.
"It's just what I'm into. It's the history behind it," Henry said.
A silver ring which belonged to an SS officer sold for $340 on Saturday, while a bayonet from the SS Panzer Division fetched $1,300.
The ABC asked another man, who had a distinctive tattoo on his chest indicating membership of the Gypsy Jokers outlaw motorcycle gang, why he collected Nazi military memorabilia.
He replied "Hitler was the best. He was an animal, but he was good at what he done."
The biggest Nazi flag sold at the auction was described as an "incredible piece of wartime history", scorched by fire after it was reportedly recovered from a burning building by an Australian soldier during World War II.
The auctioneer said the flag would likely have only fetched $150 if it was a reproduction, instead of the genuine article.
"Any reproductions don't come anywhere near the quality of what they made originally so they're extremely easy to pick," Mr Mahoney said.
"In the 1940s they used cotton to do stitching. Nowadays, with reproductions, they use nylon cotton and imitation cotton, so you run a blue light over it and it glows in the dark.
"It doesn't matter how you've aged it and tried to make it look old, you can pick them easy."
Victors write the history books
Bathurst-based auctioneer David Smith conducts about a dozen similar events around Australia each year.
He said the market for Nazi relics is strong and growing as more merchandise hits the market.
"The bizarre thing is the losers — the Napoleonic, Confederates, the Nazis, the Japanese — their stuff is the most collectable, and the winners are not as collectable," he said.
"The Diggers used to bring souvenirs back because they were winners, and now the poor old buggers are falling off the perch and stuff is starting to come onto the market.
"It's a shame that a lot of families that inherit this stuff don't keep it, but that's just a fact of life."
Veteran not interested in Nazi memorabilia
Vietnam veteran Bob Beeson, who served six years in the Australian Army before being medically discharged, is another avid collector of military memorabilia.
But he draws the line at Nazi relics.
The 74-year-old former army engineer attended Saturday's auction and bought a kukri, the famed knife brandished by Gurkha soldiers.
It is a well-known taboo that the weapon cannot be sheathed until it has drawn blood.
"I was in Borneo with the army and we were building roads," Mr Beeson said.
"When I was put into hospital to get my appendix out, I was in there with a Gurkha soldier and I asked if I could have a look at his kukri.
Mr Beeson said he was surprised by the rise in popularity of Nazi memorabilia.
"It is [surprising] and I haven't gone into that ... I've only concentrated on the Vietnam era," he said.
"If they can afford it they can go ahead and do it, but I could never do that.
"I look at it this way — why not buy our stuff? Anything that belonged to the Australians, I like it."
Military collector trying to keep Anzac tradition alive
Another bidder, Michael Hill, said his interest in collecting military memorabilia can be traced back through his family tree.
He said his stepfather served in Australia's Special Air Service (SAS) regiment in Vietnam, and he has a tattoo of the regiment's insignia on his left bicep as a tribute.
"I've got relatives who have fought in World War I and II, so it interests me," he said.
On Saturday, Mr Hill bought a number of items, including an Australian artillery bugle and Hitler Youth knife for $300.
"It could be an investment, it just makes your collection a bit bigger and better," he said.
"I've just started to branch out and get bayonets and knives. My missus will probably kill me when she sees how much I've spent."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-24/ ... t/11239134
Yes, let's erase history and infringe upon people's rights to enjoy and acknowledge that history (whether good or ill) because we need to be saved from the "devil".
