'Perverse and twisted': Tasmania Nazi memorabilia sale criticised

An auction house in Launceston has been criticised by a Jewish community group for selling Nazi war memorabilia.

The auction house came under fire for selling similar items in August.

The auction house came under fire for selling similar items in August. Source: Armitage Auctions

Several items of Nazi memorabilia are set to go under the hammer in Tasmania, despite calls from the Jewish community to end the "perverse" sales.

Armitage Auctions in Launceston will on Wednesday put German war artefacts up for bidding including medals with swastikas.

The auction house, which came under fire for selling similar items in August, has defended their decision to carry on with such sales.

"We can understand that the sight of some of these items could be upsetting, and to those affected we are sorry," auctioneer Neil O'Brien said.

"Whilst we obviously condemn what happened in the war along with similar atrocities throughout history, people are interested in artefacts associated with these events."
The auction house came under fire for selling similar items in August.
Source: AAP
The auction house has sold various war memorabilia for 30 years, Mr O'Brien said.

"There are items other than German war memorabilia that we offer for sale which offend some people but are legal to sell," he added.

"It puts us in a difficult position to choose outside the boundaries of the law what is ethical to sell and what is not."
But chairman of Jewish group Anti-Defamation Commission, Dvir Abramovich, said he was shocked to see Nazi items again put up for auction.

"It is perverse and twisted that hate and death have a price tag and are on sale," he said.

"We must all remember that these objects embolden extremists and bigots.."
The state Liberal government has strongly urged any individuals to "think twice" about selling Nazi memorabilia but has ruled out changing any laws.

"The display, promotion and sale of Nazi and Holocaust memorabilia, although not illegal, is often considered offensive, distressing and a breach of community and moral standards," Attorney-General Elise Archer said in a statement.

"Following a review of other national and international jurisdictions (the government) is not considering any regulatory action at this time."


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Published 30 October 2019 6:40am
Updated 30 October 2019 7:04am


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