German Auction House Cuts Ties with Auschwitz Artifacts After Backlash
A last-minute U-turn has spared hundreds of Holocaust artifacts from sale, following an outcry from survivors and officials in Poland. The German auction house Felzmann had planned to put more than 600 items up for sale, including letters written by concentration camp prisoners to loved ones at home, Gestapo index cards, and documents identifying individuals.
Poland's foreign minister RadosΕaw Sikorski described the sale as "offensive" after complaints from Holocaust survivors. He said he had spoken with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul, who has now cancelled the auction.
The International Auschwitz Committee, a Berlin-based group of survivors, had called for the sale to be scrapped, saying it was "cynical and shameless" to exploit victims' histories for commercial gain. Christoph Heubner, an executive vice-president of the committee, warned that the documents in question were personal belongings that should be displayed in museums or memorial exhibitions, not sold as commodities.
The auction's title, "the System of Terror", was seen by many as insensitive and exploitative. The committee urged those responsible to show some basic decency and cancel the sale.
Auction listings on the Felzmann website had been removed by mid-afternoon on Sunday, with no explanation provided. The house has yet to respond to calls or messages.
The planned auction's contents included letters written by prisoners from German concentration camps to loved ones at home, Gestapo index cards, and other perpetrator documents. Such items are highly sensitive and carry significant emotional weight for those affected by the Holocaust.
In a dramatic reversal, the sale of these artifacts has been cut short after survivors and officials expressed outrage over the auction's plans. The decision marks a major victory for human rights advocates who have long campaigned to prevent such sales from taking place.
A last-minute U-turn has spared hundreds of Holocaust artifacts from sale, following an outcry from survivors and officials in Poland. The German auction house Felzmann had planned to put more than 600 items up for sale, including letters written by concentration camp prisoners to loved ones at home, Gestapo index cards, and documents identifying individuals.
Poland's foreign minister RadosΕaw Sikorski described the sale as "offensive" after complaints from Holocaust survivors. He said he had spoken with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul, who has now cancelled the auction.
The International Auschwitz Committee, a Berlin-based group of survivors, had called for the sale to be scrapped, saying it was "cynical and shameless" to exploit victims' histories for commercial gain. Christoph Heubner, an executive vice-president of the committee, warned that the documents in question were personal belongings that should be displayed in museums or memorial exhibitions, not sold as commodities.
The auction's title, "the System of Terror", was seen by many as insensitive and exploitative. The committee urged those responsible to show some basic decency and cancel the sale.
Auction listings on the Felzmann website had been removed by mid-afternoon on Sunday, with no explanation provided. The house has yet to respond to calls or messages.
The planned auction's contents included letters written by prisoners from German concentration camps to loved ones at home, Gestapo index cards, and other perpetrator documents. Such items are highly sensitive and carry significant emotional weight for those affected by the Holocaust.
In a dramatic reversal, the sale of these artifacts has been cut short after survivors and officials expressed outrage over the auction's plans. The decision marks a major victory for human rights advocates who have long campaigned to prevent such sales from taking place.
OMG, I'm literally so relieved that those precious Holocaust artifacts aren't going up for sale! It's just...whoa, can you even imagine being able to buy something like that? Those letters and documents are basically pieces of history, of people's lives...and it's just heartbreaking to think about them being sold out from under survivors' noses. 
The fact that officials in Poland were all over it and helped stop the auction is a major win for human rights and empathy. It shows that we're still capable of kindness and compassion even when faced with tough decisions. 
Fingers crossed this sets a precedent for other institutions to treat these kinds of artifacts with respect! 
... some people just got lucky that ppl spoke up 
Ugh, this is just another example of how auction houses can be so insensitive with their layout 
. It's about time someone took responsibility for how those artifacts were presented 
.
It's just heartbreaking. But at the same time, I have to give a shoutout to all the survivors who spoke out against it - their voices are so powerful 
. And yeah, it's always good when people in positions of power listen and make decisions that benefit humanity 
. Now those artifacts can go on to be preserved and honored properly - totally awesome 
.
. I mean, didn't they realize that auctioning off Holocaust artifacts would be seen as really insensitive? Guess you could say they were blinded by greed 
.
I cant believe that those auction house was gonna sell all those holocaust memorabilia, its like they forgot whats history is about. They're basically treating it like some old junk 
. What's wrong with these people? Didnt they know how much pain and suffering went into creating those documents and artifacts? My grandma used to tell me stories about what happened during the war, and seeing things like that sold just makes my heart sink 
. And now that the auction listings are gone, let's hope Felzmann Auction House comes clean about what really went down 
.
it just goes to show how sensitive these items are, especially letters written by concentration camp prisoners to loved ones at home... what's next? selling personal belongings of war heroes or victims of natural disasters for a quick buck? 
i mean, come on, where's the decency in that? museums and memorial exhibitions are meant for displaying history, not making cash 
cant even imagine how upsetting it would be if u were in a concentration camp & then had ur personal stuff sold out from under u 
especially with letters from concentration camp prisoners, that's like, super emotional & traumatic for the survivors and their families 
the International Auschwitz Committee is literally doing it right by fighting against this sale & making sure these items get the respect they deserve 
