Personal possessions of German businessman Oskar Schindler, who saved the lives of more than 1,200 Jews he employed in his factory during the Holocaust, will go up for auction.
Among the Schindler items included in the sale: his Longines wristwatch, a compass, a 1938 Sudetenland Medal, two fountain pens, and a business card.
The Schindler possessions are being sold as a package by the Boston-based RR Auction. They are expected to sell for about $25,000 in the auction that ends Mar. 6.
The items are from the estate of Schindler’s wife, Emilie, who died in 2001, according to the auction house.
The compass is said to have been used by Oskar and Emilie Schindler while fleeing Russian troops and heading for American occupied territory in 1945. The Sudetenland Medal was awarded to all German officials and members of the Wehrmacht and SS who marched into Sudetenland, and it was later awarded to military personnel participating in the occupation of the remnants of Czechoslovakia. Schindler had aided in the annexation and occupation of the Sudetenland as a spy for the German government.
“It’s an amazing archive of Schindler’s personal belongings,” said Bobby Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction. “Schindler continues to be highly sought-after among collectors.”
Oskar Schindler’s story was told in the 1982 novel Schindler’s Ark by Australian author Thomas Keneally and was the subject of Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List in 1993 that won seven Academy Awards.
