A Scots auction house has defended its sale of Nazi memorabilia due to its historical importance.
McTear’s in Glasgow had a number of items from the Third Reich in its Militaria auction which was held on Wednesday.
Items going under the hammer included paper bunting bearing the Swastika emblem, an ‘SS type Dress Dagger’ and a set of silverware purportedly owned by high-profile Nazi Herman Goering which said to have been taken from his personal train dining car.
An Iron Cross medal that came with an official button pin from the Nazi party sold for £300.
The SS dagger was sold for £220, the silverware was snapped up for £1,000 and the Nazi bunting for £50.
It is not illegal to sell Nazi memorabilia in the UK although it is banned in some countries in Europe such as Germany and Austria.
A spokesperson for McTear’s Auctioneers said: “As the only auctioneer in Scotland to run dedicated sales of historic militaria McTear’s has frequently consigned important artefacts from both World Wars.
“On occasion, our auctions, like many others across the world, include items related to the Third Reich, which are always handled with sensitivity.
“It is important to note that these historical artefacts provide a tangible link to an important, albeit extremely dark, era in our history that should never be forgotten.”
Other auction houses have dropped sales after they suffered a backlash due to Nazi items being auctioned.
In 2019 a Belfast auction house cancelled the planned sale of similar items due to ‘sensitivities’.
Swastika-emblazoned tableware from Nazi Germany was expected to sell for about £20,000 when bidding opened at Bloomfield Auctions but the items, which were reportedly produced for Adolf Hitler’s 50th birthday, were withdrawn following complaints.
In 2021, Lyndhurst Antiques Centre apologised for selling Nazi memorabilia after a complaint from a Jewish family
The shop withdrew the items from sale and said it would not sell similar memorabilia in future.
Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Bonhams, three of the world’s biggest auction houses, refuse to trade items connected to Nazi Germany.