The Auschwitz-Birkenau International Committee has called on the German Auktionshaus Felzmann to cancel a planned auction of Holocaust-era items.
In a statement, the committee said that the auction house’s intention to sell personal documents and belongings of Nazi victims constitutes “a cynical and shameless act.”
Christoph Heubner, the committee’s vice president, said that “the suffering of all those persecuted and murdered by the Nazis is being exploited for commercial profit.” According to him, documents that record persecution and the crimes of the Holocaust belong to the families of the victims, and their place is in museums or memorial institutions - not offered to the highest bidder. He urged the auction house “to uphold basic decency and cancel the auction.”
The controversy intensified after the list of items slated for sale was publicized, including yellow stars, letters sent by persecuted Jews to their relatives, and documents confirming forced sterilizations.
The Fritz Bauer Institut in Frankfurt also condemned the sale, stating that it represents “trade in documents connected to Nazi persecution and the Holocaust in a manner that exploits them for financial gain while disregarding individual rights and historical significance.”