Lot 30
Hitler (Adolf, 1889-1945) Certificate of the German Mothers Cross of Honour Second Class to Martha Scherner, printed certificate with printed signature of Hitler recovered from the Führerbunker, blind-stamp of the German Reich in lower left hand corner, left hand margin not cut straight, 2 edges creased and stained, slightly browned in places, folio, dated Berlin 20th May 1945 as the date on which it was to be issued but c. 20th April 1945.
Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000
Description
Hitler (Adolf, 1889-1945) Certificate of the German Mothers Cross of Honour Second Class to Martha Scherner, printed certificate with printed signature of Hitler recovered from the Führerbunker, blind-stamp of the German Reich in lower left hand corner, left hand margin not cut straight, 2 edges creased and stained, slightly browned in places, folio, dated Berlin 20th May 1945 as the date on which it was to be issued but c. 20th April 1945.
⁂ This document is iconic evidence of the Nazi enthusiasm for breeding German children. There were many such certificates, but this particular document is of importance because of its historical context. It was seized by a British intelligence agent operating in advance of the Allied armies who entered the Hitler bunker in the company of Soviet troops. It is thus one of the last documents prepared in the Führer bunker as the Nazi régime collapsed. Stamped with the Hitler signature and dated for presentation - but never presented. The German surrender came on 8 May 1945.
Provenance: "March 24 1959. This is to certify that I personally found this Document in Hitler's Bunker in Berlin shortly after the Battle. I have no hesitation in saying that is genuine. I collected six similar documents at the time which were passed to Military Intelligence who approved them. R.L. Sedgwick Brigadier. Late Controller-General. Military Affairs B.O.A.R. [BAOR British Army on the Rhine] Control Commission." - Letter of Authentification accompanying this lot.
Description
Hitler (Adolf, 1889-1945) Certificate of the German Mothers Cross of Honour Second Class to Martha Scherner, printed certificate with printed signature of Hitler recovered from the Führerbunker, blind-stamp of the German Reich in lower left hand corner, left hand margin not cut straight, 2 edges creased and stained, slightly browned in places, folio, dated Berlin 20th May 1945 as the date on which it was to be issued but c. 20th April 1945.
⁂ This document is iconic evidence of the Nazi enthusiasm for breeding German children. There were many such certificates, but this particular document is of importance because of its historical context. It was seized by a British intelligence agent operating in advance of the Allied armies who entered the Hitler bunker in the company of Soviet troops. It is thus one of the last documents prepared in the Führer bunker as the Nazi régime collapsed. Stamped with the Hitler signature and dated for presentation - but never presented. The German surrender came on 8 May 1945.
Provenance: "March 24 1959. This is to certify that I personally found this Document in Hitler's Bunker in Berlin shortly after the Battle. I have no hesitation in saying that is genuine. I collected six similar documents at the time which were passed to Military Intelligence who approved them. R.L. Sedgwick Brigadier. Late Controller-General. Military Affairs B.O.A.R. [BAOR British Army on the Rhine] Control Commission." - Letter of Authentification accompanying this lot.
Related Lots
Back To Auction Catalogue
Newsletter Signup
Keyword Alerts
You can now save your preferences to receive emails, or create a free lite account which gives you more features.
Would you like to receive personalised keyword alerts when new catalogues go live. If so, please indicate these below
Set a password to save your keyword alerts
Passwords are a minimum of 7 characters and must include an upper case letter, a lower case letter, a number and a special character.
Newsletter