On Monday, a German auction house announced a sale of over 600 Holocaust‑related items, prompting President Karol Nawrocki to demand restitution and government intervention.
Auction Planned in Neuss to Sell 623 Holocaust Items
On Monday, Nov. 17, the Felzmann auction house announced a sale titled “System Terror II 1933‑1945” that will feature 623 items tied to the Holocaust. The catalogue lists personal correspondences, postcards from Polish Jewish families, and other documents that reveal names, addresses, and photographs of victims and their descendants.
Prices Stack Up – From €180 to €12,000
Notable items include a Star of David armband, described as a “rare original with usage marks,” going for €180. The auction also offers private letters and 1943 postcards for €12,000, a medical report from a German concentration‑camp doctor—price €400—and a police arrest card for resistance fighter Ernst von Harnack at €600.
Polish President Demands Compensation and Sale Cancellation
President Karol Nawrocki has asked the Polish government to demand a refund and, if necessary, purchase all Holocaust memorabilia from buyers, adding the cost to the country’s overall reparations. “Germany caused World War II… Poland was its first victim. We have not yet seen justice, and we will keep demanding reparations for German crimes in Poland,” he said, according to spokesman Rafał Leśkiewicz.
International Critics Call Auction Shameful
Christoph Heubner, vice‑president of the Auschwitz International Committee, urged the auction house to cancel the event, calling it a “cynical and shameless venture” that commercialises the suffering of Holocaust survivors. Johannes Beerman‑Schön of the Fritz Bauer Institute warned that historic documents could be lost if sold.
Auction House Defends Its Mission to Preserve History
Reinhard Fischer, managing director of Felzmann, said the house’s role is to preserve and document historical evidence. “Removing these materials from the market would erase tangible proof of that era from public consciousness,” he argued, recalling that the house has already sold nearly 650 documents from the period in past auctions.
