This armband — which the eBay seller katviktod insists was “used in concentration camp Auschwitz” — was purchased on Saturday for $152.50, plus $6 shipping and handling. Like Jews during Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime, gays were also forced to wear their version of a scarlet letter: the pink triangle, a symbol that our community has worked hard to reclaim as our own. I’m not sure how I feel about items like these being sold on the open market.
“This is very important example of the history,” wrote the seller in the item description, which included an estimated sale price of $300-$350. “A very sad reminder of a very sad time, but nevertheless a real piece of Jewish history to teach your children or for the avid collector of these items. You will appreciate and respect these items as we do not want to forget what these people went through. As long as we keep the memory alive in these collectibles, we will always honour the sacrifice. These items are perfect for education purposes or just adding to your display. Whatever the reason is these are very unique items. Show them to your friends, and help your children learn. These items were used in history by those who were unwillingly subjected to the crewel world of War. MUSEUM grade item that puts a face on the Holocaust that any human being can grasp. I believe these items will remind everyone of that awful period of history. The items do not promote or glorify violence, racial or religious intolerance and are selling only for historical purpose to people who are interested in World history.”
I do believe we can distribute and collect items of such horrific historical significance without dishonoring the memory of the estimated 5,000-15,000 gays slaughtered under the Nazi regime, or the 150,000 who were rounded up. These items, most certainly, should not be discarded or destroyed. They are part of our history. But unless I had a personal attachment to the item (say, a grandfather who was forced to wear one of these), I’m not sure I would want it in my own home. That’s not to say nobody else would, but I think museums were made for items like these. And by all means, to the person who won the auction: do not wear it. Please.
Richard in DC
Gives me the chills just looking at it.
Rachel
ugh me too:/
GuyDads
As labor and death camps were liberated in Europe at the end of WWII, thousands of
‘liberated’ homosexual inmates were in fact once again imprisoned and were forced to serve out their terms. Paragraph 175 was a provision of the German Criminal Code that prohibited sex between men. It was on the books from 1871 to 1994. In the US, it wasn’t until June 2003 that the US Supreme Court ruled in “Lawrence v. Texas” that state laws criminalizing private sexual activity (including sodomy) between consenting adults was unconstitutional.
Simon
It’s forbidden in my country to sell such symbols, he should send it to the museum in Auschwitz, not making money of it. BTW. Why do you use ‘nazi’ instead of ‘deutsch’ – NSDAP had 92,2% of votes in Germany. So it looks like whole society, not only few sociopaths gathered in evil plan.
Shannon1981
Ugh I can’t even look at this, turns my stomach. Send it to a museum, but please, for the love of every deity I don’t believe in, don’t flaunt it on ebay. Inappropriate IMO.
Rachel
I am both fascinated and disturbed by this auction. This is indeed something historic and a relic of an awful period of time, but something like this… It feels like it belongs in a museum, not casually up for auction on ebay.
Nathan
He is perfectly free to sell it if he wants, if you don’t approve ignore it and move on.
reason
If I knew it was available, I would have purchased it.
CT
?t says “WWII armband for homosexual Auschwitz Dachau camp”
Auschwitz and Dachau are two different places. Auschwitz is in Poland, Dachau in Germany.
If it looks like a fake, it probably is a fake.
guest
I am not sure why there is controversy over this person selling this? I wouldn’t want it in my house…Too much bad juju…But I really don’t see the problem with stuff like this being in personal collections.
@CT:
People throw in all kinds of words into eBay item titles of varying relevance to the actual item in question.
missanthrope
There are a lot fakes out there in the World War II memorbilia world, and items related to the holocaust are probably the most faked items. There weren’t many people who wore the pink triangle compared to the number of people who wore the other badges, so I’d doubt that this would turn up on ebay, much less only fetch $152.00 in the process.
I hope I’m right and this isn’t a part of our history being sold.
“Why do you use ‘nazi’ instead of ‘deutsch’ – NSDAP had 92,2% of votes in Germany. So it looks like whole society, not only few sociopaths gathered in evil plan.”
There’s a lot more gray area than Goldhagen/Sonderweg-type thesis can explain for. Hitler would have lost the last two elections in 1932-’33 and unless you’re quoting a statistic after 1933, when there were NO OTHER parties to vote for and you would have been arrested for voting otherwise, then that statistic is false.
Dom
@Simon:
After 1933 there were no other parties than NSDAP. Before that the party has never reached a majority vote in German Parliament. Only by the support of other parties Hitler could transform the country into a one-party state.
I don’t see why one should use the term “deutsch” (German) instead of “nazis” in this article. Maybe you can call them Nazi-Deutsche (Nazi-Germans). For sure most Germans supported the Nazi regime at that time, but the meaning of the word “deutsch” is just too general to describe the wrongdoers of the past. My passport says “deutsch”. Accidentally, I was born this way in 1984 and I can’t help it.
Zekester
Why is this “a real piece of JEWISH history”?
Not once does he mention what the symbol actually stood for, not even in his disclaimer, “The items do not promote or glorify violence, racial or religious intolerance…”
Richard
I am the one who bought this peice. It is an integral part of my personal collection. It has been authenticated and is very real. It is being kept very safe, and never worn. I buy these peices to preserve the history and what it means to me.
Tom
Exactly the same armband pictured here is for sale again on ebay from a Greek seller and with a starting bid of $130. Most fishy.