“Sick in the stomach” | Nazi memorabilia to be sold at Melbourne auction

Neil Mitchell has questioned whether laws are required to ban the sale of Nazi items in Australia after it emerged memorabilia was set to be sold in Melbourne.

It left members of the Jewish community horrified.

“I would have hoped you didn’t need a law against this, you’d hope common sense would stop it,” Neil Mitchell said.

The items have since been pulled from sale.

Several European countries, including Germany, have laws against such items being sold.

Dr Dvir Abramovich is the chairman of the anti-defamation commission.

He said it was “disgusting and obscene” and had left him sick in the stomach.

“These are not toys,” Dr Abramovich said.

“This hateful material has no place in Australia.”

Downies Australian Coin Auctions confirmed it had received a complaint about the matter and had taken the decision to remove the items from sale.

“Our business has always operated on the highest standards when conducting auctions, ensuring both vendors and buyers are provided with a professional service,” Sally Spaul said in a statement.

“We recognise in this instance the material, although only a small section in the overall sale, does reflect a very dark era in history.

“As with all our consignments, it has been catalogued on a purely factual basis, and has not received promotion in any way.

“That said, we are a family owned and operated company with a strong set of values which guide the way we do business.

“We have therefore taken the decision to withdraw these items from the current sale and have reviewed our policy to no longer take consignments of Third Reich material.”

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