MUNICH – An auction of Nazi memorabilia in Munich includes underpants worn by Hermann Goering and socks worn by Adolf Hitler.
The auction scheduled for this weekend at the Herman Historica International auction house also includes dresses that belonged to Hitler’s lover Eva Braun and the case that held the cyanide capsule that Goering, second in command to Hitler, used to take his life the night before he was scheduled to be hanged in 1946 following his conviction on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg trials.
The memorabilia is part of a collection owned by John Kingsley Lattimer, an American doctor who served as a medical officer during the War Crimes Trials in Nuremberg, where he cared for the prisoners as well as members of the Allied forces staff. He collected many of the artifacts during his time at the trials, according to the auction catalog.
Other items up for auction include X-rays and the investigation reports on Hitler’s health after the assassination attempt of July 20, 1944, and the statements of Hitler’s doctors, as well as a collection of original secret wiretap transcripts of the prisoners at Nuremberg; a large photo album presented to a member of the 3rd U.S. Army; more than 330 contemporary photographs of German secret documents from the property of Dr. Robert Kempner; Judge Robert Jackson’s gavel given as a present to his successor as chief prosecutor in Nuremberg, Thomas Dodd, and a group of sections of the ropes used to hang the major war criminals at their executions on Oct. 16 1946.
Goering’s underpants, silk with a blue monogram reading HG, is offered at a starting price of $700 (US). Bidding on his brass cyanide capsule case will start at about $3,500 (US).
Jewish groups have condemned the auction, and the mayor of Munich has asked the auction house to cancel it, fearing the objects will be glorified by neo-Nazis, the Telegraph reported.
The auction house responded on its website, saying in part it is “a reputable, internationally renowned auction house for historical objects of all ages and countries and we are perfectly aware of our responsibility for objects of contemporary German history and have always been committed to the utmost care and caution in acting as an intermediary for them.”
