NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has copped plenty of heat since he
Just days before Mr Perrottet's confession, Prince Harry shared new details about his to a party in 2005, saying his brother Prince William and Kate encouraged the idea.
As replica Nazi uniforms are cast into the spotlight, the hankering for the real deal in Australia persists. There's a market of buyers spending thousands of dollars to own authentic Nazi or Third Reich regalia.
Who in Australia is buying Nazi memorabilia?
Shannon Wearne is the operations manager of Victoria-based auction house Oldies Collectables, which has an interest in selling military collectables, including Nazi memorabilia.
She said the auction house is one of the final few in Australia still daring to sell Nazi memorabilia, with community backlash leading a number of others to back off.
as "indecent," "grotesque," and "sinister," with people accusing various auction houses of profiting from the ideology while antisemitism and far-right attacks surge.
Over the past few months, Oldies Collectables sold "a massive private collection of Third Reich" items, among a larger sale of military items.
"We have very much seen a huge increase in demand for original memorabilia and especially Third Reich items," Ms Wearne said.
"But in saying that it's very hard to put into perspective as a lot of places have stopped auctioning them."
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Some of the Nazi memorabilia which has been auctioned off by an Australian auction house. Source: Supplied
Ms Wearne said a uniform usually sells at auction for between $2000 and $3000.
Most times, sellers approach the auction house with Nazi memorabilia when they've changed their minds about owning the item or if they've started selling off assets.
In the recent offering, the items were divided between thirty to forty buyers who were mostly Australian, mostly middle-to-upper class, and mostly men.
"There were a few women who like Third Reich items but they like the way they're made, they like the way they look, they're investing because it goes up in value, that sort of thing," she said.
"No one I've ever sold to has gone: 'I've bought it because it's been associated with Hitler' or 'I like the Third Reich'.
"You would not be able to tell someone who buys Third Reich items from people who buy tea cups and saucers."
Investing in Nazi memorabilia as part of a broader private military collection or buying a "trophy" due to family connections are among the other reasons she believes people invest.
Ms Wearne is a firm defender of the businesses decision to sell Nazi memorabilia despite the backlash, saying the auction house "sells history", and said military items from other "horrific" wars continue to circulate with less criticism.
"I mean it's no different than someone who collects magazines or something else," she said.
Ms Wearne said the auction house does its part in being ethical by not advertising such material - an obligation by law - and giving a warning before the auction to "leave if you're offended".
Last July, a watch said to have belonged to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler sold for about $1.5 million in a US auction to an anonymous bidder.
A watch believed to have belonged to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler sold for about $1.5 million in 2022. Credit: Alexander Historical Auctions
On the wider issue of auction houses selling Nazi paraphernalia - a global phenomenon - some members of the community remain unconvinced.
'Tools of the devil to the highest bidder is desecrating the memory'
In a statement to The Feed, Dr Dvir Abramovich, the chairman of the Melbourne-based Anti-Defamation Commission, which fights against anti-Semitism, said he was sickened that auction houses were “profiteering from the proceeds of history’s darkest crime”.
“The twisted obsession and booming appetite for Third Reich paraphernalia in Australia is alarming and the fact that most items are being sold by auction houses is further proof of this sickening phenomenon," he said in the statement.
“Anyone hawking these tools of the devil to the highest bidder is desecrating the memory of the victims and keeping alive the embers of perversion.”
With no restriction around who buys the items, Dr Abramovich fears such paraphernalia could end up in the homes of those who sympathise with Nazi ideology.
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Dr Dvir Abramovich is pushing for a ban on the sale of all Nazi memorabilia in Australia.
Head Curator of Sydney Jewish Museum, Roslyn Sugarman, told The Feed people have on a number of occasions bid on Nazi memorabilia that they morally feel should not be in circulation.
"They have then come to the Sydney Jewish Museum and offered the material to us," Ms Sugarman said in a statement.
"So there are these ‘everyday people’ purchasing items with a seemingly good motive, operating from a societal obligation to have these items removed from circulation, and housed in an appropriate place where the history and significance can be taught.
"I have also experienced that there are legitimate collectors who have a passion for history."
The downside, she adds, is that the activity boosts the market for these items as well as the possibility of fakes.
A ban on displays, but not on the sale
Wearing a Nazi swastika, displaying Nazi memorabilia, and waving Nazi flags is a crime in NSW, punishable with up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $11,000 after new laws passed the NSW parliament in August.
In Victoria, it is punishable with up to a year in jail, a fine of about $22,000 or both. Tasmania and Queensland are expected to introduce similar laws.
The sale of Nazi memorabilia is banned or restricted in parts of Europe including Germany, Austria and France. Dr Abramovich wants a ban introduced in Australia.
“This trade has to stop, and we urge all state governments, as well as the Federal government, to immediately stamp out this ghoulish practice by criminalising the sale of this paraphernalia and banning its import,” he said in a statement.
“These materials belong in museums, full stop.”
