Hitler's Last Letter from His Bunker and "Suicide Sofa" Relic Go to Auction

CHESAPEAKE CITY, Md., June 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Maryland auctioneers Alexander Historical Auctions, known internationally for their military sales, will be offering some of the most important surrender documents of World War II in their June 9 "No Surrender" live auction. The sale has sixty highly important pieces, almost all never before seen.

Included in the monumental sale is Adolf Hitler's last letter from his bunker declaring that he "will remain in Berlin"; a swatch of blood-stained cloth from the sofa upon which the dictator committed suicide; the British order to surrender the last troops in Hong Kong, along with the Japanese surrender of Hong Kong back to the British four years later; the German peace negotiator's last-ditch telegram insisting there must be a "signature or chaos"; a German general's order that saved 1,500,000 soldiers' lives; and much more.

Hitler's last signed letter, sent to a top general as Hitler cowered in his Berlin bunker, declares: "I shall remain in Berlin, so as to take part, in honorable fashion, in the decisive battle for Germany, and to set a good example to all those remaining. I believe that in this way I shall be rendering Germany the best service…" The letter is signed by the doomed dictator with a very shaky, crimson red signature. Six days later, Hitler killed himself deep within the Fuhrerbunker with a pistol shot to his head.

In the same sale is a small section of blood-soaked fabric from Hitler's "suicide sofa" upon which the insane dictator killed himself on the afternoon of April 30, 1945. The swatch was taken as a victory souvenir by an officer serving on the staff of Gen. Dwight Eisenhower. It is sold with a second piece of fabric the officer cut from one of Hitler's office chairs.

The top item is "the document that forced the surrender of Nazi Germany" – the official authorization for Germany's top general, Field Marshal Alfred Jodl, to negotiate an unconditional surrender with the Allied powers, estimated to sell for $1,000,000. The entire proceeds of its sale will be donated to charities fighting Covid-19.  

Additional items to be offered include agreements between Germany and the Allies to airdrop food to the starving Dutch in the closing days of the war; the first military telegram of the war, sent by a German commando who attacked Poland in error a week before the war actually commenced; a letter by Albert Einstein hoping his collection of Nazi anti-Semitic newspapers could be used to educate non-Jews of "the true nature of Hitler's regime"; President Harry S. Truman's proclamation declaring the "a day of prayer" upon the end of the war in Europe, a signed quotation from Winston Churchill "This was their finest hour…" and much more.

Bidding will be available live, by telephone, and at the auctioneer's web site.  

Bidding is also available at websites invaluable.com and liveauctioneers.com.  Alexander Historical Auctions may be reached at 203-276-1570, email: [email protected], website: historyauctioneer.com.

Media Contact:
Bill Panagopulos
203.276.1570
[email protected] 

SOURCE Alexander Historical Auctions

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