Jewish leaders criticise the ‘abhorrent’ sale of Adolf Hitler’s watch

A dog collar belonging to Eva Braun's terrier was also on sale

An open letter signed by 34 Jewish leaders has criticised the million-dollar sale of Adolf Hitler's watch that was gifted to him in 1933. The artefact was sold to an anonymous bidder at Alexander Historical Auctions in Maryland and is said to bare a swastika, Nazi eagle and the initials AH. The watch was given to Hitler following his designation as Chancellor of Germany back in 1933. The watch was but one of many pieces of Nazi memorabilia on sale, including a dog collar belonging to Eva Braun's terrier, Wehrmacht toilet paper, and cutlery and champagne glasses of senior Nazi figures. But the sale has drawn criticism for obvious reasons, and 34 Jewish leaders dubbed it "abhorrent" while calling for it to be pulled from auction. [caption id="attachment_351252" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Via Alexander Historical Auctions[/caption] "This auction, whether unwittingly or not, is doing two things: one, giving succour to those who idealise what the Nazi party stood for," wrote Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman of Brussels-based European Jewish Association. "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. There is little to no intrinsic historical value to the vast bulk of the lots on display." He continued to say that "one can only question the motivation of those buying them" and that Europe suffered "egregiously because of the perverted and murderous ideology of the Nazi party." "Millions died to preserve the values of freedom that we take for granted today, including almost half a million Americans. Our continent is littered with memorial mass graves and the sites of death camps," the Rabbi added. But the auction house has maintained that they are simply preserving history. "Whether good or bad history, it must be preserved," Senior Vice President Mindy Greenstein told German media. "If you destroy history, there is no proof that it happened."

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