On the 75th anniversary of the Nuremberg trials conclusion that led to the execution of Adolf Hitler’s top henchmen, key trial documents and other artifacts of those convicted of war crimes are headed to auction.
Bill Panagopulos, the president of Maryland-based Alexander Historical Auctions, called his Dec. 7-9 online auction the most significant offerings of items from the trial of the century that came at the end of World War II.
“This year marks the 75th anniversary of the trial and execution of the top Nazis who aided and abetted Adolf Hitler’s horrific rise to power in the ’30s and ’40s. We’ve uncovered a number of documents from their trial at Nuremberg, including even the Allies’ announcements of the prisoners’ indictment and execution,” Panagopulos told Secrets.
Alexander Historical Auctions has a long history of selling artifacts, documents, and personal belongings of historical figures. In one recent auction, a rare signature of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong sold for $310,000.
In the sale, Panagopulos said many of the offerings “display the Nazis’ incredible arrogance even as they fought for their lives. Hans Frank, German governor of Poland, claimed that he resisted the SS and tried to ‘improve the lot of the Polish population,’ despite the fact that he enslaved and starved millions. Even more incredible was German Gestapo chief and mass murderer Ernst Kaltenbrunner calling Auschwitz Commandant Rudolph Hoess to testify in his defense. In the end, Frank, Kaltenbrunner, and Hoess would all ‘dance’ at the end of a hangman’s rope.”
One of the items expected to fetch a high price is a Walther presentation pistol owned by Hoess. It could sell for up to $18,000.
Panagopulos said the still-working gun was “liberated” by Louis Bardenstein, soldier of the 69th Signal Battalion, XX Corps, commonly known as the “Ghost Corps,” which landed on Omaha Beach July 19, 1944, and joined Patton’s Third Army. It was found at Hoess’s home in Thuringia, far from Auschwitz.
Another valuable document in the audition is a list of many Nazi officials indicted, including Hermann Wilhelm Göring and Rudolf Hess.
The auction also includes unrelated historical artifacts and the occasional fantastical item. This auction’s price in that category is a “vampire killing kit” from the 1800s and expected to sell for up to $5,000.
