Here’s a rather odd question… I have in my possession a piece of WW2 memorabilia that most people would find extremely offensive. It is a WW2 Nazi flag of the basic NSDAP variety pictured here. Let it be known that I am a rational person (OK that’s debatable but not with regard to this!) and hence am NOT a Nazi. Yet I have this thing packed in a closet in my apartment.
This was given to me by my grandmother, when my grandfather passed away in 1998. She was not comfortable having it in her house, but my grandfather had insisted on it since he said it had to be worth a ton. I’d like to get rid of the thing. I obviously am not comfortable with what it represents. Imagine if something happened to me, and the people cleaning out my apartment found the thing, ugh.
My grandfather was a Major in a tank battalion in the 10th Armored “Tiger” division, served in the Battle of the Bulge, and he was over in Europe for pretty much the entire US involvement in the war, so I know the thing’s legit. What I don’t know is what to do with the thing.
Is it even legal for me to have this thing? How would I get it authenticated? This particular flag is huge, 15-20 feet wide or so, so it must have been flown in a fairly prominent place. I never knew it existed until my grandfather died, so I never asked him where he took it from. It’s probably impossible to find that out now, but I’m sure a WW2 expert could authenticate the thing. How would I go about having that done? And then what would I do with it afterwards? Could I sell it to a collector, without it going to some Neo-Nazi (insert words only appropriate in the pit) type?
Or would a more ethical course of action be to donate it to a Holocaust museum as a tax writeoff? Or should I send this thing back to Germany, or maybe I’m actually legally required to? And does anyone have any idea what the thing may be worth?
A strange question, I know, but if I can find an answer anywhere, it’s the Dope!
mods: feel free to remove the ‘piec’ off the end of my topic. No idea how that got there.
Unless you’re in Germany (which has strict anti-Nazi laws) actually owning it shouldn’t be a problem. I’m assuming you’re in the U.S., so owning it is perfectly legal and protected by the First Amendment.
As to what to do with it, I can’t see any guarantee of keeping it out of the hands of Neo-Nazi types if you simply sell it, putting it on eBay or something. You could always donate it (or sell it, if they’re buying) to a museum for use in a WWII exhibit.
That may very well be the case, what I meant was that there’s no guarantee if you put it on eBay or simple sell it by other means that it won’t fall into the hands of the 88 crew.
What about getting it authenticated, though? My dad is a serious baseball memorabilia collector, and from watching him I know that if something’s not authenticated it’s next to worthless.
And yeah, I’m in the US, and I figured it would be protected under the 1st amendment.
Surely the heraldry people within the US Army (or at your local military museum) should be able to verify the flag without too much trouble?
Personally, I wouldn’t get too bent out of shape about the whole “OMG! Nazi Flag!” thing. Your Granfather was in the military during WWII and obviously got the flag as a trophy- in other words, that flag is now a symbol of the defeat of National Socialism And The Evil For Which It Stands.
If it were me, I’d keep the flag as a family heirloom, comfortable with the knowledge that it was acquired as a trophy and as such should remain as a family possession in recognition of that. Sure, it’s still a bit touchy to some people in some places today, but 50 years from now, when everyone involved in WWII and even their kids have passed away, that flag is going to have a lot more “pure historical” significance.
But if you were absolutely determined not to keep the flag, then I’d get in touch with a well-established and respected military museum, or better yet, your Grandfather’s old Unit, and see if they would like it. That way it’s not going to end up with people who… might not appropriately appreciate the historical significance of the flag in question.
I would agree with this suggestion. Especially about getting in touch with Grandfather’s old unit–it is possible they have a museum, and would love to have something like this that one of their guys picked up on the battlefield in WWII.
Go to Vegas and sell it on an episode of Pawn Stars. Rick will call in his buddy, who is an expert in Nazi flags, then offer you a fraction of what it’s actually worth. Then Chumlee will spill a milkshake on it, and the Old Man will curse while Big Hoss laughs.
Yeah, I wouldn’t get worked up over it. WWII was historical and there was lots of trophy taking. I’ve even seen lots of pictures of allied soldiers proudly displaying enemy flags. Your grandmother probably associates the thing with a lot of hardship and fear so her experience may be more personal. As an amateur military history buff, I love to see and touch that stuff…it makes it more real.
At FOrt Benning the museum has a display of Nazi weapons and stuff. As a background they have a huge Nazi Tolt flag. It is not really a flag, it is the banner hung off the box at an opera house.
It was capture by a young officer with the Third Army in Vienna. The guy had a long career in the Army. He used the thing as a run in his office. (“Go ahead, spit on it, I do every day!”)
I don’t know where you live, but I bet there is a VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) somewhere nearby. If you find them, they would be fascinated by the trophy. Because that’s what it is. Your grandfather’s war trophy. Tell them what you just told us and they can help you far more than we can.
Don’t be ashamed of the thing. It’s a war trophy! It has historical signifigance and value. Talk to the VFW
IAMNALawyer, but I doubt that you would be required to, since Nazi memorabilia are forbidden (unless in Museums). Frankly, we don’t want the stuff anymore. If you send it to Germany to an official agency, they will either give to a museum or destroy it (if the Museums already have enough of these types of flags - there were a lot of them around). Both these things you can do in your own country, too.
