Lebanese man buys Hitler memorabilia to ensure ‘they don’t fall into bad hands’
Swiss-based Abdallah Chatila stumped up £513,000 for items including the Nazi dictator's top hat, which he agreed to donate to a Jewish group
A businessman has purchased Adolf Hitler’s top hat and other Nazi memorabilia from a German auction in order to keep them out of the hands of neo-Nazis, and has agreed to donate them to a Jewish group.
Abdallah Chatila, a Lebanese Christian who has lived in Switzerland for decades, told The Associated Press he paid 600,000 euros (£513,000) for the items at the Munich auction last week, intending to destroy them after reading of Jewish groups’ objections to the sale.
“I wanted to make sure that these pieces wouldn’t fall into bad hands, to the wrong side of the story, so I decided to buy them,” he said.
Shortly before the auction, however, he decided it would be better to donate them to a Jewish organisation, and got in touch with the Keren Hayesod-United Israel Appeal group.
Mr Chatila is never going to even see the items – which also include a silver-plated edition of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” and a typewriter used by the dictator’s secretary – that will be sent directly to the group, he said.
“I have no direct interest whatsoever, I just thought it was the right thing to do,” he said.
Neither Keren Hayesod nor the Hermann Historica auction house responded to requests for comment.
Keren Hayesod’s European director told France’s Le Point magazine, however, that while no final decision had been made on what to do with the items, they would likely be sent to Israel’s Yad Vashem memorial which has a selection of Nazi artefacts.
The European Jewish Association (EJA), which had led the campaign against the auction going ahead, applauded Mr Chatila for stepping in.
“Such a conscience, such an act of selfless generosity to do something that you feel strongly about is the equivalent of finding a precious diamond in an Everest of coal,” EJA chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin wrote Chatila in a letter provided to the AP.
“You have set an example for the world to follow when it comes to this macabre and sickening trade in Nazi trinkets.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
