Lebanese Businessman in Switzerland Donates Hitler's Hat to Jewish Foundation

Varieties

November 26th, 6:47am

Geneva - Asharq Al-Awsat

A Nazi-era Luftwaffe insignia is seen on a hat in a cupboard at the auction house Hermann Historica in Munich. Reuters.

A Lebanese businessman living in Switzerland has offered Adolf Hitler's top hat and other former possessions he bought from an auction held in Munich to an Israeli foundation. During an interview with the French weekly Le Matin Dimanche, Abdallah Chatila, who made his fortune in diamonds and real estate in Geneva, said he "wanted to buy these objects so that they would not be used for neo-Nazi propaganda purposes. My approach is totally apolitical and neutral." During the auction held in Munich by the German auction house Hermann Historica on Wednesday, Chatila spent 545,000 euros on 10 lots including a top hat worn by Hitler, his cigar box and typewriter, as well as a luxury edition of his book "Mein Kampf" embossed with an eagle and a swastika that belonged to the Nazi leader Hermann Goering. "Far-right populism and anti-Semitism are spreading all over Europe and the world, I did not want these objects to fall into the wrong hands and to be used by people with dishonest intentions," Chatila said. Born in Beirut in 1974 to a family of Christian jewelers, Chatila is one of the 300 wealthiest people in Switzerland. He told the paper that the Nazi artifacts "should be burned, but that historians think that they must be kept for the collective memory." He said he had made contact with Keren Hayesod, which was acting for the building and development of the State of Israel, "I'm going to give them those objects… that should be exhibited in a museum." The auction sparked uproar in Germany, particularly in the Jewish community. Rabbi Menachem Margolin, president of the European Jewish Association (EJA), said earlier this month that Germany was "in the forefront in Europe with regard to the number of reported anti-Semitic incidents." "The EJA called on German authorities to oblige the auction houses to disclose the names of buyers, which could then be placed on a government list of people to watch," he added.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2008741/lebanese-businessman-switzerland-donates-hitlers-hat-jewish-foundation