The German auction house Felzmann has canceled the sale of more than 600 Holocaust-related artifacts after intense pressure from survivor groups, European authorities, and historical memory organizations. The auction, titled “The System of Terror", included letters from concentration-camp prisoners, Gestapo files, and personal documents belonging to victims of the Nazi regime.
The International Auschwitz Committee condemned the initiative as “cynical and shameful,” arguing that such materials should not be treated as commodities but preserved in museums or returned to victims’ families. German authorities also criticized the sale, stressing that documents related to Nazi persecution belong in public memory institutions.
The controversy crossed national borders: Poland’s Foreign Minister, Radosław Sikorski, urged the German government to intervene to prevent “a scandal.” Under mounting pressure, Felzmann removed the catalog from its website and announced the complete cancellation of the auction.
