if you had a valuable nazi artifact, what would you do?

[mopinko]

would you sell it? would you donate it? would you burn it?
it may be an item of historical significance. i do not know, at this point, what it is worth, but i think it may be significant. i can't really afford to give it away if this is the case. if it is of moderate value, i would donate it to an appropriate organization.
but i can't stand the idea of it ending up in the hands of some hitler worshiper.
what would you do?

[Feathered Fish]

1. The father of a childhood friend

had a nazi sword mounted on the wall. His father killed the nazi that had it and stole it afterwards. I was always a little sickened by this - even as a kid.

[barb162]

2. send a photo of it to the Holocaust Museum or a similar institution

(Simon Weisethal Center,etc) and ask them, their curators, if they want it.

[mopinko]

4. they might,

but i can't afford to donate it if it is valuable, and don't know if i would feel right taking their money if they would pay me.
i have been kicking this around in my head for a while. still no idea what to do.

[barb162]

20. then ask them if they can give an appraisal of it by photo and if

not, what specialty appraisers in your area could provide same

[spunky]

3. You could give it to a museum on loan

You would still retain ownership of it, but they would store it and would have to gain your permission if they wanted to loan it to another museum. That way you don't have to keep it around, and it can serve a useful purpose in educating people on the holocaust.

[mopinko]

7. that doesn't get me the money, tho.

[spunky]

15. If you donate it, rather than loaning, you can

probably claim it on your taxes.

[mopinko]

21. if it is of small value, i will.

if it is worth a lot, well, my taxes are not that high.

[Beware the Beast Man]

5. Keep it, since you seem to have a good conscience about it.

Really, any item pertaining to a particular era is of historical significance.

[-..__...]

What exactly is the artifact?

Are you certain if it's even genuine or a fake/copy?

[mopinko]

10. it's a rare book

and i haven't had it appraised, but i am getting ready to.
pretty sure it is authentic, due to where it was found.

[-..__...]

19. Perhaps this person could advise you.

Or direct you to someone who could?

http://www.museumofworldwarii.com/

[zbdent]

30. Hope it's not

Hitler's secret diaries . . .

[-..__...]

37. Can't be...

I have those. B-)

[Fleshdancer]

6. I met a guy several months ago with a nazi artifact

he kept going on and on about how he only had it because of its historical value, which I guess could be valid, but he specifically took my husband and I to his home office to show it off which creeped me out. I have no interest in someone attempting to impress me with hate artifacts.

For me personally, I wouldn't want something like that in my home...seems like it should be bad karma or something. :shrug:

[Beware the Beast Man]

9. It's one thing keeping an artifact as a rememberance, good or bad.

It's another when someone shows undue adoration for it.

[Red_Viking]

8. There are laws regulating this kind of thing

They deal with Cultural Property, who should have title to it, and whether or not it should be repatriated. Each country has different laws, but there is an overarching UNESCO treaty from 1970 dealing with cultural property.

I suggest you take it to a museum and ask them to look at it for you. The good news is most countries who require repatriation also allow for generous compensation. Heck, the museum might even buy it from you.

If you don't want to take it to a museum, try calling an attorney who deals in art law. You may not have to give the item up, but if you do, you most likely would be compensated.

Let us know what happens!

Peace,

RV

[LibertyLover]

11. Artifact

Depending on the type of artifact, I would consider taking a picture and send it to a museum to see if they could give me some idea about it.

Military artifact: West Point Museum or Smithsonian
Holocaust artifact: Holocaust Museum in DC
Social artifact: Smithsonian

Another possibility is to check out the companion book to Antiques Roadshow and see if they have any experts on military memorabilia listed and contact them.

Or, check in the yellow pages and see if there is an antiques dealer near you that specializes in the particular type of artifact. But don't take their appraisal as the last word. Get at least one more appraisal.

Depending on where you live, some groups, like museums, will sponsor a "free appraisal day". I know that the Smithsonian in DC does, sometime in the spring I think. That might be a starting point.

Only after you know if it has any value or not can you make a determination about what to do with it. I personally would probably either sell it, preferably to a museum, or donate it to a collection so that it could be studied and seen by many.

Good luck.

[jswordy]

12. THAT'S AN EASY ONE!

Sell it on eBay, like These Folks Do!!!!

[mopinko]

14. i can't stand the idea

of selling to just anyone. that is the problem. if it ended up in some skinhead's shrine, i couldn't stand it.

[jswordy]

25. Yeah, I sell a lot of stuff, and one thing I have learned is...

...that once the cash trades hands, you have no control whatsoever over the commodity sold. The buyer can tell you all kinds of stuff, but once he owns it, he can do whatever he wishes.

(I'd still sell the artifact.)

[arwalden]

13. Loan It To A Museum...

... and you'll get a little gold plaque displayed near the item that says "On Loan From The Collection Of Mopinko". Win-win.

They benefit by having the artifact on dispaly. Others can appreciate its historical value. You keep it out of the hands of those with a Nazi-fetish. It's cared for. You have the option of retrieving it or selling it at some future date.

What's the item anyway?

[mopinko]

16. see #10

i don't want to say more for fear of feeling really stupid when i find out for sure. but i am going to try to find something out today, and will post.

[arwalden]

24. Sounds Interesting...

... I'd hardly consider it to be "stupid" because you don't know if something is authentic or valuable. That's what the experts are for. In the absense of any concrete information about your book, it's only natural to let one's mind wander and consider the possibilities.

I'll be interested in hearing what happens. Check back and let us know what you find out, and what it's final disposition is.

[Dukkha]

17. Check this out

A guy I know bough a vintage tube amplifier. He inspected the tubes and found this

[mopinko]

28. whoa!

[MadHound]

38. That reminds me

Next time you're around gas cylinders, the kind for helium, argon, that sort of thing, check around the top for the eagle and swastika. Apparently in the mop up after the war, a plethora of gas cylinders made their way from Germany to the US and due to the long life of a cylinder, they are some still in circulation. I've seen two in my life, one when I was a kid at the welding shop, and the other was five years ago at a machine shop. Rather creepy.

[LynneSin]

18. I would have a tough time profitting off of it

If I did make any money from selling it I would donate the money to a worthy cause.

[mopinko]

27. i AM having a tough time

that is why it has been stored away for a long time without a lot of thought about it. i just got curious today, and am kinda floored.

i know that no matter what i will have to do something to "wipe the blood off". but i am not a wealthy person.

[LynneSin]

32. Try not to profit off of it from someone who would take joy out of owning.

Nazi stuff.

[FarLeftRage]

22. Is it an autographed copy

of Mein Kampt?

My Uncle has one and he's kept it stored away somewhere without a second thought about it.

[lectrobyte]

23. Depends on the item

I don't think I'd want to profit from it, if I had something like that, perhaps donate it to the Holocaust museum.

[spunky]

26. Given its a book, that also opens up libraries.

A library would certainly accept donation (if its small value and you could claim it on your taxes). I don't know if they would be willing to buy it from you for their collections though.

[hunter]

29. Sort of the same as having old South African gold...

I've been in both of these situations, but it's never been a significant amount of money to me, so fortunately I could give it away to people who would never let it fall back into the hands of the sort of monsters who created it.

Even if you needed the money I think you could find a way to sell it in such a way that the evil within the artifact would be forever killed.

In a way I am almost superstitious about this sort of thing, but realistically you don't want some neonazi white racist to get their hands on this sort of stuff. Such objects might be empowering to them.

[zbdent]

31. You mean something like receipts from Hitler for

money from Prescott Bush?

;)

[mopinko]

33. well, i'm off to dig it out of storage

so that i will at least know if it is what i think it is.

[Quakerfriend]

39. Go to abebooks.com and compare it

to others they are selling, to determine its value. They do not buy from individuals, but atleast then you will know its worth.

[Sporadicus]

34. I Inherited a Nazi Political Banner from My Father-in-Law

He took it from atop a building in some Belgian city during the Battle of the Bulge. I took the flag to the George S. Patton Museum at Fort Knox, but the curator told me that they didn't need it. The flag that I had - red background, white circle with black swastika in the middle - was a political banner, and they were very common. The main portion of the flag was a coarse woolen fabric; the texture reminded me of burlap. The white circle, which seemed like a more ordinary cotton fabric, was sewn onto the red woolen part. Seems every GI returning from ETO had one or two stashed among their personal effects. The curator told me that military flags - with unit insignia along with the ubiquitous swastika - were much more rare, and that he would accept any of those I could find, especially if they pertained to any of Patton's campaigns.

I had no intention of keeping that flag, however, but I did have a bit of fun with it before I sold it to a collector of military memorabilia. I took it to work so I could photograph it with a digital camera - still a rarity in that day. I spread the flag across a CMM table, which was the largest flat surface I could find; the flag was nearly 11 feet in length. All that evening, I had visitors coming by, and every time someone would come in the CMM room, I would pretend to be very annoyed - as if they were disrupting a sacred ceremony. I got some very strange looks from people until they found out I was merely joking. The larger the crowd of people in on the joke grew, the more surprised new visitors became.

[Ganja Ninja]

35. My father brought home one of those long Nazi banners ...

after the war and my mother made it into pants for me and my brothers.

[JVS]

36. Sell it!

[UncleSepp]

40. Most collectors, especially of books, are not Nazis themselves

Sell it, if you don't want to keep it. I have a number of books on the subject and a few letters from the era, as it is something I very much wanted to understand. I know other people who definitely aren't "Hitler worshippers" who would buy books and things like that.

Let me know what it is and what you want for it, and I might be able to help find a buyer you can feel safe about.

[mopinko]

41. ok, here is what it is-

as far as i can tell so far-
(it is not what i thought it might be.)
it is interesting anyway-
i think it may be an original copy of "ich kampfe" which was the "manual" for new inductees into the nazi party. i have gone to a few of the book sites, and find references to a re-issue that has translations. (and is worth about $50.) but this one is only in german.
it is a beautifully printed and illustrated book. many black and white photos, quite a few color plates. very beautiful, though thoroughly creepy.
it is in no mare than fair condition. some yellowing of the pages and a frayed corner on the cover. (which appears to be linen? fairly coarse woven.) don't know about the grading guidelines.

anybody know anything about this?

ok, i have to go meet the hubby for dinner. i'll check back in later.