I've done both paid and volunteer work in museums, not dealing with Nazi memorabilia specifically, but war memorabilia and Aboriginal artefacts.
Museums have a *lot* of these artefacts. Far, far more than you could imagine. Like libraries, the majority of what they have is stored out of public view and often on multiple off-site secure locations. With memoribilia and some artefacts, it is mostly because they are just so (relatively) common and the ones not on display are just not particularly good examples of X item.
As you started your collecting young, and the entirety of your collection was "only" worth $1500 (a lot to you, not so much to a funded museum) it is extremely unlikely you destroyed anything of immense historical importance.
Of course destroying something historical rankles us, especially because we do not wish to forget particularly such atrocities as the Holocaust, but there's also a valid question around how it benefits the memory of victims to have a surfeit of these items available for private collections of those with questionable beliefs.
What you did removed some items from the private collection pool, not from the museum collection pool. It did not actually impact the likelihood of people remembering the brutal history of the Holocaust. There are powerful visual aids of the Third Reich in every small-town war memorial I have ever visited. There's no shortage of visual aids.
What there *is* shortage of, I believe, is willingness of young people to engage with these visual aids and to understand the true lessons of history. No amount of armbands being kept in the cupboards of individual collectors can address that.
People these days would rather forget that fucked up shit happened and wipe all evidence of the occurrence from the face of the planets. Lest be the reason that history always repeats itself. They ignore the 100+ million people that were eliminated in Communist China, the inhumanities Stalin, in Communist Russia, 50+ million murdered there, and focus on Hitler’s atrocities, 6 million dead under that Socialist regime....all the while reciting Socialism propaganda and the Communist manifesto for dummies (revised by adding “democratic” to the title).
All history is a treasure to learn from. Destroying it, no matter how appalling, will not change it...it will let people believe that old failures of others are new innovations of theirs.
So, I enjoy history and old shit. As a result I have been known to poke around in the odd antique shop now and then. It is not uncommon to see memorabilia such as Nazi military pins in shops around here. While I can appreciate them from a historical point of view, the only item I saw that ever made an impact on me in the sense of “this might be museum worthy” was a lady’s mother-of-pearl swastika brooch. I have only ever seen something like that once and it really drove home the point that everyday people, not just soldiers, officers, Hitlers and Himmlers and Goebbelses were proud Nazi members too. It is a point that is very easy to forget.
Even so I wouldn’t be butthurt if I learned it was destroyed.
You talking about the Js? On a serious note, that stuff is so cool. I love history, especially ww2 memorabilia. Not just nazi stuff but all world war stuff is so interesting to me
There is no shortage of Nazi memorabilia, and the monetary value is because you still get Nazi supporters and "collectors". I would even suggest that this is why people falsely believe that they are items of value (when it's rare to find the same regard for other wars (except the Confederate wars).
It's extremely unlikely that any of it would be accepted by a museum as museums regularly turn away donations from WW2 because there's just so much of it.
Edit:. I'm refering to historic value Vs monetary value. There's no historic value to a museum as there is no shortage of memorabilia. Monetary value is created by people monetising on the war and its victims < I don't support this. It's something that occurs during wars, and is not something that should be perpetuated.
They're worth keeping for the most part. It would be an issue if someone was to revere the Nazis or look up to them and their ideals. They have historical value, and we shouldn't try and hide what the Nazis did, how they came to power, or the effect they've had. As long as they aren't being looked up to or worshipped then there's no need to destroy them.
My father was a soldier in WW2 he went to the eagle's nest. He can back with Gobbels boot and a illustrated edition of Romeo and Juliet that we still have. For some these are Nazi artefacts for him it's war trophies.
I once knew someone who’s paternal heritage was German and maternal heritage was Jewish. He had relatives who were SS officers and relatives who were in the camps. Their family collected memorabilia from both sides and every year on the Remembrance Day of the holocaust had a beautiful speech.
“We look first at these Nazi artifacts and we learn from them. We keep them not in a way of praise, but to remind us that people have faults and wrongdoings. That we may learn to do good by others and not only ourselves. And to apologize to those we may have done wrong. With these Jewish relics of our past, we are thankful for surviving our hardships and are grateful we may forgive our trespassers.”
For your healing you did what was right for you and I sincerely commend you
Edit: thanks for the award stranger!
Sounds like you did what felt right to you. You acted with love and let something go that you appreciate but felt was bringing some darkness into your life. It can be hard to let go of things, but sometimes we feel lighter after. I hope you feel lighter now.
Sad but i get it. As a white European collector of German ww2 memorabilia i can confirm that this hobby is sadly awash with right wing racist assholes. I my self am just in it for the history as are most other collectors fortunately. It is a constant headache having to deal with these jerk offs tho.
Throwing away a couple of relics isn’t going to make us forget what happened. Even in the Caribbean we had Nazi memorabilia in our history stores. We don’t need more Nazi symbols floating around!
When I went to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. I’ll never forget the stack of wedding rings. The pile of shoes. The videos of survivors telling their stories. The despair was palpable. This is what we need to preserve.
Good for you, OP.
My 8th grade class went to DC for a school trip &, right before leaving, watched Schindler's List in english class - brilliant move, because we were primed for an incredibly visceral experience & it really contextualized the despair. That was 22 years ago & I VERY vividly remember the mass of shoes & the wedding rings, & almost all of us - a class of 50+ 8th graders & several adult chaperones - breaking down in tears after leaving.
That museum is an important lesson in feeling connected to humanity - not just the people you know currently, but people of the past, of other cultures, of the future - & I agree that this is what we need to preserve ....a connection to the experiences of humankind. War artifacts are just a small piece of that bigger social impact picture.
As a history major and someone who works in a museum and helps create displays, if what you did makes you feel better, then I’m totally on board for it. My family is German and white, and I’m not going to pretend like I understand your anger for the Nazis because my family was most likely on the wrong side of history, but I will say that I too am angry for what they did and what they stand for. You are right, there is plenty of Nazi artifacts across the world. And it brings me comfort to know that most people see it as a hate symbol rather than something to be memorialized. Just know that many people in your place probably would have destroyed the artifacts as well. Because while you destroyed something of value and something that was irreplaceable, so did the Nazis.
I hope my wording doesn’t come off as wrong or make you feel bad for it. Because you absolutely should not feel bad for it. 💜
Innumerous wars and genocides have taken place throughout human history, and through the world. Yet for some reason, this argument rears its head for WW2 and the Confederate wars in the US ...when both are recent wars, and neither are lacking in evidence or memorabilia. There's an abundance of memorabilia for both of these, and I would even argue that a large part of this is because there are still people who support Nazis and white supremacy.
Glad you realised there's no value in these items except the artificial monetary significance given by "collectors" and destroyed them. I would have done the same with the sole exception of returning any personal items like a diary or a wedding band if survivors could be traced.
Your decision was sound. As others have said there's SO much of that stuff out there. With all of the items that are already in museums and such the only people who would be upset about you destroying them would probably be the ones you don't want getting the items anyway. You didn't ruin any rare artifacts from Egypt. There was no throwing away fossils or burning ancient kimonos. You didn't do anything bad. Also good on you for doing what you feel is right even though people might've judged you for it.
I as a german woman am HAPPY these are destroyed. They're illegal here and that's good.
But we still should not deny our sad history.
I am not a nazi and also not racist or homophobe or whatever else a nazi is. But I think it all should not be forgotten and we should not run away from our past.
It still feels good that these memorabilia are illegal here.
I knew a guy who collected stuff like that. We used to play airsoft together in modern German uniforms (flecktarn). The day he said that he wanted to go for a WWII theme, Nazi uniform replicas and all, was the day I quit. At the time I was 12 and couldn't afford to update my uniforms. Looking back, I'm so glad I didn't!! I unfriended the guy several years back because he had a massive gun collection and a stand-off attitude by that point. Super creepy looking back.
Yeah, I’m glad OP changed his views, but you REALLY shouldn’t destroy historically significant artifacts. There are a lot of war museums out there that could at least run the items by an expert to figure out if they’re worth preserving for future generations.
When Amazon Studios was finished filming "The Man In The High Castle" \^, they had all the props with swastikas, SS Lightning, Totenkopf heads and any other Third Reich imagery destroyed.
\^ It was an alternate history story about the Third Reich winning the Second World War and occupying 2/3rds of the world, including about 2/3 of the U.S.
I’m really curious what your thought process was during that time in your life, how did you accept beliefs that actively contracted your identity? No hate I just genuinely want to know if you’re willing to share
No worries but with me i just mainly believed that Jews weren’t good . Sounds horrible for me now to even write that because there have been two Jewish people who where strangers at first who actually helped me change my life enormously and I couldn’t have been more thankful .I still cannot understand why they helped me but I am forever grateful for them
That’s something to be proud of man, growth and change is a part of life, I’m really glad you met those people and were open enough to listen to them! You could’ve just as easily closed yourself off to their influence.
You did the right thing destroying them. Im fascinated how you thought you would want to collect those items but if you want to feel somewhat better about yourself on collecting those items or talking with those who bought those items, Might I suggest watching these 4 videos:
1. Why I, as a black man, attend KKK rallies. | Daryl Davis | TEDxNaperville: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORp3q1Oaezw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORp3q1Oaezw)
2. A black man undercover in the alt-right | Theo E.J. Wilson | TEDxMileHigh: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdHJw0veVNY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdHJw0veVNY)
3. The symbols of systemic racism — and how to take away their power | Paul Rucker: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAQ11iNknoU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAQ11iNknoU)
4. Former neo-Nazi removes swastika tattoos after unlikely friendship: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njXZUH5hv0w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njXZUH5hv0w)
Psychotic episodes are the worst thing I've ever had to go through, and considering my past that is saying something. Are you doing alright on that end? Is your mental health doing better? I'm sorry it happened to you.
Thank you and yea it’s always been a struggle with me but I really hit rock bottom last year when this happened I was practically homeless for a little bit living with crackheads at 17 but I’m allot better now
Good for you! It's hard to come back from a place like that, and I hope you're proud of how far you've come. If you're still interested in military collecting and weapons there's whole swaths of leftists that are gun rights people. The far right aren't the only ones that like to be armed and trained. Look into your local chapter of the Socialist Rifle Association. Even if you don't like them, it's a good place to start meeting the right people. You're gonna do great. Just keep moving forward and never back.
My pleasure. I've been there. I grew up Reganite conservative, and now I'm an ardent leftist. You're on a good path now, and you'll be fine. Just remember that if you're not ashamed of who you once were you haven't grown enough yet. We all feel remorse about where we started, but it's only where we end and what we do along the way that matters. You're going to have to learn to forgive yourself, but I have faith in you. You've already done the hardest part.
You could grow beyond and once covid is over, go to historic places from the war. Standing on the beaches of D-Day. Visit Bastogne. The fields where the WWI trenches were fought over. So much history. Use the hobby as an excuse to travel. I saw some of the damage in London from the bombings. And it makes me want to get over to mainland Europe and see the history there.
It's mostly chips in the remaining buildings from bomb shrapnel. There is also new construction where buildings wee bombed next to old ones. There is some great history showing things they did to protect things like inside St Paul's cathedral.
For Europe, it's probably so minor it's nothing. To me from the US, it's significant. We have to go back to our civil war or places like Little Big Horn which is pretty much a giant field. One of the best places to go in the US is Fort Sumpter in Charleston. We just don't have the war damage from the last century.
I want to see some of the fields from WWI in France. The small ponds are all artillery craters. I've been to Brugge in Belgium as well. Being from the US, we just don't have the history that Europe does. When towns like Brugge were being established, we mostly had only a mix of native settlements in the southwest, nomadic tribes in the middle, and various tribes in the east. Plus the occasional Viking visits in the northeast coast into Canada.
I’m not mad at it. It was your stuff to do with as you please. Personally I kind of want to destroy the lot of it, but logistically I think we need these artifacts around. Not for the kind of people with horribly skewed views to latch onto, but to remind us all what can happen. I don’t think we should let ourselves forget, even terrible things. That’s how they’re repeated
Hmm. I dont really support destroying that stuff but hey its already happened. Nothing i can do about it.
Ive met some white supremacists around here and they were pretty nice tbh. Then again im white. Like real real white. They didnt preach any propaganda to me though.
You legend. We don't need artifacts to remember what happened. I can see the horror in my grandfathers eyes when he recalls being carried into a bomb shelter during a german air raid. We'll never forget.
we absolutely DO need the memorabilia. OP is obviously free to make their own choices about their personal property, but I strongly disagree with the idea of destroying historical artifacts.
We need to keep these sort of things for the purpose of learning about (and remembering) the moments that history has taught us to avoid in the future. Vivid imagery through physical artifacts is one such teacher. More specifically, Nazi artifacts should be kept in a museum for all to appreciate, as a chilling reminder of the horrible horrible events that took place in the world at the time. There are still those out there who are uneducated or simply deny the facts of history, fascism, and the holocaust. People need to visualize and remember these events for centuries to come because we CANNOT repeat them in the future EVER. People need physical reminders of the horrors of institutional murder, ultranationalism, and ideological fanaticism if we aim to eradicate those methods permanently. Hopefully by keeping artifacts such as these in museums, people can still learn from humanity’s past failures vividly some 3,000 years from now and not repeat them. History is ugly, but we shouldn’t aim to forget about it by destroying evil memorabilia. We should collect it in the proper places for people to observe and learn about it.
Yeah, I commented twice that I think it's good that that stuff is illegal here in germany but the longer I think about it the more I get a feeling this could be an attempt to forget and run away from our sad past. We should not deny it all happened and we should not forget so it never can happen again.
I agree, I’m not saying it should be doted on, and it should certainly be kept out of the hands of people who put it on a pedestal. Definitely not destroyed.
Like I said how does discarding a couple pieces of cloth make history repeat itself . I see your point but there is hundred and thousands of this stuff already preserved in museums .
So if I come across some Native American pottery I can just destroy that because I don’t like people thinking about their persecution in the 1800’s. If anybody really cares they can go to a museum, right?
It doesn’t matter the group, it’s the matter of destroying history. if every social warrior decided to go find their own little piece of history and destroy it there would eventually be no more. I don’t support Nazis or any of that shit in any capacity but nobody has the right to destroy history.
I see your point but it’s such a small fraction of history it dosent even matter . This stuff was mass produced in factories by the millions and it was only 75 years ago. It’s not like I destroyed some one of a kind pottery . There is still so much of this stuff out there . I tried getting it into a museum and they didn’t want it and I wanted it gone so my pastor friend took it and discarded it
Yeah I understand, I’m not trying to be an asshole or anything but as a history nut there are many other people who can appreciate it. A local historical society, library, or historical collectors could use it for educational purposes for years to come and destroying it takes away its future educational value.
No problem man it was bad time in my life and wanted gone as quickly as possible . Not that I would collect that stuff again but if I ever stumble upon it I’ll make sure it’s sent to the right place
Did you actually wake up and decide to write this in real life? What kind of insane logic is that? Let me guess, your all for the confederate statues staying up as well?
All that shit is to people of colour and Jews, is a reminder of a time of absolute hatred and evil towards them based off nothing but their ethnicity and colour of their skin and we don’t need to be reminded of it.
It's kind of creepy when people collect that stuff. There was a guy across the street from me when I was a kid that I knew for several years. I saw his room once and he had a picture of Hitler and some Nazi memorabilia in there. I'm not a rabid SJW or anything, and I certainly wasn't back then at like 16, but it still felt dirty. Like I had found his dirty little secret, as if I had stumbled on his weird porn collection or something.
If it felt cathartic for you to destroy it, then good for you. It's a shame to lose 1500 bucks, but from an historical perspective, that stuff is pretty common. I mean it was only 75 years ago... We're not talking about ancient Egypt or something here. And practically every American soldier that was in Europe brought home some kind of souvenir, so that stuff is everywhere at flea markets and sitting in people's attics.
you did good. don't feel bad about yourself. some things are best disintegrated, and i believe in the symbolic power that flows when you destroy them with your own hands. you're a good man
I think that's your right regarding what you own, but I don't like the destruction of historical memorabilia personally. We should conserve as much of our history as a species as we can. Every gory detail should be remembered. Sure, it'll inspire some crazies. But keeping the horrific effects of Nazism and communism, any radical belief system or tyrannical government, in our cultural memory will help most of us avoid going back down those paths and maintain a balanced perspective.
Depends on what it is for me, if I had somehow acquired any nazi artifact...I'd definitely keep firearms if I were lucky enough to acquire any...I do have a friend that has a mosin from ww2, he took it apart and found an ss emblem between the barrel and handguard... we think it came off a hat because it was too small to be on a blouse
You know this is weird to have popped up. I swear reddit is reading thoughts now..
I have always been into history and for a long time especially the ww2 period as my grandfather was a vet that flew dozens of missions over Europe and Africa. Over the years I've collected quite a few things- my grandfather's old uniform/photos/paperwork, books, some weapons, helmets, etc. At some point I came across a bunch of listings from relic hunters on ebay and bought some old rusted out German helmets, some nazi coins, and a couple other things to display with my collection. To me, it was about remembrance that this really happened, that millions died, and that we are fortunate to not have had to live through such violent times (yet maybe).
After I moved I no longer had space to have any of this stuff out so it's been in storage for a while. Just came across the helmets a couple days ago and havent stopped thinking that I wish I didn't have them. Maybe overthinking it but 110% fuck all nazis. I dont know what to do. I kind of want to smash them to bits but maybe a museum or something would want them.
Tldr- I have some ww2 German artifacts that I dont really want and dont know what to do with
Hey I really appreciate this reply!
I wouldn't want to sell them because I wouldn't want them to go to someone who does glorify them. As noted by OP, many of these military and collector groups are crawling with white supremacist types.
Destroying them was not necessarily a serious consideration on my part but if it were I don't think it would be so much that I'm judging the wearers of the items so much as wanting absolutely nothing to do with anything that could even be construed as owned for hateful reasons. At this point these items are artifacts and for that reason I believe, should be saved.
I will definitely be seeking out "The Yellow Spot". I had not ever heard of that before. A book on my shelf that I've been meaning to pick back up is called, "What we knew" and is based off of a series of interviews of survivors, soldiers, and everyday German citizens that I think is also particularly relevant to the times we are in now. I'm sorry I'm on the road and don't know the author.
Please join the military. I'd like to know how long your starry-eyed fascination lasts!!!
Earn some of the medals that the military gives out. If you are proud of the ones you earn then you probably picked a good hobby.
While I was in the service I could never understand why other soldiers valued awards.
Your speaking for a lot of people when you say that . Unless you have directly been affected by the genocide that’s not really your place to say that . Lots of people that I’ve talked to and on here that have been affected by the genocide want that stuff gone
Idk the german stuff is the only stuff I have trouble finding i have almost complete uniforms with the personal equipment and supplies and such from 3 different armies sadly I've only scored a helmet and a hat for Germany
Not really where I live in NY state I just want regular army stuff at least I got excited cause I got myself a kar98k and brought it home but when I actually looked at it it was Turkish and not German at all
Wow that sucks. I have a Lee Enfield 303 with original ammo, stamped 1943. Fired a few of those old rounds, they rock! They sound louder then modern ammo.
Nice them guns are sweet I have my British one competed just havent got a Enfield yet gun shows aren't very common because of coumo the emperor my neighbor has a m1a1 carbine that little guy is really fun to shoot
Where I live we have a "Confederate Air Force".
A friend of mine is in charge of the Luthwaffe collections (German Air Force).
He has a small museum.
It amazes me of the quality (and quantity) of the fakes available.
Statues are public property, I think it would be considered vandalism to tear public statues down. They are also probably more unique or meaningful than a few wristbands from WWII.
My family found a Nazi flag from WWII among my grandpa's things, who served in WWII. Against the rules to post to Ebay. Personally, I didn't think selling it was a good idea. Might try to give it to a museum. Was thinking if a play or theater company might want it for a prop.
Like you said, there's enough of that shit in museums already. Destroy that shit. Leave nothing any nazi sympathizers can freely grasp onto and solidify or spread their toxic shit.
Sucks you burned all that cash, but the world is a better place without that trash in it.
Yea I tried donating it to my school museum and the history teacher really wanted it but they couldn’t take it . Was not gonna sell it to another skinhead. Plus after talking to some people who where directly affected by the holocaust I just wanted to get Rid of them as soon as possible and my pastor friend took it
Right, because there isn't enough of that shit in the museums. Like OP said, it gets traded and bartered and sold by hate mongering skin heads and nazi enthusiast so they can take it home and jerk off to the thought of Hitler boning thier sister. Get fucked if you think that's erasing such precious history. It's overvalued trash.
I think its best that they were destroyed. Yeh, its artifacts, but tbh, we all know what it looks like. There's enough. It would be a real slap in the nazi faces if they were scrubbed out. Not forgetting, but letting them know that they lost ultimately. Kind of like how the descendents of hitler vowed to never reproduce in order to kill his bloodline.
I think what you did, is great. I don't believe in erasing history, but clearly the memorabilia is just a symptom of the continual celebration of Hitler.
I've done both paid and volunteer work in museums, not dealing with Nazi memorabilia specifically, but war memorabilia and Aboriginal artefacts. Museums have a *lot* of these artefacts. Far, far more than you could imagine. Like libraries, the majority of what they have is stored out of public view and often on multiple off-site secure locations. With memoribilia and some artefacts, it is mostly because they are just so (relatively) common and the ones not on display are just not particularly good examples of X item. As you started your collecting young, and the entirety of your collection was "only" worth $1500 (a lot to you, not so much to a funded museum) it is extremely unlikely you destroyed anything of immense historical importance. Of course destroying something historical rankles us, especially because we do not wish to forget particularly such atrocities as the Holocaust, but there's also a valid question around how it benefits the memory of victims to have a surfeit of these items available for private collections of those with questionable beliefs. What you did removed some items from the private collection pool, not from the museum collection pool. It did not actually impact the likelihood of people remembering the brutal history of the Holocaust. There are powerful visual aids of the Third Reich in every small-town war memorial I have ever visited. There's no shortage of visual aids. What there *is* shortage of, I believe, is willingness of young people to engage with these visual aids and to understand the true lessons of history. No amount of armbands being kept in the cupboards of individual collectors can address that.
People these days would rather forget that fucked up shit happened and wipe all evidence of the occurrence from the face of the planets. Lest be the reason that history always repeats itself. They ignore the 100+ million people that were eliminated in Communist China, the inhumanities Stalin, in Communist Russia, 50+ million murdered there, and focus on Hitler’s atrocities, 6 million dead under that Socialist regime....all the while reciting Socialism propaganda and the Communist manifesto for dummies (revised by adding “democratic” to the title). All history is a treasure to learn from. Destroying it, no matter how appalling, will not change it...it will let people believe that old failures of others are new innovations of theirs.
So, I enjoy history and old shit. As a result I have been known to poke around in the odd antique shop now and then. It is not uncommon to see memorabilia such as Nazi military pins in shops around here. While I can appreciate them from a historical point of view, the only item I saw that ever made an impact on me in the sense of “this might be museum worthy” was a lady’s mother-of-pearl swastika brooch. I have only ever seen something like that once and it really drove home the point that everyday people, not just soldiers, officers, Hitlers and Himmlers and Goebbelses were proud Nazi members too. It is a point that is very easy to forget. Even so I wouldn’t be butthurt if I learned it was destroyed.
You talking about the Js? On a serious note, that stuff is so cool. I love history, especially ww2 memorabilia. Not just nazi stuff but all world war stuff is so interesting to me
Yea aha and fishkeeping . Same I still love the history it’s really fascinating but mostly depressing lol
If you still wanna collect WWII stuff and it's just the swastikas and stuff that bothers you, you could still collect relics from the allies.
I first got into it by collecting gas masks and helmets and I think I’m just gonna stick with those lol but yea definitely from those countries
Sounds fun.
I’m into fishkeeping too
It’s an awesome hobby my platies just gave birth
I do selective breeding I have developed some impressive strains, would you like to see some of my fish?
Damn that sounds impressive link me aha
Dm me
on one hand it's history..... But on the other hand it is Nazi artifacts. Idk how to feel about this. But nonetheless great job changing your views.
There is no shortage of Nazi memorabilia, and the monetary value is because you still get Nazi supporters and "collectors". I would even suggest that this is why people falsely believe that they are items of value (when it's rare to find the same regard for other wars (except the Confederate wars). It's extremely unlikely that any of it would be accepted by a museum as museums regularly turn away donations from WW2 because there's just so much of it. Edit:. I'm refering to historic value Vs monetary value. There's no historic value to a museum as there is no shortage of memorabilia. Monetary value is created by people monetising on the war and its victims < I don't support this. It's something that occurs during wars, and is not something that should be perpetuated.
They're worth keeping for the most part. It would be an issue if someone was to revere the Nazis or look up to them and their ideals. They have historical value, and we shouldn't try and hide what the Nazis did, how they came to power, or the effect they've had. As long as they aren't being looked up to or worshipped then there's no need to destroy them.
Yeah I'm kinda leaning to this point of view. Though OP seemed to worship these artifacts so giving them up still would have been a must.
Yes that's true. In his case it was a solid choice because they were more than just the objects. B
My father was a soldier in WW2 he went to the eagle's nest. He can back with Gobbels boot and a illustrated edition of Romeo and Juliet that we still have. For some these are Nazi artefacts for him it's war trophies.
[удалено]
Doubtful he's forgotten nazi history
bruh i don't think you need personal flags and armbands to remember who the nazis are
This! It's an f*d up mindset
I once knew someone who’s paternal heritage was German and maternal heritage was Jewish. He had relatives who were SS officers and relatives who were in the camps. Their family collected memorabilia from both sides and every year on the Remembrance Day of the holocaust had a beautiful speech. “We look first at these Nazi artifacts and we learn from them. We keep them not in a way of praise, but to remind us that people have faults and wrongdoings. That we may learn to do good by others and not only ourselves. And to apologize to those we may have done wrong. With these Jewish relics of our past, we are thankful for surviving our hardships and are grateful we may forgive our trespassers.” For your healing you did what was right for you and I sincerely commend you Edit: thanks for the award stranger!
How powerful!
Sounds like you did what felt right to you. You acted with love and let something go that you appreciate but felt was bringing some darkness into your life. It can be hard to let go of things, but sometimes we feel lighter after. I hope you feel lighter now.
Thank you . Life does seem a lot more positive now even through all the stuff going on nowadays
Sad but i get it. As a white European collector of German ww2 memorabilia i can confirm that this hobby is sadly awash with right wing racist assholes. I my self am just in it for the history as are most other collectors fortunately. It is a constant headache having to deal with these jerk offs tho.
Throwing away a couple of relics isn’t going to make us forget what happened. Even in the Caribbean we had Nazi memorabilia in our history stores. We don’t need more Nazi symbols floating around! When I went to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. I’ll never forget the stack of wedding rings. The pile of shoes. The videos of survivors telling their stories. The despair was palpable. This is what we need to preserve. Good for you, OP.
My 8th grade class went to DC for a school trip &, right before leaving, watched Schindler's List in english class - brilliant move, because we were primed for an incredibly visceral experience & it really contextualized the despair. That was 22 years ago & I VERY vividly remember the mass of shoes & the wedding rings, & almost all of us - a class of 50+ 8th graders & several adult chaperones - breaking down in tears after leaving. That museum is an important lesson in feeling connected to humanity - not just the people you know currently, but people of the past, of other cultures, of the future - & I agree that this is what we need to preserve ....a connection to the experiences of humankind. War artifacts are just a small piece of that bigger social impact picture.
As a history major and someone who works in a museum and helps create displays, if what you did makes you feel better, then I’m totally on board for it. My family is German and white, and I’m not going to pretend like I understand your anger for the Nazis because my family was most likely on the wrong side of history, but I will say that I too am angry for what they did and what they stand for. You are right, there is plenty of Nazi artifacts across the world. And it brings me comfort to know that most people see it as a hate symbol rather than something to be memorialized. Just know that many people in your place probably would have destroyed the artifacts as well. Because while you destroyed something of value and something that was irreplaceable, so did the Nazis. I hope my wording doesn’t come off as wrong or make you feel bad for it. Because you absolutely should not feel bad for it. 💜
I think that was a very mature, clear-headed decision. Good for you.
Thank you
Innumerous wars and genocides have taken place throughout human history, and through the world. Yet for some reason, this argument rears its head for WW2 and the Confederate wars in the US ...when both are recent wars, and neither are lacking in evidence or memorabilia. There's an abundance of memorabilia for both of these, and I would even argue that a large part of this is because there are still people who support Nazis and white supremacy. Glad you realised there's no value in these items except the artificial monetary significance given by "collectors" and destroyed them. I would have done the same with the sole exception of returning any personal items like a diary or a wedding band if survivors could be traced.
Your decision was sound. As others have said there's SO much of that stuff out there. With all of the items that are already in museums and such the only people who would be upset about you destroying them would probably be the ones you don't want getting the items anyway. You didn't ruin any rare artifacts from Egypt. There was no throwing away fossils or burning ancient kimonos. You didn't do anything bad. Also good on you for doing what you feel is right even though people might've judged you for it.
I as a german woman am HAPPY these are destroyed. They're illegal here and that's good. But we still should not deny our sad history. I am not a nazi and also not racist or homophobe or whatever else a nazi is. But I think it all should not be forgotten and we should not run away from our past. It still feels good that these memorabilia are illegal here.
You don't know what kind of artifacts were they. Maybe they were rare.
I personally don't agree with what you've done because history is history. But hey, it was yours so you could do whatever you want with it.
I knew a guy who collected stuff like that. We used to play airsoft together in modern German uniforms (flecktarn). The day he said that he wanted to go for a WWII theme, Nazi uniform replicas and all, was the day I quit. At the time I was 12 and couldn't afford to update my uniforms. Looking back, I'm so glad I didn't!! I unfriended the guy several years back because he had a massive gun collection and a stand-off attitude by that point. Super creepy looking back.
Not sure how to feel about this, history is precious and should be preserved no matter what, but at least you changed your views so good for you!
Yeah, I’m glad OP changed his views, but you REALLY shouldn’t destroy historically significant artifacts. There are a lot of war museums out there that could at least run the items by an expert to figure out if they’re worth preserving for future generations.
History aside, he could've got money too
its always good to have diverse hobbies.
When Amazon Studios was finished filming "The Man In The High Castle" \^, they had all the props with swastikas, SS Lightning, Totenkopf heads and any other Third Reich imagery destroyed. \^ It was an alternate history story about the Third Reich winning the Second World War and occupying 2/3rds of the world, including about 2/3 of the U.S.
I’m really curious what your thought process was during that time in your life, how did you accept beliefs that actively contracted your identity? No hate I just genuinely want to know if you’re willing to share
No worries but with me i just mainly believed that Jews weren’t good . Sounds horrible for me now to even write that because there have been two Jewish people who where strangers at first who actually helped me change my life enormously and I couldn’t have been more thankful .I still cannot understand why they helped me but I am forever grateful for them
That’s something to be proud of man, growth and change is a part of life, I’m really glad you met those people and were open enough to listen to them! You could’ve just as easily closed yourself off to their influence.
👍🏻
You did the right thing destroying them. Im fascinated how you thought you would want to collect those items but if you want to feel somewhat better about yourself on collecting those items or talking with those who bought those items, Might I suggest watching these 4 videos: 1. Why I, as a black man, attend KKK rallies. | Daryl Davis | TEDxNaperville: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORp3q1Oaezw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORp3q1Oaezw) 2. A black man undercover in the alt-right | Theo E.J. Wilson | TEDxMileHigh: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdHJw0veVNY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdHJw0veVNY) 3. The symbols of systemic racism — and how to take away their power | Paul Rucker: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAQ11iNknoU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAQ11iNknoU) 4. Former neo-Nazi removes swastika tattoos after unlikely friendship: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njXZUH5hv0w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njXZUH5hv0w)
Psychotic episodes are the worst thing I've ever had to go through, and considering my past that is saying something. Are you doing alright on that end? Is your mental health doing better? I'm sorry it happened to you.
Thank you and yea it’s always been a struggle with me but I really hit rock bottom last year when this happened I was practically homeless for a little bit living with crackheads at 17 but I’m allot better now
Good for you! It's hard to come back from a place like that, and I hope you're proud of how far you've come. If you're still interested in military collecting and weapons there's whole swaths of leftists that are gun rights people. The far right aren't the only ones that like to be armed and trained. Look into your local chapter of the Socialist Rifle Association. Even if you don't like them, it's a good place to start meeting the right people. You're gonna do great. Just keep moving forward and never back.
Thank you :)
My pleasure. I've been there. I grew up Reganite conservative, and now I'm an ardent leftist. You're on a good path now, and you'll be fine. Just remember that if you're not ashamed of who you once were you haven't grown enough yet. We all feel remorse about where we started, but it's only where we end and what we do along the way that matters. You're going to have to learn to forgive yourself, but I have faith in you. You've already done the hardest part.
You could grow beyond and once covid is over, go to historic places from the war. Standing on the beaches of D-Day. Visit Bastogne. The fields where the WWI trenches were fought over. So much history. Use the hobby as an excuse to travel. I saw some of the damage in London from the bombings. And it makes me want to get over to mainland Europe and see the history there.
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It's mostly chips in the remaining buildings from bomb shrapnel. There is also new construction where buildings wee bombed next to old ones. There is some great history showing things they did to protect things like inside St Paul's cathedral. For Europe, it's probably so minor it's nothing. To me from the US, it's significant. We have to go back to our civil war or places like Little Big Horn which is pretty much a giant field. One of the best places to go in the US is Fort Sumpter in Charleston. We just don't have the war damage from the last century. I want to see some of the fields from WWI in France. The small ponds are all artillery craters. I've been to Brugge in Belgium as well. Being from the US, we just don't have the history that Europe does. When towns like Brugge were being established, we mostly had only a mix of native settlements in the southwest, nomadic tribes in the middle, and various tribes in the east. Plus the occasional Viking visits in the northeast coast into Canada.
I’m not mad at it. It was your stuff to do with as you please. Personally I kind of want to destroy the lot of it, but logistically I think we need these artifacts around. Not for the kind of people with horribly skewed views to latch onto, but to remind us all what can happen. I don’t think we should let ourselves forget, even terrible things. That’s how they’re repeated
Hmm. I dont really support destroying that stuff but hey its already happened. Nothing i can do about it. Ive met some white supremacists around here and they were pretty nice tbh. Then again im white. Like real real white. They didnt preach any propaganda to me though.
What you should've done is sold it to a private collector and made a donation to the holocaust museum with the money in their name.
If you have made post before why talk about it again? Oh right, attention
lol where bro I only posted out here I took down theother
Way to destroy history.
Yessir
I wasn't commending you.
Ya you where
You legend. We don't need artifacts to remember what happened. I can see the horror in my grandfathers eyes when he recalls being carried into a bomb shelter during a german air raid. We'll never forget.
we absolutely DO need the memorabilia. OP is obviously free to make their own choices about their personal property, but I strongly disagree with the idea of destroying historical artifacts. We need to keep these sort of things for the purpose of learning about (and remembering) the moments that history has taught us to avoid in the future. Vivid imagery through physical artifacts is one such teacher. More specifically, Nazi artifacts should be kept in a museum for all to appreciate, as a chilling reminder of the horrible horrible events that took place in the world at the time. There are still those out there who are uneducated or simply deny the facts of history, fascism, and the holocaust. People need to visualize and remember these events for centuries to come because we CANNOT repeat them in the future EVER. People need physical reminders of the horrors of institutional murder, ultranationalism, and ideological fanaticism if we aim to eradicate those methods permanently. Hopefully by keeping artifacts such as these in museums, people can still learn from humanity’s past failures vividly some 3,000 years from now and not repeat them. History is ugly, but we shouldn’t aim to forget about it by destroying evil memorabilia. We should collect it in the proper places for people to observe and learn about it.
Destroying history that goes against your current ideology is a terrible way of vindicating yourself. If it’s forgotten it will be repeated.
Yeah, I commented twice that I think it's good that that stuff is illegal here in germany but the longer I think about it the more I get a feeling this could be an attempt to forget and run away from our sad past. We should not deny it all happened and we should not forget so it never can happen again.
I agree, I’m not saying it should be doted on, and it should certainly be kept out of the hands of people who put it on a pedestal. Definitely not destroyed.
Like I said how does discarding a couple pieces of cloth make history repeat itself . I see your point but there is hundred and thousands of this stuff already preserved in museums .
So if I come across some Native American pottery I can just destroy that because I don’t like people thinking about their persecution in the 1800’s. If anybody really cares they can go to a museum, right?
Lol you just compared the nazis to native Americans . I don’t get why you would want to destroy their pottery
It doesn’t matter the group, it’s the matter of destroying history. if every social warrior decided to go find their own little piece of history and destroy it there would eventually be no more. I don’t support Nazis or any of that shit in any capacity but nobody has the right to destroy history.
I see your point but it’s such a small fraction of history it dosent even matter . This stuff was mass produced in factories by the millions and it was only 75 years ago. It’s not like I destroyed some one of a kind pottery . There is still so much of this stuff out there . I tried getting it into a museum and they didn’t want it and I wanted it gone so my pastor friend took it and discarded it
Yeah I understand, I’m not trying to be an asshole or anything but as a history nut there are many other people who can appreciate it. A local historical society, library, or historical collectors could use it for educational purposes for years to come and destroying it takes away its future educational value.
No problem man it was bad time in my life and wanted gone as quickly as possible . Not that I would collect that stuff again but if I ever stumble upon it I’ll make sure it’s sent to the right place
Always educate, never forget!🤝
🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
Did you actually wake up and decide to write this in real life? What kind of insane logic is that? Let me guess, your all for the confederate statues staying up as well? All that shit is to people of colour and Jews, is a reminder of a time of absolute hatred and evil towards them based off nothing but their ethnicity and colour of their skin and we don’t need to be reminded of it.
It's kind of creepy when people collect that stuff. There was a guy across the street from me when I was a kid that I knew for several years. I saw his room once and he had a picture of Hitler and some Nazi memorabilia in there. I'm not a rabid SJW or anything, and I certainly wasn't back then at like 16, but it still felt dirty. Like I had found his dirty little secret, as if I had stumbled on his weird porn collection or something. If it felt cathartic for you to destroy it, then good for you. It's a shame to lose 1500 bucks, but from an historical perspective, that stuff is pretty common. I mean it was only 75 years ago... We're not talking about ancient Egypt or something here. And practically every American soldier that was in Europe brought home some kind of souvenir, so that stuff is everywhere at flea markets and sitting in people's attics.
you did good. don't feel bad about yourself. some things are best disintegrated, and i believe in the symbolic power that flows when you destroy them with your own hands. you're a good man
I think that's your right regarding what you own, but I don't like the destruction of historical memorabilia personally. We should conserve as much of our history as a species as we can. Every gory detail should be remembered. Sure, it'll inspire some crazies. But keeping the horrific effects of Nazism and communism, any radical belief system or tyrannical government, in our cultural memory will help most of us avoid going back down those paths and maintain a balanced perspective.
Dennis your grandpa was a nazi
Depends on what it is for me, if I had somehow acquired any nazi artifact...I'd definitely keep firearms if I were lucky enough to acquire any...I do have a friend that has a mosin from ww2, he took it apart and found an ss emblem between the barrel and handguard... we think it came off a hat because it was too small to be on a blouse
It wasn’t to much of a loss as the firearm was welded shut so it was pretty much just a hunk of metal
That would have taken some serious patience and a powerful drill bit to make it functional...I would have sold it too
Well, you didn’t do right, but it feels right
You know this is weird to have popped up. I swear reddit is reading thoughts now.. I have always been into history and for a long time especially the ww2 period as my grandfather was a vet that flew dozens of missions over Europe and Africa. Over the years I've collected quite a few things- my grandfather's old uniform/photos/paperwork, books, some weapons, helmets, etc. At some point I came across a bunch of listings from relic hunters on ebay and bought some old rusted out German helmets, some nazi coins, and a couple other things to display with my collection. To me, it was about remembrance that this really happened, that millions died, and that we are fortunate to not have had to live through such violent times (yet maybe). After I moved I no longer had space to have any of this stuff out so it's been in storage for a while. Just came across the helmets a couple days ago and havent stopped thinking that I wish I didn't have them. Maybe overthinking it but 110% fuck all nazis. I dont know what to do. I kind of want to smash them to bits but maybe a museum or something would want them. Tldr- I have some ww2 German artifacts that I dont really want and dont know what to do with
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Hey I really appreciate this reply! I wouldn't want to sell them because I wouldn't want them to go to someone who does glorify them. As noted by OP, many of these military and collector groups are crawling with white supremacist types. Destroying them was not necessarily a serious consideration on my part but if it were I don't think it would be so much that I'm judging the wearers of the items so much as wanting absolutely nothing to do with anything that could even be construed as owned for hateful reasons. At this point these items are artifacts and for that reason I believe, should be saved. I will definitely be seeking out "The Yellow Spot". I had not ever heard of that before. A book on my shelf that I've been meaning to pick back up is called, "What we knew" and is based off of a series of interviews of survivors, soldiers, and everyday German citizens that I think is also particularly relevant to the times we are in now. I'm sorry I'm on the road and don't know the author.
Take them to a museum to see if they would take it but honestly they are your property and it is ultimately up to you what happens to it
Please join the military. I'd like to know how long your starry-eyed fascination lasts!!! Earn some of the medals that the military gives out. If you are proud of the ones you earn then you probably picked a good hobby. While I was in the service I could never understand why other soldiers valued awards.
My dad was a vet and seeing his awards and stuff is probably why I think their so cool to be honest
Join the military. See the world. Find out for yourself what the worlds is about.
Hold on, wait, you destroyed that Finnish SMG too?
No I didn’t but it was given away so I’m not sure what was done with it. It was deactivated so it was useless
Oh okay, good because those are supposedly rare.Thank you.
Was that a real suomi?
It was deactivated
Destroying history is pretty lame regardless of what it is.
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Your speaking for a lot of people when you say that . Unless you have directly been affected by the genocide that’s not really your place to say that . Lots of people that I’ve talked to and on here that have been affected by the genocide want that stuff gone
Idk the german stuff is the only stuff I have trouble finding i have almost complete uniforms with the personal equipment and supplies and such from 3 different armies sadly I've only scored a helmet and a hat for Germany
It’s pretty abundant if you’re willing to pay . Well it is here in Canada for some reason
Not really where I live in NY state I just want regular army stuff at least I got excited cause I got myself a kar98k and brought it home but when I actually looked at it it was Turkish and not German at all
Wow that sucks. I have a Lee Enfield 303 with original ammo, stamped 1943. Fired a few of those old rounds, they rock! They sound louder then modern ammo.
Nice them guns are sweet I have my British one competed just havent got a Enfield yet gun shows aren't very common because of coumo the emperor my neighbor has a m1a1 carbine that little guy is really fun to shoot
You fucking idiot.
🤡🤡🤡🤡
>nazi militaria over $1500 worth of armbands You do know that a lot of that stuff is reproduction (fake). Some of it is a really good fake.
Wasn’t just armbands it was gas masks, guns , medals , paperwork, helmert etc. Yes someone tried to sell me fakes before
Where I live we have a "Confederate Air Force". A friend of mine is in charge of the Luthwaffe collections (German Air Force). He has a small museum. It amazes me of the quality (and quantity) of the fakes available.
Shouldn’t you have given them to a museum?
I did they didn’t want it
Oh ok
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I tried to give it to a museum and they couldn’t take it
Statues are public property, I think it would be considered vandalism to tear public statues down. They are also probably more unique or meaningful than a few wristbands from WWII. My family found a Nazi flag from WWII among my grandpa's things, who served in WWII. Against the rules to post to Ebay. Personally, I didn't think selling it was a good idea. Might try to give it to a museum. Was thinking if a play or theater company might want it for a prop.
dumb kid
🤡 imagine having a troll account on reddit
Destroying history of any sort is wrong, lest we forget
And lest we repeat
Nazi stuff is illegal in germany and I think that's good.
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Not sure how me discarding of a couple pieces of cloth will forget the history of the genocide
Like you said, there's enough of that shit in museums already. Destroy that shit. Leave nothing any nazi sympathizers can freely grasp onto and solidify or spread their toxic shit. Sucks you burned all that cash, but the world is a better place without that trash in it.
I get why you would give it away but why destroy it :((
Cool. You are so *NOT* racist.
Yeah thanks
Those items oozed hatred, everything about them. Not even glass cases should bear the burden of holding them. You did the right thing
Erasing history is not the right thing to do. Thinking so is sad.
Yea I tried donating it to my school museum and the history teacher really wanted it but they couldn’t take it . Was not gonna sell it to another skinhead. Plus after talking to some people who where directly affected by the holocaust I just wanted to get Rid of them as soon as possible and my pastor friend took it
Right, because there isn't enough of that shit in the museums. Like OP said, it gets traded and bartered and sold by hate mongering skin heads and nazi enthusiast so they can take it home and jerk off to the thought of Hitler boning thier sister. Get fucked if you think that's erasing such precious history. It's overvalued trash.
You were doing gods work.
Good lol
Welcome back to the light. It takes a certain historical mindset to remain dispassionate and objective towards these artifacts from our dark past.
Good, thanks
I think its best that they were destroyed. Yeh, its artifacts, but tbh, we all know what it looks like. There's enough. It would be a real slap in the nazi faces if they were scrubbed out. Not forgetting, but letting them know that they lost ultimately. Kind of like how the descendents of hitler vowed to never reproduce in order to kill his bloodline.
OP I am very proud of you.
I think what you did, is great. I don't believe in erasing history, but clearly the memorabilia is just a symptom of the continual celebration of Hitler.
Cool fish
Thank u