Jewish leaders and Holocaust survivors expressed outrage Monday after an auction house in Jerusalem offered for sale a set of needle systems that were used by Nazis during World War II to tattoo numbers on the arms of Jewish prisoners at the Auschwitz death camp.
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How can it be that the world is about to mark the anniversary of Kristallnacht – Night of Broken Glass – yet Tzolman's Auction is looking to profit from the sale of stamps used by Nazis? said Rabbi Menachem Margolin, chairman of the European Jewish Association.
Margolin wrote a letter to Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar, calling on the lawmaker to put an end to the "despicable sale."
"I appeal to you personally to do everything in your power to prevent the humiliation of the victims and the sale of stamps that were used to burn the arms of millions of European Jews," he wrote. "The trade of such sensitive items cannot be allowed."
Eighty-nine-year-old old Naftali First, who survived Auschwitz, also condemned the move. "The stamps belong at Yad Vashem [Holocaust museum], not in private hands," he said.
Chairman of Yad Vashem Dani Dayan concurred, saying that contrary to private owners, at the museum "historical items are preserved, researched and serve as historical evidence for researchers and the general public."
Dayan also stressed that Yad Vashem opposed the trade of such items both because it was "morally wrong" and because it encouraged further sale and even counterfeit of Nazi memorabilia.
Tzolman's Auction said in a statement that it "has been working for many years to sell Judaica and collectibles in order to preserve the heritage of Israel and Judaism. The same is true of items that survived the terrible inferno. The items in question garnered great interest and extensive public discourse and preserve the memory of the Holocaust."
The auction house further said that it was trying to sell the items to an individual who would then donate them to a Holocaust museum. It also pointed out that the media was outraged because the auction house made the sale public.
"Had the sale been done under the table, it is doubtful whether people would have become acquainted with the Nazi atrocities," it said.
Tzolman's Auction said the stamps were "extremely rare" and "unmatched in historical significance" and estimated they would sell for $30,000-$40,000. Commission on the items is 25%.
The auction house is also offering for sale the Nazis' marketing and operation booklets which were made by the Aesculap company.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
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