German Auction of Holocaust Artifacts Canceled After Intense Backlash Over Commercial Exploitation.
A scheduled auction in Germany featuring hundreds of artifacts from the Holocaust, including chilling letters written by prisoners in concentration camps, was canceled on Sunday after intense backlash. The auction dubbed "The System of Terror" consisted of over 600 lots with vestiges from the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, including documents such as Gestapo index cards and letters penned by prisoners.
The inclusion of these letters sparked a fierce reaction across Europe, particularly in Poland, which was the site of many concentration camps used during the Holocaust. The addition of the letters stoked outrage in survivors' groups and sparked calls for cancellation from prominent figures.
Germany's Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced that the auction had been canceled after conversations with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who agreed that such an auction must be prevented. A Holocaust survivors group also had called on the auction house to nix the sale, citing concerns about the identification of individuals by name in the documents.
Christoph Heubner, executive vice president of The International Auschwitz Committee, condemned the auction as "cynical and shameless" and urged those responsible to cancel the sale or return it to the respective surviving families for display in museums or memorials.
The listing was removed from the Auktionhaus Felzmann website on Sunday afternoon.
A similar incident occurred at an auction house in Munich in 2019, where Adolf Hitler memorabilia were sold, despite mass condemnation and criticism. Another instance of a planned sale took place in 2021 when Jerusalem-based auction house had to suspend the sale of stamps used at Auschwitz due to moral concerns from Israel's own Holocaust memorial.
This latest development highlights ongoing issues of commercial exploitation of sensitive historical artifacts, particularly those connected with the Holocaust.
A scheduled auction in Germany featuring hundreds of artifacts from the Holocaust, including chilling letters written by prisoners in concentration camps, was canceled on Sunday after intense backlash. The auction dubbed "The System of Terror" consisted of over 600 lots with vestiges from the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, including documents such as Gestapo index cards and letters penned by prisoners.
The inclusion of these letters sparked a fierce reaction across Europe, particularly in Poland, which was the site of many concentration camps used during the Holocaust. The addition of the letters stoked outrage in survivors' groups and sparked calls for cancellation from prominent figures.
Germany's Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced that the auction had been canceled after conversations with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, who agreed that such an auction must be prevented. A Holocaust survivors group also had called on the auction house to nix the sale, citing concerns about the identification of individuals by name in the documents.
Christoph Heubner, executive vice president of The International Auschwitz Committee, condemned the auction as "cynical and shameless" and urged those responsible to cancel the sale or return it to the respective surviving families for display in museums or memorials.
The listing was removed from the Auktionhaus Felzmann website on Sunday afternoon.
A similar incident occurred at an auction house in Munich in 2019, where Adolf Hitler memorabilia were sold, despite mass condemnation and criticism. Another instance of a planned sale took place in 2021 when Jerusalem-based auction house had to suspend the sale of stamps used at Auschwitz due to moral concerns from Israel's own Holocaust memorial.
This latest development highlights ongoing issues of commercial exploitation of sensitive historical artifacts, particularly those connected with the Holocaust.
Can you even imagine?! The thought of auctioning off letters written by prisoners in concentration camps is just, like, so messed up 
. I mean, can't they just put them on display in a museum or something instead of trying to make money off them? It's not about the money, it's about respecting the victims and their families 
. And now that they're canceled, finally! 
The auction house should've known better than to go down this path 
. I'm so glad there are people like Christoph Heubner who care about these issues and are speaking out against them 
.
just think about it... selling people's pain and suffering like it's nothing more than a commodity. these items belong in museums not on some auction block where people can buy them up for who knows how much cash 
. we gotta be careful what we're allowing into our society, especially when it comes to things that are so deeply painful and hurtful to those who've been through it 
that the auction was canceled! I mean, come on, who in their right mind thought it was okay to put up for sale letters from concentration camps? It's not like these are just some dusty old artifacts, they're pieces of history, pieces of lives lost. The fact that people were actually bidding on them is just disgusting 
. And to think the auction house didn't even care about the potential backlash, it's just cynical and shameful. I'm glad the gov was forced to step in and put a stop to it. It's not right that some rich guy gets to profit off other people's suffering. These artifacts should be treated with respect and dignity, not sold like they're some kind of collector's item 
. I mean, who needs to make a profit off people's suffering and pain? It's just so messed up that some people thought they could sell those letters and documents like they were just ordinary items 
.
. We should be doing more to protect these artifacts from being sold for commercial gain, not less 
. It's our responsibility as a society to ensure that we're treating these sensitive historical items with respect and dignity 
.
. Remember, your feelings are valid and your experiences matter 
.
. Those are human lives we're talking about, people who suffered unimaginable horrors under the Nazis. It's not something you can put a price tag on or treat like a commodity 
.
. But I'm glad we're having this conversation now, so that maybe, just maybe, we can learn from our mistakes and do better in the future 
.
. I mean, who thinks it's a good idea to auction off Holocaust artifacts for cash? Like, come on! Those are human lives we're talkin' about 
. It's like people have no regard for history or human life. What's next? Auctionin' off Auschwitz stamps again? 
No way, man! We gotta respect these artifacts and keep 'em safe from commercial exploitation.
my grandma told me about the holocaust when i was a kid and it broke her heart like that's not somethin to be profitin off of at all. and whats with all the fuss about people gettin letters from concentration camps? cant we just leave those alone too? 
I mean, can't we all just agree that these artifacts are sacred and should be treated with dignity and respect? 
. hope we can keep these kinds of auctions from happenin in the future 
. feelin all the love and respect for the ppl who spoke out against this one 
.