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The planned auction of Nazi memorabilia has prompted multiple requests for the items to be withdrawn from sale.
The Lipscombe Auction House in downtown Nelson has several Nazi memorabilia items listed as part of a “Unclaimed Police, Ship Model & Military Auction,” which is scheduled to run online and at home on Sunday between 11am. and 2 pm.
Swastika flags and insignia are included in the online list.
“Nazi memorabilia carry with them a history of hatred and intolerance,” said Nelson’s human rights activist Sarah Sharp, one of several people who have called for the items to be removed from auction.
“In the context of New Zealand, it is a regime with which we spent six years involved in a bloody conflict in defense of democracy and to support the victims of the war of the Nazi regime against the peoples of Europe.”
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Braden Fastier / Nelson Mail
Sarah Sharp, back right, pictured in 2019 helping host a concert by Russian feminist punk rock group Pussy Riot, says she has shared her concerns about Nazi memories with Lipscombe Auction House.
That “dark story” was the reason the memories were worth money.
“I think we should question the morality of making money selling Nazi items,” Sharp said. “To suggest that people should not buy or sell these artifacts is not to deny history, it is to acknowledge that these are powerful and enduring symbols of oppression for people of color, LGBTQ, Jews and many others who suffered. This includes many Germans who carry this story as a burden. “
Sharp said he wanted to personally apologize to a German friend “who now calls Whakatū (Nelson) home and is exposed to our ignorance.”
It was illegal to trade Nazi memorabilia in Germany, “where they have gone to great lengths to reconcile with their history.”
“So why is it acceptable here?”
That friend, Eva Kappenstein, said she was shocked.
MARION VAN DIJK / Things
Nelson’s attorney, Sally Gepp, pictured in 2017, described the items as “symbols of hate and white supremacy.”
“Seeing these … flags hanging in an auction house here in Nelson saddens me deeply,” Kappenstein said. “Selling Nazi memorabilia and pretending they are ordinary historical items normalizes the atrocities that the Nazis have simultaneously committed [when] anti-Semitism and racism are on the rise. We need to do our best [to ensure] that history does not repeat itself “.
Nelson’s attorney, Sally Gepp, described the articles as “symbols of hatred and white supremacy … over anyone who doesn’t fit the mold of white supremacy.”
“It is the opposite of the inclusive society we want in New Zealand,” Gepp said.
The place for such Nazi memorabilia was a museum where items could be viewed “in connection with the atrocities to which they relate.”
His inclusion in a planned auction in Nelson came as a surprise and the timing was also a cause for concern “so close to the time a white supremacist killed 51 people so close to us,” Gepp said, referring to the Christchurch terror attack in March. of 2019.
“I think it would be more respectful if [items of Nazi memorabilia] they were withdrawn from sale, ”he said.
Nelson resident Ian Morris supported calls for the items to be removed from the auction, saying he was “very concerned and upset” by their inclusion.
“While it is not against the law in New Zealand, it is deeply offensive to the Jewish community within New Zealand and around the world,” Morris said. “It promotes a fascist and racist ideology and feeds and nurtures the neo-Nazi and white supremacy that we are seeing growing within the United States of America right now.”
Stuff
Juliet Moses says it’s disturbing to see swastika-adorned flags for sale in Aotearoa.
In a statement, the police confirmed that it is “not illegal” to sell or buy Nazi memorabilia in New Zealand.
“We recognize that the auction is taking place,” police said.
On behalf of the Jewish Council of New Zealand, Juliet Moses said that while it was not illegal, “it is disturbing to see swastikas-adorned flags for sale in Aotearoa.”
“These flags are emblematic of the abhorrent Nazi regime and have no military interest,” Moses said. “I hope that whoever buys them does not use them to glorify that regime and is aware of all those who lost their lives due to the Nazis, including six million Jews, as well as Roma, Slavs, homosexuals, and indeed Kiwis who were sent to fight them. “
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When he was called by Stuff on Saturday, Lipscombe Auction House owner and auctioneer, Warwick Savage, said he had “no comment to make.”
A post dated October 1 on the Lipscombe auction house Facebook page about the auction reads: “In accordance with Facebook’s rules, we are not in a position to display images of a large number of products at this auction.” Visitors are referred to an online link to view the articles.
