Phoenix, AZ – A controversy is brewing over a Nazi memorabilia auction to take place in the Valley later this month.
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R & R Auction is putting up for sale an assortment of World War Two items, many of them from Nazi Germany, including Nazi flags, SS soldiers’ hats and. a plaque of Hitler.
The auction has some members of the Valley’s Jewish community speaking out.
Holocaust survivor Helen Handler thinks selling these pieces to the highest bidder sends the wrong message.
“It should upset everyone,” Handler said. “What they are doing is giving life to something that killed. They are feeding hate.”
Handler was just 16-years-old when she was liberated from a concentration camp in Auschwitz, Germany in 1945. She was the only survivor in her family.
Her father, mother, grandparents, brothers, aunts and cousins were killed.
“It’s burning into my heart, my soul,” she said. “It never died in me.”
Handler now spends her days talking to Valley children and civic groups about the Holocaust and its importance of keeping alive the memories of the millions who lost their lives.
The 80-year-old survivor said the sale of Nazi symbols to the highest bidder goes against everything she’s trying to teach.
The Nazi items come from a private unnamed seller’s collection. There is no law banning the sale of these items and similar pieces can be found on sites like eBay.
Auschwitz is in Poland not Germany.
Actually eBay as well as Yahoo Auctions banned Nazi items as well as other hate material, back in 2001.
Burn them!!!!
Along time ago i’ve had the pleasure to meet Helen Hadler when she came to my school to teach students about the Holocaust. She is a great person!
I woluld have to agree with what number 5 says. This is history and there are people that would want us to forget history. While there is no doubt tremendous and horific pain that came from this era of mankind, it must never be forgotten what evil mankind is capable of. We had better remember the history lesson Hitler taught us. We had better remember that masses of people followed him thinking he was good. In the end 50 million people in the world died. I can surely understand why some would want to forget. As a people though we must never forget.