Holocaust Star offered for sale in the classified section

[Gunny Hartmann]

I have only two thoughts to add to this excellent thread. I think that the sale of any artifact on this Forum should be limited to genuine artifacts. If reproductions or fakes do slip in, they should be removed immediately upon identification. Secondly, I would not like to see any ban on any type of genuine artifact that has historical value, and that includes the so-called "hate symbols" usually associated with the NSDAP and all its functions. I don't believe that Ebay-type hyper sensitivity has a place on a Forum whose membership is as serious about the hobby and as thoroughly committed to historical accuracy as the members of this Forum are. And I will add that the members who have contributed to this thread are excellent examples of the sort of collectors that make this Forum unique and exceptionally valuable to those who genuinely want to learn. Dwight

Very well said.

[HARRY THE MOLE]

I never criticise anyone for what they choose to collect. If you start going down that path it will only come back to haunt you. It is only because people collect that anything survives. If nothing had a monetary value it is highly likely it would be thrown out with the rubbish. As a youngster, much of the german militaria I had came from the local rubbish tip - or from neighbours who were throwing it out.

[CARL]

I have only two thoughts to add to this excellent thread. I think that the sale of any artifact on this Forum should be limited to genuine artifacts. If reproductions or fakes do slip in, they should be removed immediately upon identification. Secondly, I would not like to see any ban on any type of genuine artifact that has historical value, and that includes the so-called "hate symbols" usually associated with the NSDAP and all its functions. I don't believe that Ebay-type hyper sensitivity has a place on a Forum whose membership is as serious about the hobby and as thoroughly committed to historical accuracy as the members of this Forum are. And I will add that the members who have contributed to this thread are excellent examples of the sort of collectors that make this Forum unique and exceptionally valuable to those who genuinely want to learn. Dwight

Dwight, its people such as yourself who make this the finest forum around. And believe me, I've been on a few. You have written some fine comments above, which, as I have noticed, is typical of the contribution that you continue to make to this forum.

Regards,

Carl

[drmessimer]

Tiger88: Thanks for the generous compliment, but you don't do too shabby a job yourself when it comes to comments. In fact, there are a lot of people on this Forum who express themselves well. I'm not usually a horn blower, but the quality of the members on this form in regard to expertise and expression is truly unusual. As my late good friend Stuart McKelvey used to say about people he admired, "They are very civilized." Dwight

[HARRY THE MOLE]

I forgot to add that at the Liverpool militaria fair on November 25th, one stall-holder had a few examples of the star of David - along with concentration camp tokens. I have rarely seen this stuff for sale before. But I do recall several years ago that someone I knew had a few empty cans of Zyklon 'B'. I remember thinking at the time that perhaps they should have been handed over to a Synagogue to use in a holocaust memorial. I do not remember what happened to them though. I really don't like what some people choose to collect, but I would never think of questioning their right to collect it.

[Reynard]

The most important thing is that the item is seen for what it is and for what it represents.

If you inherit one of these stars, then that's different; it becomes a piece of family history in much the same way as inheriting military insignia and medals. But it is the story behind the star that gives it its true value - one which is not necessarily monetary.

My opinion is that it really ought to be in a museum rather than in a personal collection (assuming it is genuine of course) - a reminder to every single one of us that human beings have the ability to do unspeakable things to each other, commit genocide on an industrial scale, with laws passed by a totalitarian regime clothing that persecution in a thin veil of legitimacy.

Me personally, I would not seek one out to buy. I wouldn't feel comfortable.

Slightly off on a tangent, my mum was a little girl in occupied Belgium and she tells me that she remembers seeing people wearing the yellow Star of David on their clothes. She says her parents helped a few who were trying to get to France when the Wehrmacht pushed westwards (they lived on the coast near Oostende) but stopped when it became too risky.