Mein boxers, heil of a deal
Adolf Hitler’s underwear is headed for the auction block.
A pair of boxer shorts that belonged to the Nazi dictator, who apparently left them behind at a swanky Austrian hotel in 1938, will be put up for sale next week at an auction house in Chesapeake, Md.
The monogrammed linen boxers, described as “surprisingly large” because Hitler was an “atrocious dresser and preferred the loosest clothing” are expected to fetch between $4,000 and $5,000, according to the auction listing.
A signed copy of his racist manifesto, Mein Kampf, is expected to go for as much as $20,000.
The sale by Alexander Historical Auctions will also include Hitler’s globe, which was taken as a souvenir by an American soldier from his home in Bavaria and is expected to sell for as much as $100,000.
The racist memorabilia is coming up for grabs on the heels of the deadly protests in Charlottesville, Va., in which neo-Nazis and white supremacists shouted chants about Jews and other minorities.
Bill Panagopulos, president of the auction house, vowed to weed out any unsuitable buyers.
“If Richard Spencer were to walk in here or buy any of this online, I’d throw him out,” Panagopulos said, referring to the vocal white supremacist.
The auctioneer added that “Thesame kind of people who would buy a Confederate or Union sword or stamps are interested in these items.”
Other Third Reich memorabilia include an Adolf Hitler monogrammed cocktail glass for $750 to $1,000, and a parasol ownedbyHitler’s lover Eva Braun, which is expected to fetch as much as $1,500.
An Austrian family that owns the Parkhotel Graz apparently held on to the underwear for decades. Hitler had left them in his suite, until a grandson in the family decided to cash in on the drawers, according to the listing.