 |
| A combination of undated handout
photographs shows four architectural sketches by Nazi dictator
Adolf Hitler that will be sold in an auction in Montreal later
this month. The top images show sketches of German schools,
bottom left is a design for an opera house in Linz, and bottom
right is a sketch for a German school monument.
(Reuters/Handout) | |
The man who will be taking bids on several sketches and postcards by
Adolf Hitler at a local auction later this month said he hates the Nazi
dictator and all tyrants as much as anyone, but he is merely doing his
job.
"I understand perfectly why some people might be upset ," auctioneer Iegor de Saint
Hippolyte of the Iegor-H?tel des Encans auction house told reporters.
"My own grandfather was in a concentration camp. But I'm doing it for
the same reason I would sell a poster of Lenin or Trotsky. I have exactly
the same feeling as they do, but it is part of history and also my job."
Jewish organizations expressed dismay last week about the July 19
and 20 auction of four architectural-type sketches and two greeting cards
composed by Hitler during the 1920s and 1930s.
One of the greeting cards is a Christmas card sent by Hitler in 1935
wishing the recipient "most heartfelt good wishes" for the holiday and new
year.
Max Bernard, honorary vice-president of Canadian Jewish Congress,
Quebec region, said in a statement that it's "terribly disheartening to think that someone
would seek to profit from the sale of those items or that others would
enjoy owning them."
Saint Hippolyte denied profit was his or his auction house's primary
motive.
"My mandate is to sell what people have, to get rid of what people want
to get rid of, to serve the seller," he said.
If the auction house does profit from the sale, it's no different than
any enterprise receiving remuneration for doing its work, he said.
"It is the first time we are selling anything 'artistic' from that
period," Saint Hippolyte said. "But we have previously sold many military
artifacts from that era, including to Jewish buyers."
Saint Hippolyte declined to disclose how the auction house obtained the
articles up for bid, saying the seller, like all sellers dealing with his
auction house, stays anonymous unless specific circumstances warrant
otherwise.
Last month, a signed first-edition of Hitler's Mein Kampf was sold by
Bloomsbury Auctions in London for $51,000.
(Agencies) |
本月晚些時(shí)候，由希特勒親筆所畫的幾幅素描及明信片將在蒙特利爾被拍賣。據(jù)即將主持這場(chǎng)拍賣會(huì)的人講，盡管他和其他人一樣痛恨這位納粹獨(dú)裁者和所有暴君，但是他拍賣這些東西，不過是在盡自己的職責(zé)而已。
“我完全能夠理解有些人為什么會(huì)感到不快，”萊戈·霍特魯·德·因堪斯拍賣行的拍賣師萊戈·德·圣伊波利特對(duì)記者說。
“我的祖父曾被關(guān)在集中營(yíng)里。但是我出售這些畫，和我出售列寧或托洛茨基的招貼畫的理由毫無二致。我完全能體會(huì)那些猶太人團(tuán)體的感情，但是，這些畫是歷史的組成部分，拍賣它們也是我的職責(zé)。”
上周，猶太人團(tuán)體曾對(duì)此表示失望。拍賣會(huì)將于7月19日和20日兩天舉行，拍賣的作品包括四幅建筑風(fēng)格的素描和兩張賀卡，是希特勒于上世紀(jì)二三十年代創(chuàng)作的。
其中的一張賀卡是希特勒于1935年寄出的圣誕卡，向接受者致以圣誕節(jié)和新年“最衷心最美好的祝福”。
加拿大猶太人大會(huì)魁北克區(qū)名譽(yù)副會(huì)長(zhǎng)馬克斯·伯納德在一項(xiàng)聲明中說，“一想到竟然有人指望出售這些東西來漁利，有人以擁有它們?yōu)闃罚土钊烁械教貏e沮喪。”
圣伊波利特否認(rèn)他和他所在的拍賣行此舉的主要目的是為了賺錢。
“我的職責(zé)就是拍賣人們所擁有的東西，把他們不想要的東西甩出去，為賣主服務(wù)。”他說。
他說，就算拍賣行確實(shí)從這筆交易中獲利，這與企業(yè)從事經(jīng)營(yíng)活動(dòng)獲利也沒什么兩樣。
“這是我們第一次拍賣來自那個(gè)時(shí)期的‘有藝術(shù)價(jià)值的’東西。不過，之前我們也曾拍賣過屬于那個(gè)時(shí)代的軍事物品，有一些買家還是猶太人，”他說。
圣伊波利特拒絕透露拍賣行是如何獲得這些拍賣品的，只是說這位賣主與拍賣行的所有賣主一樣，除非出現(xiàn)特殊情況需要擔(dān)保，否則不會(huì)透露自己的姓名。
上個(gè)月，布魯斯伯雷拍賣行曾以5.1萬美元的高價(jià)在倫敦拍賣了一本希特勒的著作《我的奮斗》。這本書是第一版，上有希特勒的親筆簽名。
（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2005-07-18 09:42
