Featured What to do about certain WWII memorabilia

I’ve seen this topic come up from time to time, and wanted to see what you all think. It is a bit sensitive.

We all know soldiers captured and kept souvenirs from enemy soldiers during WWII. I have some German pieces, of what looks like some sort of hat piece and also a skull ring (which of course I know what that means).

They were not souvenirs brought home by any of our relatives. About 35 years ago, a veteran gave them to a member of my family. That family member is now deceased. I don’t want them. I don’t think the national WWII museum wants them. I want to just throw them away in the trash; part of me says not to do it, because they are part of history, but the other part of me says there is enough of this stuff already in existence that these couple of pieces will make no difference. They aren’t photographs needed to document a historical event. If they were valuable, such as a pistol or flag, I would find a museum for donation.

I have them in a nondescript bag in my garage, as I don’t want them in my house. I certainly don’t want them, particularly the skull ring, to end up in the wrong hands. These items should never be worn again.

I am not passing judgment on any soldier who brought these home. And, as indicated, it might be a different scenario if my grandfather were the one who had brought them home. I have zero connection to these items. It is impossible to return them to the family of the soldier who brought them home, as I do not know his name or anything else about him.

Any thoughts?

 

I don't know what you have, but Googling brings up this museum. Maybe they'd take a donation.

https://www.gettysburgmuseumofhistory.com/product-tag/nazi/

 

I don't think you should be afraid to post pictures. They are inanimate war relics from 80+ years ago. Other people have posted pics of WWII German military items.

There are a lot of knowledgeable people here, you could find out if they are common or rare.

 

ww2 era German things....... as u can't document them....... their stories lost in time.

melt the ring, burn the hat piece....... be done with them..

 

An original Third Reich SS Honor Ring (SS-Ehrenring / Totenkopfring) could be worth 4K to 8K pounds at auction.
If genuine you could auction off the piece and donate all proceeds to a worthy cause.

 

History is history, and all history is invaluable in one way or another, even those parts of it which originated from evil. Destroying historic artifacts doesn't make evil disappear.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -- George Santayana

 

Sedona doesn't want them to end up in the wrong hands, particularly the skull ring.
If you auction the skull ring off, it will certainly end up in the wrong hands. Neo-nazis will bid much higher than a museum ever could.

 

Can't cancel history even though people try. It may be worth a small fortune - check into auctions or private buyers if you want to get rid of them.

 

OTOH, I'd advertise that the proceeds were going to World Kitchen or some such, which might draw out a few real collectors and might put off the skinheads. Destroying historical artifacts doesn't change what the original wearer did, but getting into a scumbag's pocket to fund something good...not the worst idea.

 

Sedona writes....

"I don’t want them. I don’t think the national WWII museum wants them. I want to just throw them away in the trash; part of me says not to do it, because they are part of history, but the other part of me says there is enough of this stuff already in existence that these couple of pieces will make no difference."

Did I not read this right..?

They're hers, & she can do as she pleases with them....

Tossing them will not destroy evil , or cancel history....

but if it makes her feel better......... I say go for it !

 

Unless you opt to destroy them (which I wholly approve - “we need everything” is the hoarder’s manifest), a museum is the absolute best choice. I work for somewhere with museum accreditation, here in Scotland… a lot of places will either accept it or offer to responsibly destroy it for you, depending on their resources.

 

Good to see you Van !!!

 

You read it right - kinda makes you wonder why this thread was even posted. Seems like her mind was made up from the start so why even ask our opinions in the first place?!

 

because..... even if she had a course of action planned....... hearing from a diverse crowd , with whom you've had previous interaction, and a certain level of trust.... is a smart thing to do, and having an open mind may lead to her changing her opinion , or solidify her own thoughts.

If u only listen to a single voice...... there's no way to make an informed decision.

Like every cat knows...... it never hurts to ask !

 

y'see, even your question....is as valid as hers !

You want...nay , need , more information to come to a reasonable conclusion !!

 

On a tangentially related note...
We often refer folks here to "Net54," the sports cards-and-memorabilia forum, when someone on Antiquers asks about something a little outside our own narrow subset of sports memorabilia knowledge. A very interesting discussion thread began over there earlier this week -- maybe the topic deserves a separate thread here on the Antiquers board...
Personal items acquired as part of a purchase
https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=350487

 

I once bought, for pennies, a stack of family negatives and letters along with some wedding proof photos. (the wedding gown was killer) The family didn't want them, but a cousin out of state sure did; he was into geneaology. Just because the immediate family doesn't want them doesn't mean they're not wanted.

 

Neighbour 2 doors down quit his apartment ..... the family memories he left behind on the front lawn stunned me..... to the point that I felt compelled to pick thru it and take some of it home...

His Mom had died a few years back , Dad...uncertain......and I never saw other family so I suspect an only child....... still..

 

No matter what, it's always sad to see a family history hitting the trash pile.

 

Thank you, everyone. I greatly appreciate the thoughtful responses.

I’m not so naive as to think throwing them away will eliminate evil on the world (if it were only that easy…). We’ve had family members murdered in the Holocaust; others were tortured, but survived. I’ve personally visited not just a concentration camp, but also the Yad Vashem museum in Israel. If these were historically significant relics, the decision to donate them would’ve been easy. The Yad Vashem, for instance, has photos of murders in progress, shall we say, taken by the soldiers who did the atrocities. Many of the existing photos we have in the world today were taken by soldiers who were proud of what was going on. Photos should not be destroyed. They document an event, and each one is important.

A few years ago I visited one of the major antique swap meets in Los Angeles. It was jarring to find a booth that sold 8x10 headshot photos (duplicates, of course) of prominent Nazis. While those original photos belong in a museum, I ask who would actually want an 8x10 glossy of a Nazi leader in their home? How much more so an authentic skull ring? I’ve seen enough of them online to know they are not particularly rare. Anyone curious as to what a skull ring looks like can look it up.

Unlike a photograph, or a journal, I do not believe there is anything to be learned from looking at these items.

I’m also the default family historian, and I have a ton of photos of long gone relatives, birth announcements from the 1930s, and my grandfather’s own WWII medals, etc. Believe me, I do preserve our family history, and have boxes and boxes to prove it.

So, I posted because I am not one to toss old memorabilia in the trash, and I value the opinions of like-minded people.

This wasn’t memorabilia collected by anyone in my family, these items ended up in my house without my having any input into it, and there is no way to return them to the giver. I’m not fully committed to throwing them away, and I will check further to see if any museum wants them.