Gold Coast auctioneer ‘not a Nazi’ despite selling SS memorabilia
A Gold Coast auctioneer has claimed they are “not a Nazi” despite the continued sale of historical German memorabilia.
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A Gold Coast auctioneer has claimed they are “not a Nazi” despite the continued sale of historical German memorabilia.
Queensland-based Danielle Elizabeth Antique & Estate Auctioneers has been blasted for the sale of Nazi items from WWII for the second time in a year.
In their upcoming August 14 auction there are more than 20 pieces of Nazi paraphernalia for sale.
Some of the most jarring items for sale include a yellowed armband a Jewish person would have been forced to wear in a Nazi-controlled ghetto, an Ordnungspolizei uniform displaying the feared “SS” symbol, an eagle swastika and skull pins that would have been worn on a Waffen-SS cap.
Danielle Elizabeth Antique & Estate Auctioneers managing director Dustin Sweeny told news.com.au they would continue to sell the items as long as it was legal to do so.
“I’m not a Nazi, we’re not a political party, we’re an auction house. In no way we are standing behind the ideology or what it stood for, you don’t wipe out history because you don’t like it,” he said.
“These items are not illegal, for all the people screaming about this – stop bashing up a small business. Go change the legislation or go to Canberra. The day this stuff is illegal we will stop selling them – we have to respect our vendors.”
The auctioneers were blasted after they sold s World War II Luftwaffe flag with a Nazi swastika in January.
Mr Sweeny said he had received similar backlash ahead of this month‘s auction.
“I received more than a hundred death threats from the sale in January. People were saying we were profiting off the Holocaust,” he said.
“In the last 24-hours, I have received another death threat about these items.”
It is currently legal to sell Nazi memorabilia in Australia, but governments have been moving to ban the items in a bid to counter surges in extremist ideology.
A Victorian parliamentary inquiry in March recommended the state establish a criminal offence for the public display of swastikas and Nazi symbols, with the report noting similar laws already exist in Germany, Russia and France.
The Victorian government is expected to legislate the recommendations, while a Queensland parliamentary inquiry into vilification and hate speech is due to deliver a report in January 2022.
The AFP is seeking to outlaw the display of Nazi or Islamic State flags to combat violent extremism.
Originally published as Gold Coast auctioneer ‘not a Nazi’ despite selling SS memorabilia
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