Nazi memorabilia

Militaria and paraphernalia from Nazi Germany for sale as memorabilia and collectibles in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in 1964. Today internationally based private collectors and traders more often are handling artifacts with a troubled past online.
Photo: Jack de Nijs / Anefo

Nazi memorabilia are items produced during the height of Nazism in Germany, particularly the years between 1933 and 1945. Nazi memorabilia includes a variety of objects from the material culture of Nazi Germany, especially those featuring swastikas and other Nazi symbolism and imagery or connected to Nazi propaganda. Examples are military and paramilitary uniforms, insignia, coins and banknotes, medals, flags, daggers, guns, posters, contemporary photos, books, publications, and ephemera.

During the Second World War, soldiers from opposing Allied forces often took small items from fallen enemies as war trophies.[1] These and other items from this time period have since been acquired by museums and individual collectors. In Europe museums still regularly receive everyday artifacts from the Nazi era and have to deal with remnants of National Socialism.[2]

  1. ^ The National WWII Museum New Orleans, 2017: Looting the Reich: German Wound Badge
  2. ^ Deutsche Welle December 2021: Austria: Vienna museum display tackles tricky issues of Nazi memorabilia