Adolf
Hitler's 'sinister' blood-red telephone - on which he ordered the
deaths of millions of Jews - is up for grabs at auction.
Adolf Hitler
Alexander Historical Auctions, located in Maryland, has a unique
lot available on its website right now: Adolf Hitler’s personal bunker
phone.
The chipped, red, rotary handset was taken right from the German
leader’s bunker following the capture of Berlin in 1945 and is expected
to fetch as much as $300,000 to $500,000 from a specialist collector.
While most people might shy away from items owned by history’s most
notorious war criminal, some like an off-beat, creepy vibe with their
collectibles. And there’s no denying that this is an important piece of
history.
The phone to be auctioned
The story of how the phone ended up on the auction block is an
interesting bit of history in itself, though. Following the Allied
occupation of Berlin, Brigadier Sir Ralph Rayner entered the city and
was given a tour by the Soviets. Purportedly, they offered him Eva
Braun’s phone as a souvenir, but eventually offered him this one
instead, when he claimed his favorite color was red.
That phone went home with him, and Rayner continued as a British
politician after the war. When he eventually died in 1977, the phone was
passed on to his son, Ranulf, who is now auctioning off the
one-of-a-kind artifact because the insurance costs for it have become
too great. He hopes that a museum will purchase it and preserve it for
posterity.
In his interview video, Ranulf explains that Hitler used the phone
as a portable device, taking it everywhere with him. It was used not
only in the bunker, but in trains and cars and in his field
headquarters. As the auction listing points out, an argument could be
made that this phone is one of the most macabre historical pieces in the
world, having borne the wishes of a man who ordered the extermination
of millions.
To confirm the device’s authenticity, the auctioneers have collated
reports from Hitler’s own personal telephonist, as well as historical
images of Brigadier Rayner and the handset in newspapers and private
collections.
Along with the handset itself, the lot comes with the original case
that Sir Rayner used to bring the phone back from Germany, along with
some of its wartime tags and stickers.
Watch the video below:
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