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I bet you think you know all about Adolf Hitler! Think again! |
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Adolf Hitler
Page 18
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Signed Photograph from Hitler’s Apartment (Item AH 18-1) |
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| DESCRIPTION: Here is an absolutely wonderful signed and dedicated picture from Adolf Hitler long before he was Chancellor of Germany, and the people’s Führer in 1930. It is an official Heinrich Hoffmann photo and it is a large one. The photo in the frame measures 15 1/4 x 12 inches. This picture was personally presented by Hitler to his housekeeper at his Munich apartment in 1930. We have written about Frau Anni Winter, the head housekeeper at the Prinzregentenplatz apartment. Adolf Hitler thought a great deal of Frau Winter and her husband, an officer of Hitler’s Leibstandarte-SS bodyguard division, LAH. You will read all about this in the gun article. You can see that Frau Winter stashed away as much of the paraphernalia that she could get away with in 1945. The GIs took much, but the speculative Anni grabbed some of the more important things along with this framed picture of her boss, whom she adored. The picture is personally signed to her with the noted greeting: “To my beloved Frau Winter with best wishes for Christmas, 1930-Adolf Hitler, Munich 1930.” The silver frame is engraved to read “München, Weihnachten 1930.” (“Weihnachten” means Christmas). The frame is marked very clearly with the moon and crown in a framed stamp and the ‘925’ silver content stamp and the ‘W’ for Wagner, one of the finest silversmiths of Munich. In April 1954, a Munich court ended a 3-year legal squabble over some of the remaining effects of Adolf Hitler. To little Frau Anni, his onetime housekeeper, the court awarded one well-used suitcase that belonged to Hitler, five copies of Mein Kampf, and three watercolors by Hitler. The 1954 edition of Time magazine mentioned this settlement and also pointed out that part of this settlement was a silver-framed photograph. This photo we offer is none other than this piece, but it is well known that these recovered items are not the only items Anni squirreled away. In the 1960s, she opened a small antique shop in Munich and for the most part sold normal everyday antiques, but when she was convinced that a customer was a serious historian with a genuine interest in Third Reich history and had a genuine interest in articles having to do with this fascinating era, she would go to the Gutezimmer, or good room, and produce an item or items that would amaze the beholder who might just be lucky enough to purchase it. Any words uttered that might serve to defame her former employer, suddenly the item would be withdrawn as fast as it appeared. She really was not profit motivated at all. When it came to these treasures she felt she was selling part of her life when she let something like this go. Seldom did she ever let any of the items go. She would never sell the silver Christmas frame while she was alive. That was her proudest possession in the world. However, after her death, the items were auctioned off in a famous Munich auction house and some of it was sold privately through that outlet; presumably by her relatives. This fabulous and important framed picture was part of the privately sold items. It is well known and was sold again by an American auction house dealing in military and personality items. This auction was on 20 December 2000. The auction certificate (hardly needed) stated correctly that this was exceptionally rare in that Hitler rarely did more than simply jot his name on such gifts, but to the beloved Anni, he did the honors on that Christmas of 1930. In 3 years he would be the leader of all of Germany, but for now, simply a friend and employer. The signature is visible, but faded almost as if his pen ran dry to some extent after writing the first part, but he must have been using a pen from a pen-and-ink set (desk type) when his pen point goes back to write “Christmas Dec. 1930.” You can see he dipped the pen again. His signature is clearly visible, however, to the beholder, when you look closely. The back of the frame is a fine Bakelite material or it would seem to be. Hitler articles are today considered fantastic investment pieces, and this one is one of the finest offered in the recent past. Hitler’s desk and chair are being offered in London at 500,000 pounds; close to a million dollars, and are expected to bring that much. This framed signature and the Hitler revolver on our site, as well as the desk and chair that are on auction all came out of the same apartment complex at the Prinzregentenplatz. It was probably at that desk that the future Führer signed this memento to Frau Winter. For sure, the revolver came from that desk drawer. The framed Winter gift would have to be as important as the desk; common sense would dictate that (we would certainly think so). This was a very personal item presented in what obviously was in the Christmas spirit to a person who figured closely into the life of this, the most-hated man and the most-adored figure of world history at virtually the same time. The desk—a utilitarian tool, no more no less. What do you think dear collector? I, for one, vote for the picture and the gun, but it will be interesting to see what the furniture actually brings, won’t it?
PRICE: Traded off - no longer available |
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“Wir wollen” “We Want” (Item AH 18-2; GEN 11-5) |
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| DESCRIPTION: These are the statements of the German führer to the people of Germany and the world at large. This was a statement of position concerning the will and the spirit of the National Socialist agenda of the German nation. This was from a speech made just after Hitler was elected the chancellor on March 5, 1933. This speech was made on the March 25, 1933. The whole of the great address is presented on a beautifully constructed wooden plaque. Around the edges are 18 shields depicting the various German provinces such as Saxony, Brandenburg, Lippe-Detmold, Prussia, Bavaria, Mecklinburg, Wurtenberg, Hannover, and the Hanseatisches states. At the top is the German state eagle shown without swastika (too early). However, in the letters that form the large “Wir Wollen,” tiny swastikas are interwoven in each of the letters. The entire plague is made to resemble marquetry (and does!). It measures 20 x 13 inches. On the back it still has the tag of the manufacturer and it has number ‘9159’ stamped along the edge. Perhaps this is an inventory number from whatever school, office, or government building where it hung. This is a very showy piece of Third Reich history and important, indeed.
PRICE: $495.00 |
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Book Mussolini Erlebt Deutschland (Item AH 18-3; I-FAS 3-5) |
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| DESCRIPTION: The book Mussolini Experiences Germany is a 100-page pictorial of the visit of the Italian leader to Germany in 1937 (a good year), with a foreword by Dr. Otto Dietrich, the Reich’s press chief. It was produced by Heinrich Hoffmann, the Führer’s personal photographer and one of his closest friends. Fully pictorial, this is a photographer’s masterpiece. It has great photos of the Führer and Il Duce plus all the ceremonies. You will see the gaily bedecked streets of Berlin and Munich, many of the NSDAP and Fascist leaders, adoring crowds, important buildings, etc. This is a fantastic book that brings to life the glory days of the German and Fascist Reichs. There is a sheet that is a Christmas greeting tucked inside that presents this pictorial work as a gift, with a facsimile signature of the Reichsschassmeister. What a great volume in good shape and prodigiously important to the person who is interested in this stage of the Pact of Steel to later emerge.
PRICE: $375.00 |
Page Eighteen |
Please refer to item designator in parentheses in all correspondence.
