A Jewish group has criticised an auction tomorrow of historical military memorabilia that includes Third Reich items such as a portrait of Hitler, a dagger with the etched motto “Alles fur Deutschland” and a Luftwaffe ring given to officers for bombing England.
The auction by David G Smith Auctions is being held in Bredbo, near Cooma, includes military items from Germany, Japan, America and Britain.
Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich called the auction grotesque and outrageous.
“It is a kick in the stomach to the victims, to the survivors who suffered and who lost relatives in the Holocaust, and to the Australian soldiers who died fighting to vanquish the Nazi regime,” Dr Abramovich said whose organisation fights anti-Semitism.
“The Nazis committed monstrous crimes using the imagery and symbols being offered here, and trying to profit from these bloodstained items is abhorrent and demonstrates a lack of decency.”
He said auction houses should not promote and display paraphernalia that represent genocide.
“We call on David Smith to demonstrate moral and corporate responsibility and to immediately discontinue selling such items,” he said.
“There should be no room for hate in our country, and it’s time for state and federal government to draw a line in the sand and to ban the sale of such materials.”
Don Mahoney, from David G Smith auctions, said his father and uncles brought home souvenirs from fighting the Germans and Japanese in World War II.
“We sell history and souvenirs that were brought home by our Diggers,” he said.
“We can’t change history.”
Mr Mahoney said it was important to acknowledge history instead of sweeping it under the rug.
He said he had sold the memorabilia since 1973 to politicians, bankers, accountants and solicitors.
“We’ve never had a neo-Nazi come along,” he said.
“People just collect history.”
In October, Melbourne auction house Downies withdrew Nazi artefacts from sale in response to criticism from Jewish groups.