Overview
- The Felzmann sale in Neuss titled "The System of Terror" was called off Sunday, a day before it was due, after widespread condemnation from survivor groups and officials.
- North Rhine–Westphalia official Nathanael Liminski said the auction house’s head confirmed the cancellation, and the online catalogue was removed.
- More than 600 lots included prisoners’ letters, Gestapo index cards, perpetrator files, forced-sterilisation records, and worn Jewish stars identified as containing personal data.
- International Auschwitz Committee executive Christoph Heubner called the planned sale "cynical and shameless," saying it exploited victims’ suffering and should not turn into commerce.
- Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski reported the halt after speaking with German counterpart Johann Wadephul, while Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer welcomed the decision and said such documents belong in public institutions.