Adolf Hitler's personal telephone is coming to auction in February.
The red Siemens phone, which features a swastika and Hitler's name on the reverse, accompanied the Fuhrer during the last years of the second world war.
Retrieved from Hitler's bunker following his suicide
It was on this phone that Hitler is believed to have ordered the execution of his brother-in-law, General Hermann Fegelein, for treason during the last days of the conflict.
Hitler also ordered the burning of his bunker following his and Eva Braun's suicides.
The phone crosses the block at Alexander Historical Auctions in the US on February 18-19 where it is expected to sell for $300,000.
Auctioneer Bill Panagopulos explains Hitler used the device like a mobile phone.
"This was Hitler's mobile device of destruction, used in vehicles, trains, his field headquarters, at the Wolf's Lair, and in the last desperate days deep beneath Berlin," he says.
"It is arguably the most destructive weapon of all time, used to send millions to their deaths around the world."
The phone's whereabouts have only just become known.
British brigadier Sir Ralph Rayner received the phone as a gift from Russian soldiers (who had recovered it from Hitler's bunker) in the aftermath of the conflict.
Hitler demanded the bakelite phone have a special red paint job
Rayner, among the first British officers to enter Berlin, kept it in a safe for years before bequeathing it to his son, Ranulf, when he died.
”It is a very sinister piece of equipment, when you think about what it was used for," Ranulf explains.
"The orders Hitler shouted down the phone's mouthpiece, many of which are recorded in history, are a lesson we should never forget."
Adolf Hitler memorabilia can sell for considerable sums, despite its controversial nature. His tunic sold for $312,000 last year.
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