Jewish group calls for 'disgusting' online sale of Nazi-era items to be stopped (Canada)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/nazi-auction-war-objects-1.5653383
An international Jewish group is calling on an Ontario auction house to stop the online sale of scores of German items from the Second World War, many adorned with swastikas and some bearing the image of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. Shackelton Auctions, near Aylmer, Ont., posted an online sale this week of 1,200 items of military memorabilia from a private estate sale.
But among the Royal Canadian Legion berets, ration cards and war bond posters are about 100 objects from Nazi-era Germany, including Hitler youth daggers and postcards with Hitler's image — along with flags, medals and armbands, many emblazoned with swastikas. There are also cast iron busts of Hitler, German officers' swords and toys of German armour and soldiers. Most of the items already have bids in the auction, which is set to end on Aug. 18.
The auction's web page includes a statement that says the items "do not represent the views or opinions of Shackelton Auctions or Sackrider Auctions or their staff." But Jaime Kirzner-Roberts of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies said the auction should be stopped. She's also calling for laws that would make the sale of such items illegal in Canada.
"Our position is that it's disgusting and unacceptable that people should be buying and selling relics of murder and genocide," she said. "We find it very difficult to imagine any legitimate reason why someone would want to possess them." CBC News contacted Shackelton owner and auctioneer Mike Shackelton about the sale. He said while he sympathizes with those concerned about the items being sold, he will not take them off the auction block.
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