Nazi memorabilia

I would sell it and donate the money to one of the armed forces charities.

If your husband's step father belonged to a particular regiment that has a regimental museum then why not offer it to them. It could be displayed with a small card"donated by ........"

Your step FIL meant your DH to profit from the sale if possible. As a knife it’s no more or less perilous in the hands of criminals than the average kitchen knife. Accept it for what it is - an artifact of another time that no museum would want but that you and your DH could make some money from. My father had lots of WWII artifacts most of which he was given by German civilians in exchange for soap etc. Does the fact that they were Rolex watches etc. make them any more acceptable? I feel it was still trading in people’s misery.... but he wanted his hoard to profit us, he sold them and passed on the cash to his grandchildren who spent and enjoyed the cash. Strangely now my son would rather have a war vintage Rolex and wishes Grandad hadn’t sold them.

I am not high and mighty with the moral ground. I would say its your husbands artifact, let him have the money from selling it. I dont see the problem. Were it mine I would probably keep it.

My uncle brought back a number of things from the beaches of Japan at the end of WW2 including a samurai sword that belonged to an officer who had killed himself . I suppose that would be awful too. I was not given it , it went to a nephew because he was a boy He sold it for a pretty penny. It was a beautiful thing. I would have loved to have had it and I am not a neo nazi.

My uncle was also in Germany and picked up stuff from there. It was all sold. No one thought of giving the money to a charity. Maybe we just arent like that in my family.

If your husband wants the money he should be allowed to have it and without a guilt trip from you ( sorry if the last bit sounds harsh but your Op sounds so huffy about the thing I think you might give the bloke a hard time).

Perhaps try a google search to see if selling a knife like that is even legal in the uk?

The problem is you cant choose who buys an article at an auction. Even if you sell it privately, if its a neo Nazi that is interested he/she is hardly likely to advertise the fact to you. I would donate it to an interested museum.

This is a most interesting conundrum. I have discussed this with my husband and we have a some comments to contribute to your discussions.
Firstly, your instinct is 100% correct. Auctioning it could allow it to end up in the hands of a Neo-Nazi, who would love to get his hands on such an object. That would be a terrible thing to happen, so I don’t believe this would be the correct route to go.
It would be certainly be worth contacting the Imperial War Museum to ask if this item is of interest to them. It may be something they may wish to be exhibit, or to add to their archive for research use by historians.
If they were to offer to purchase it, it would be appropriate to donate the entire net proceeds to a suitable charity, like the National Holocaust Centre and Museum, which educates primary and secondary school students and university students about intolerance, bigotry, religious and race hatred, gender prejudice and bullying. Their whole being is to teach about the evils of such things, using the Holocaust as the most devastating example, to help the young people to stand up against such terrible crimes.
To profit from the sale of a knife, which belonged to a member if the Nazi regime who could easily have been a perpetrator of crimes against humanity and genocide would, in our view, be highly immoral.

The knife is an inanimate object, it is neither good nor evil. The purpose for which it was used was probably evil, but that act was perpetrated by a human not a knife. It is your husbands possession, he sells it he gets to keep the money. I am honestly a little mystified someone can “hate” an object

Firstly, your instinct is 100% correct. Auctioning it could allow it to end up in the hands of a Neo-Nazi, who would love to get his hands on such an object

Well who else will bid on it?
It won't be a historian. Nazi knives arent of much historical value. Other nazi items, which tell the story, would be, but not so much a knife.

My husband is an avid militaria collector, it started when he was away at school in the 60’s. Boys would trade the ‘souvenirs’ their fathers and grandfathers had brought back.

He is very interested in both WW1 and WW2, he takes groups to the Somme and Normandy and will take his collection to show it to schoolchildren and give talks.

He has spent hours researching aspects of certain battles from both side and has become something of an expert.

A Nazi dagger will have great value, not necessarily for some madman but to a serious collector.

When epic films such as Band of Brothers and Dunkirk are in the making it is people such as my husband advise on the correct weaponary, uniforms, vehicle etc.

One very good charity to donate to could be the Commonwealth War Graves Commision. They tend the graves so beautifully.

I come down on the side of those who say donate it to a museum or donate the proceeds to a service charity, but items like this come up at auction houses and militaria sales all the time. Many of them are reproductions that are bought by WWII military re-enactors who are, if you will excuse the word, ‘fanatical’ about historical accuracy. Military and historical re-enacting is very popular and these people certainly aren’t Neo Nazi’s, just weekend enthusiasts who do no harm to anyone. (No doubt there are some who will have plenty to say about that). Having said that, I could not say what would motivate any other purchaser. A genuine SS, or a German Army, dress dagger will go to a collector for large amounts of money. I doubt they are all building shrines to Adolph Hitler in the spare bedroom!

You are not allowed those sorts of "real" weapons at LARPS (including re-enactments) so it wont be them buying.

If it was a genuine garnent or other sort if item, yes maybe.

This from the Government’s website.

“Good reasons for carrying a knife or weapon
Examples of good reasons to carry a knife or weapon in public can include:
* taking knives you use at work to and from work
* taking it to a gallery or museum to be exhibited
* if it’ll be used for theatre, film, television, historical reenactment or religious purposes, for example the kirpan some Sikhs carry
* if it’ll be used in a demonstration or to teach someone how to use it
A court will decide if you’ve got a good reason to carry a knife or a weapon if you’re charged with carrying it illegally”.

I would not sell it. Whoever buys it has an interest in Nazi memorabilia by definition. See if the Imperial War Museum would accept it. Or melt it down.

Thank you ClareAB for coming back to let us know what you have decided - and for telling us that you had checked the legal position.
I do think this has been thought provoking, as the many posts testify.

I didnt say it was illegal greyduster
I mean the LARPs themselves jave strict specifications around weapons which prohibits "real" weapons. Replicas are custom made for LARPS to meet the rules.

Point taken.

I would give any money made from the auction of the knife to a Jewish charity of your husbands choosing, hoping he has a conscience.

Although you husband could donate the money to any of a number of charities as it was not only Jews who were imprisoned by the Nazis and died, anyone who didn’t fit the Aryan mould was targeted e.g. homosexuals and gypsies.

I wouldn't voice the opinion that the proceeds should be donated to a charity if the owners were struggling to get by financially. However, the OP says that she and her husband are comfortably off so, in that case, I do think the money should be donated.