Description:

A NAZI FLAG THAT FLEW OVER HAIFA, PALESTINE
A most compelling and evocative find, a Nazi flag that once flew in Haifa, Palestine, today of course a part of Israel, where persecuted Jews fled to escape Hitler's Holocaust. The 51 x 48 in. two-sided banner is constructed in three pieces, a red wool field with a white disc in the center upon which is sewn a black mobile swastika. A brown cloth felt panel with blue border trim is sewn to the upper left corner and it bears the unit designation 'Ortsgruppe Haifa' in white chain-stitched embroidery. The flag is decorated with 2 in. twisted silver wire fringe about three sides. A red embroidered maker's label is sewn to the bottom of the hoist, reading: 'Fahnen-Hoffmann Berlin S.W.68' Six nickel-plated flagpole rings are tied to the flag, each secured with two cloth cords; the bottom ring is missing. There are a few insignificant, very small moth holes, else in fine condition. The NSDAP Haifa ortsgruppe was part of the Palestine National Group of the Nazi Party, whose members were mostly from the 'Tempelgesellschaft', or 'Temple Society'. The society was a Wurttemberg pietist splinter group which had hoped to establish a 'Kingdom of God' in the Holy Land since the mid-1800s. These German citizens in Palestine were perhaps the most organized of all of the NSDAP foreign national groups. To distinguish themselves from the British and the Jews there, almost every German wore and otherwise displayed a swastika at every opportunity. They were well supported by the Nazis and their Palestinian supporters. Indeed, in 1941-42 many Arab nationalists looked to the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin el-Husseini for guidance in ridding Palestine of the Jews who had lived there for millennia, as well as those who had arrived there as a result of the Zionist movement and following the Balfour Declaration in 1917. The Mufti had several meetings with Hitler, and it is said a special einsatzgruppe was assembled and trained in Greece in the spring of 1942 by SD officer Walter Rauff, the originator of the gassing van experiments in Poland and the Soviet Union. They were to operate behind the lines with the help of local supporters eager to join the task force. Even the British government cancelled a plan in 1938 to bring 20,000 German Jewish refugees to Palestine so it would not upset Arab opinion. In any event, with the outbreak of war, the British clamped down on pro-Nazi activities in the region, and Nazi sympathizers were forced underground. As the war progressed, Haifa itself was actually targeted several times by Luftwaffe bombers based in Crete. However, quite incredibly, in the postwar years Israel paid reparations to German settlers for confiscated property! This remarkable relic is a vivid reminder of the extent of the reach of the Nazi Party...even to the refuge of those who fled Germany for their lives.

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January 26, 2023 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
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$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $999,999 $10,000
$1,000,000 $1,999,999 $50,000
$2,000,000 + $100,000