Description
Product Description: This six piece Informal Adolf Hitler Silverware Set is an amazing, GI veteran bring-back set with documentation. This extremely rare silverware dining set consists of a butter knife, fish knife, dessert spoon, soup spoon, dinner fork, and an informal table napkin. All of the pieces are made of “800” silver (80 percent silver, a typical German alloy) and are stamped with the correct hall marks for the silversmith firm of “Bruckmann.” The blade of the butter knife is stainless steel and is marked as such. All of the pieces have a nice, even patina, and, consistent with the documentation provided with them, most likely have been together since the end of the war. The linen napkin measures 29cm x 29cm, with no staining or damage. All of the pieces have a textbook eagle and swastika with “AH” monogram, marking these as the property of Adolf Hitler. The pieces are housed in a hinged black box with a leatherette exterior. The inner lid of the box has a brief typewritten description of where the pieces were liberated and the silver content. An accompanying handwritten letter supposedly written by the liberating veteran’s sister also accompanies the set. This extremely desirable Adolf Hitler Silverware Set is in excellent plus condition.
Historical Description: Personal property of enemy leaders was a high-prestige category for Allied soldiers hungry for souvenirs of their exploits. Government facilities in captured areas were often thoroughly looted, sometimes while fighting was still ongoing. Military and political leaders during the war occupied a wide range of facilities, from private homes and official offices, to ships or trains used for transport. Anything that could be tied to an infamous personality was extremely sought-after. At Hitler’s mountain home in Berchtesgaden, the GI occupation authorities became so inundated with souvenir seeking soldiers that they put up a sign jokingly telling people to help themselves to the driveway gravel. Even small pieces of the fireplace and other furnishings were taken and sometimes incorporated into other souvenir objects. In cities like Munich, buildings like the “Brown House” and the “Führerbau” were stripped of items belonging to Hitler and other leaders. A not-insignificant quantity of these personality items was brought back to the US by returning GIs, including uniforms and headgear, formal and informal silverware and table furnishings, books and paperwork of all kinds.
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