An auction of coins and military memorabilia has sparked outrage over the inclusion of items from the Third Reich, with a Jewish anti-defamation group labelling the sale “indefensible”.
However the auction house manager has defended their inclusion, saying that a “sensitivity” to history as a whole would end the trade in artefacts and coins.
Downies Australian Coin Auctions upcoming sale includes Third Reich badges, including Hitler Youth proficiency badges, and a military belt featuring a side bust of Adolf Hitler.
Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich said it the company’s behaviour was indefensible.
“It’s outrageous and indefensible that today, seven decades after the unspeakable terrors of the Holocaust, there are companies are who are making a profit from blood money, trampling on the feeling of survivors and re-victimising all the innocent lives murdered by Hitler’s regime,” he said.
Dr Abramovich said anti-Semitic propaganda, represented by the items for sale, often results in violence and deadly attacks.
“It would not surprise me if neo-Nazis, Holocaust deniers and skinheads are delighted that they can acquire such objects as a way to celebrate their vile ideology and to recruit new members,” he said.
“Auction Houses do own the moral message of the products they offer for sale, and I call on Downies to take a hard look at themselves and to do the right thing by pulling these perverse items from their shelves immediately.”
Downies auction manager Tony Gordon said many items were traded which were linked to past atrocities.
“What about Roman empire and the atrocities they left behind whilst conquering one-third of the world, Belgium Leopold II in the Congo, British Commonwealth from India to Africa to Middle America,” he said.
“If we were sensitive to history as a whole we would not be able to trade in a coin or banknote to the vast world of numismatists.”
Mr Gordon said Downies Australian Coin Auctions had received consignments on behalf of vendors of numismatic, militaria and ephemera from many different eras of history since it started trading in 1963.
“It is true to say that some of these reflect atrocities of the past — be it artefacts and coins from the Roman and Greek Empires — or in this case the dark days of the Third Reich,” he said.
“We are sensitive to the community reaction to this type of material, and the objects are catalogued on a factual basis and do not receive promotion.
“As a reputable Auction House some of our customers are Institutions and Museums, who ensure that historical objects such as these are displayed in the context of the era.”
