Connie Hoyt was horrified to see a raft of swastikas on flags, uniforms and other items after going online Sunday for the third day of a three-day auction to check on a bid she placed for a painting.
An engraved pistol allegedly given to Adolf Hitler in April 1933 by Baldur von Schirach, leader of the Hitler Youth, sold for $1,300. Two copies of Hitler's "Mein Kampf" sold for $325. A Third Reich Luftwaffe enlisted men's hat sold for $750.
They were among 37 lots of World War II-era Nazi memorabilia auctioned Sunday by Schultz Auctioneers in Clarence, owned by Kelly Schultz.
"We just saw the former president of the United States having dinner with a Holocaust denier, and here they are having a sale of this garbage," Hoyt said, referring to Donald Trump's dinner at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 22 with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and antisemite Ye, formerly Kanye West. "I just can't believe that anybody collects it. If it were in a museum, then maybe."
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Hoyt alerted her husband, Sam, the former state assemblyman, who posted information about the auction on Facebook, encouraging people to express their feelings about the Nazi mementos by calling or emailing the auctioneer.
This is the second time Schultz has drawn fire for selling Nazi memorabilia, after doing something similar in June. A phone message and email seeking Schultz's comment were not returned.
"The Jewish community abhors this kind of sale of Nazi memorabilia," said Rob Goldberg, chief executive officer of the Buffalo Jewish Federation. "The enthusiasm for it and the significant rise globally of hatred that is both antisemitism and directed toward others seen as different needs to be called out."
The sale of World War II memorabilia, including Nazi artifacts, has long been popular in the United States. Some were brought back to this country by U.S. Army veterans as war souvenirs.