Lot 655

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Description:

HONORARY CITZENSHIP DOCUMENT PRESENTED TO ADOLF HITLER
An especially rare Hitler relic, an ornate honorary citizenship document, or "Ehrenburgerrecht," accomplished in calligraphy and hand colored, presented to Hitler upon his appointment as Reichschancellor of Germany in 1933. This superb example was given to Hitler by the city of Guben, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the state of Brandenburg. of Germany. The brown leather cover of the document (likely backed with wood) bears a hand-tooled and gilt title with a raised image of the city's emblem, also hand-painted. When the covers are opened, the 22" x 18 1/2" parchment document within is revealed. Immediately obvious is the Nazi Party eagle in silver shown in a design of red ribbon threads set in a clever pattern, along with the city's seal at top and a magnificent, highly-detailed red wax seal at bottom. The intricate, carefully-drawn calligraphic text reads: "We Municipal Authorities and City Delegates of the City of Guben present to our Leader Adolf Hitler the Founder of the Third Reich in sincere gratitude this Honorary Citizenship…". At bottom the document is dated March 29. 1933 in Guben and witnessed and testified by city magistrates and other authorities. The artwork was accomplished by artist Karl Hacker of Berlin, renowned for such work. Covers are scuffed at edges, the citizenship document bears just slight marginal toning with some offsetting to the white satin sheet that once contacted it, otherwise a rare Hitler-owned relic in excellent condition! Hitler was born in Austria, thus he needed to become a German citizen to advance his political career during the National Socialist period. Resultantly, many German towns and cities awarded him honorary citizenship. Actually Hitler was stateless until he was granted German citizenship on February 26, 1932 after becoming a civil servant in Braunschwig. During World War II, Guban was early occupied by the Russians but was re-taken by the Waffen SS in a desperate struggle in February 1945. Guben sits atop the German-Polish border.

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October 10, 2010 11:00 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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