Alexander Historical Auctions in Maryland just sold this piece of controversial history for a whopping $1.1 million.
Yes, you might be able to tell by the initials there that that's Hitler's watch you're looking at. Rumor has it, this was "given as a birthday present to the fascist leader in 1933, the year he became Chancellor of Germany."
Now, this sale along with that of other Nazi memorabilia at Alexander Historical Auctions has caused a bit of controversy, and even led to an open letter penned by Rabbi Menachem Margolin and co-signed by 34 Jewish leaders.
"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. Indeed, one can only question the motivation of those buying them. 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."
Other reactions:
I can see why they're upset.
I can also see why someone would want this piece of history, I guess.
The buyer is apparently a Jewish person who lives in Europe, which adds an interesting twist:
Other articles in the auction included a dress that belonged to Hitler's wife, Eva Braun, autographed pictures of Nazi officials and a yellow cloth Star of David imprinted with the word "Jude", which is German for Jew.
Okay, little too far with the autographed pictures of Nazis.
That's where I draw the line.
As for the watch:
Documents supplied by the auction house state that it cannot provide proof that Hitler actually wore the watch. But an appraisal by an independent specialist concluded that it "in all likelihood" belonged to him.
Despite the watch fetching over $1m it fell short of the auction house's $2m to $4m estimate, Deutsche Welle reported.
Typical man: Didn't even wear the watch that was given to him as a birthday gift.
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