| THE RISE OF HITLER AND THE NAZI PARTY |
| |
| |
| Lot |
Photo |
Description |
Lot 1006 |
 |
Chaos and Revolt, Inflation and the Beer-Hall Putsch, Inflation and the low morale of the German people after World War I, created the atmosphere of unrest that led to Hitler and his new Nazi Party attempting to seize power in Munich on 8 Nov 1923 in what has become known as the Beer-Hall Putsch. 16 Nazis and three policeman were killed in the resulting riot. Four Exhibit pages including a cut signature of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who abdicated at the end of the war, and a cover addressed to him in exile; a cover from the German treaty delegation in Versailles cancelled with the special Peace Conference postmark; a cut signature and picture postcard of General Hans von Seekt, who despatched the Army to suppress the revolt, plus two picture postal cards remembering the 16 Nazi "martyrs"; and a group of German stamps (including imperfs) and a covers from the inflation period.
Estimate 300 - 400
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 1007 |
 |
Adolf Hitler - The Beer-Hall Putsch, Signed postcard, 28 March 1925. After his unsuccessful Beer-Hall Putsch (8 November 1923), Hitler was tried and imprisoned. After his release, in March of 1925, he and some early supporters attending a gathering of war vets signed the back of this picture postcard, among them: Ernst Röhm, who helped organize the SA (Storm Troopers) and later commanded the Brown Shirts; executed on "The night of the long knives"as a result of an alleged plot to overthrow Hitler, a plot that had been contrived by Hitler's henchmen as an excuse to get rid of Röhm [see also lot XXX]; Erich Ludendorff, the card's subject and part of The Putsch, he was a World War I hero and von Hindenburg's chief of staff; Wilhelm Breuckner (who has added a swastika after his signature), SA General and Putsch co-defendant and Hitler's chief personal adjutant; and Hermann Kriebel, commander of the nationalist group supporting Hitler and the military leader of the Putsch. Also includes a 1943 picture postcard from showing Hitler's cell at Landsberg prison. An exceptional piece with significant Third Reich historical importance.
Estimate 7,500 - 10,000
All four of these men were tried with Hitler for their part in Putsch, with all but Ludendorff being convicted and imprisoned.
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 1008 |
 |
Paul von Hindenburg (1847-1934), German field marshal and statesman, retired from the Prussian army in 1913 after an undistinguished career; recalled at the outbreak of World War I, he came to national attention, at the age of sixty-six, for defeating the Russian 2nd and 3rd Armies at Tannenberg in 1914; became Germany's supreme commander in 1916 and rose in the German public's esteem until he came to eclipse the Kaiser himself; retired again in 1919 but returned to public life one more time in 1925 to be elected as the second President of Germany.
Autograph Letter Signed, 21 October 1914. Formular fieldpost card to his nephew, a Lieutenant at Verdun, written only a month after his victory at Tannenberg. He congratulates his nephew at having won the Iron Cross and, referring to his own victory, states that he "…is grateful for God's help in being so successful." and adds, "…it was peculiar to be in a serious, heavy battle so close to home." The lack of postal marking indicates carriage outside the mails. Excellent historical content marking the beginning of Hindenburg's second career. Also includes 5pf and 15pf booklet panes of 6 and an additional Hindenburg picture postcard.
Estimate 1,500 - 2,000
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 1009 |
 |
Wilhelm Frick (1877-1946), Early supporter of Hitler who was named Minister of the Interior in 1933, one of only three original Nazi Cabinet members; later succeeded the murdered Reinhard Heydrich as Reichsprotektor of Bohemia & Moravia; tried at Nuremberg, where he was the only defendant not to testify on his own behalf; for his part in the passage of the Enabling Act and his role as overseer of the concentration camps—he was sentenced to death and was hanged.
Typed Statement Signed, 1 Sep 1945, while awaiting trial at Nuremberg, verifying his signature.
Estimate 300 - 400
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 1010 |
 |
Paul Loebe (1875-1967), Member of the German Reichstag (1920-33) and its president (1920-24 and 1925-32); imprisoned by the Nazis when they took power in 1933 and again in 1944 but Goering intervened to spare his life.
Three Autograph Letters Signed, one a postcard, one while President of the Reichstag.
Estimate 500 - 750
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 1011 |
 |
Baron Franz von Papen (1879-1969), German nobleman, Catholic politician, General Staff officer, German secret agent as a military attaché in the U.S.; Chancellor of Germany (1932); key member in the small clique of right-wing politicians responsible for Hitler's being named Chancellor in 1933, von Papen being named Vice-Chancellor; indicted at Nuremberg but acquitted on formal grounds, the tribunal deciding that his "political immoralities" were not under its jurisdiction.
Autograph Letter Signed, 14 September (ca 1914), "Somewhere in North Dacota [sic]", in English to an American friend, von Papen refers to "…the celebrated U.S. Secret Service, who is watching me now a good full year…".
Estimate 750 - 1,000
Von Papen was rather careless in his own right, a forgotten briefcase on a New York train leading to the discovery of his activities. He was deported as persona non grata for espionage. En route back to Germany, his luggage was confiscated and 126 check stubs were found showing payments to his agents. In April of 1916, a U.S. federal grand jury indicted Papen for a plot to blow up Canada's Welland Canal, which connects Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, but Papen was safely on German soil. Charges against him were apparently dropped when he became Chancellor of Germany.
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 1012 |
 |
Baron Franz von Papen, three postcard Autograph Messages Signed in the mid-1930s to American friend Mrs. Juliet Throckmorton in New York.
Estimate 500 - 750
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 1013 |
 |
Ernst Röhm (1887-1934), Close friend of Hitler, co-founded the SA (Storm Troopers) and later commanded the Brown Shirts; Röhm and his SA had many disagreements with the mainstream of Hitler's Nazi Party and he was eventually executed on "The night of the long knives"as a result of an alleged plot to overthrow Hitler, a plot that had been contrived by Hitler's henchmen as an excuse to get rid of Röhm.
Typed Letter Signed, 7 Sep 1932, as commander of the SA, to American Rev. C. Greenway, enclosing a photograph [not present]; also 1936 German postal card marking the completion of 1,000 km of the autobahn, which features a photo of Röhm standing behind Hitler as he turns a shovelful of earth; ironically, Röhm had been killed nearly three years earlier.
Estimate 500 - 750
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 1014 |
 |
Kurt von Schleicher (1882-1934), General, Defense Minister under Chancellor von Papen (1932), then succeeded him as the last Chancellor of the Weimar Republic (1932); assassinated by Hitler's henchmen on 30 June 1934, "the Night of the Long Knives".
Document Signed, "v. Schleicher", 1 November 1932, as Defense Minister just prior to his appointment as Chancellor. Also includes a Feb 1932 cover addressed to Hindenburg.
Estimate 750 - 1,000
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 1015 |
 |
Gertrud Sholtz-Klink (1902-1999), Leader of all Nazi women's organizations, including the Women's League of the Red Cross and the women's units of the Nazi Labor Front and Labor Service.
Typed Letter Signed, on Women's League of the Red Cross letterhead, announcing a meeting on the occasion of the League's 70th anniversary; punchholes in blank left margin, Fine.
Estimate 150 - 200
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 1016 |
 |
Election of 5 March 1933, Two broadsides urging the election of Hitler, one promising a better future for German workers "…after 14 years of servitude." Also a 1934 propaganda postcard commemorating the previous year's election, featuring Chancellor Hitler and President Hindenburg.
Estimate 500 - 750
View details and enlarged photo
|
Lot 1017 |
 |
Dictatorship Established, Berchtesgaden, Upon the death of the 87-year-old Hindenburg, 2 August 1934, the offices of President and Chancellor were combined and Hitler became head of state and commander of the armed forces. By order of Minister of Defense Werner von Blomberg, the armed forces were commanded to swear undying loyalty to "the Fuhrer". This lot consists of four pages including an LS from von Blomberg, who would become head of the Wehrmacht; a signature of General X. Ritter von Epp, whom Hitler ordered to dismiss the government of Bavaria and set himself up as Bavaria's governor; and pictures of Hitler and his "Eagle's nest" above Berchtesgaden in Bavaria as well as a cover addressed to Hitler there.
Estimate 500 - 750
View details and enlarged photo
|
|
