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2d ago

Germany Cancels Auction of Holocaust-Era Documents After Outcry

Survivor objections coupled with diplomatic pressure stopped the sale of personal records deemed suitable for public archives.

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A row of barracks at Auschwitz I, seen Jan. 28, 2020. (New York Jewish Week)
29 April 2020, Bavaria, Dachau: A Star of David and candles can be seen at the Jewish memorial on the grounds of the Dachau concentration camp memorial site. US soldiers liberated more than 30,000 people imprisoned in the camp on April 29, 1945. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa (Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Felzmann in Neuss had planned a "The System of Terror" sale offering more than 600 items from 1933–1945, including letters and perpetrator files.
  • The auction listing was removed from the company’s website, and Poland’s Radosław Sikorski said Germany’s Johann Wadephul informed him the sale was canceled.
  • A regional official, Nathanael Liminski, said the head of the auction house confirmed the cancellation to him.
  • Survivor and research groups, including the International Auschwitz Committee and the Fritz Bauer Institute, condemned selling named victim documents for profit.
  • Germany’s culture minister Wolfram Weimer welcomed the move and urged that such materials be placed in memorials or archives, with calls to prevent similar sales.