One of a small handful of Holocaust survivors living in Tasmania has met with a Launceston auctioneer to express concern about the planned sale of Nazi memorabilia – but George Goldsteen says he’s more interested in “fighting real anti-Semitism” in the community.
Armitage Auctions will be attempting to auction off several items of Nazi memorabilia on Wednesday, August 7, including a Hitler Youth belt buckle and an SS officer’s ring.
The decision has incensed the national Anti-Defamation Commission, with chairman Dvir Abramovich saying Armitage Auctions had chosen “profits over doing the right thing by Holocaust survivors”.
Mr Goldsteen, 77, of Launceston, was just a toddler when about 65 members of his extended family were killed at Auschwitz.
He said he had had a “nice conversation” with auctioneer Neil O’Brien on Tuesday, and determined that he wouldn’t be “protesting in the street” as a result of the items being auctioned off.
“After I had the discussion with Mr O’Brien, I’ve taken a more relaxed attitude to [the auction] because I explained to him, ‘It’s not a legal issue, obviously, it’s a moral issue’ and he agreed,” Mr Goldsteen said.
“Obviously, I’m very concerned about the uprising of … anti-Semitism [currently].”
Read the article by Rob Inglis in The Examiner.