On Friday (July 2), auctioneer Walter Behringer completed a sale of memorabilia and militaria which included a fascinating collection of documents relating to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, expecially his time in jail following the 'Beer Hall Putsch' when he was writing Mein Kampf.
The documents relating to Hitler's time in Landsberg prison were recently found by a Nuremberg man amongst his father's possessions. Nearly 500 in total relate to Hitler, though only one has actually been signed by him.
Amongst the document is a visitation card indicating that General Enrich Ludendorff came to visit Hitler repeatedly as did Ernst Roehm, later the leader of the SA (Stormtroopers) and Nazi 'intellectual' Alfred Rosenberg. Ludendorff was a highly regarded WWI General.
A letter signed by Hitler, or rather the copy of it held by the prison, concerned Hitler's desire to buy a Mercedes and concerns that he would not be able to afford one. He contacted a car dealer and requested at loan.
"...the hardest thing for me at the moment lies in the fact that the biggest payment for my work is not expected until the middle of December," he wrote in September 1924 to dealer Jacob Ferlin. The work in question is Mein Kampf, which would be a great financial success.
| Hitler's later use of Mercedes cars |
Once wealth and power came to Hitler, he assembled a fleet of Mercedes cars. The letter marks an interesting moment when he was at a turning point: poor and uncertain of his book's success, Hitler was at the centre of moving forces which would lead to WWII.
The collection beat its €25,000 estimate to sell to an anonymous bidder for €27,000. The letter from Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele to his wife (mentioned in our previous article) written during WWII goes under the hammer on Thursday at Bloomsbury Auctions in London.
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