Used pink underwear bearing the personal monogram of Adolf Hitler’s mistress Eva Braun went on sale by the Humbert & Ellis Auctioneers along with other personal items.
The garment came from a “significant private European WWII collection” and bore marks “commensurate with age” in addition to other embroidered embellishments and the personal monogram of Braun.
A statement from Humbert & Ellis to the Washington Examiner noted the potentially divisive nature of selling items that once belonged to the wife of a murderous dictator. “There continues to be a perennial interest in personal artifacts from such notorious high level WWII figures and accordingly such items, even without provenance, command high prices,” auctioneer Jonathan Humbert said.
Both Hitler and Braun died by suicide in 1945 as the Allies closed in on Berlin, effectively ending World War II.
The pink pair of underwear was sold alongside a night shirt which was also stitched with Braun’s monogram and came from a large collection of WWII items associated with high-ranking figures. The buyer was identified as an anonymous individual who completed the transactions by phone. The underwear and night shirt sold for approximately $4,600 and $3,300, respectively.
The buyer also bought a bracelet confirmed to have belonged to the wife of high-ranking Nazi leader Hermann Göring with white and red stones, a swastika, and locket containing a photo of Hitler. The bracelet contained an engraved message to Emmy Göring that said, “Emmy Goring Weinachten 1938.” The auction house notes it was a very similar bracelet to one that belonged to Braun.
Hermann Göring died by suicide after being sentenced to death in the Nuremberg war-crimes trials in 1946. Emmy, an actress, was sentenced to one year in prison for her role committing war crimes and died at age 80 in 1973.
The subject of whether Nazi memorabilia should be traded and collected has long been the subject of debate. Paris auction house, Vermot de Pas, caused controversy in 2014 when they listed several Nazi items including dishes once owned by Hitler, Hermann Göring’s passport, and a linen napkin with a swastika and imperial eagle. The items were said to have been brought to France by French soldiers at the end of World War II.
After receiving significant backlash for listing the items, the auction house defended their pending sale by pointing out the importance of preserving history. “We were pitching this as part of the responsibility to remember — but in no way to shock or create a polemic,” a spokesperson for the auction house said.
Jewish groups across France condemned the auction as “harming the memory of victims of Nazi barbarity.” The auction was canceled shortly after its first advertisement.
The sale, ownership, and display of Nazi memorabilia is illegal in Germany, where Nazi symbols must be covered up before they are displayed.
While the total number of murders by Nazis during their time in power is difficult to definitively claim, they are held responsible for the deaths of more than six million Jews, and millions of other civilians over their two decades of rule and conquest in Europe.
