Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Hitler's globe going up for auction

This article about auctioning Hitler’s valuable objects such as his globe came in this morning. When Hitler died in World War II, soldiers who survived the war had looted his private residence, even stripping the leather from Hitler’s furniture. Nearly everything of value was taken by soldiers, except for the fuehrer's globe! John Barsamian, now 91 is the owner/holder of this precious item. When he found this precious item he was a 28 year old chief warrant and he had kept it for more than 60 years since the war in his home in Oakland, and now, he is putting this artefact up for sell. Hitler’s Globe isn’t the only valuable object he found after the war, he also found all the military paperwork that allowed him to bring it back to the United States, including a certificate that reads "1 Global Map, German, Hitler's Eagle Nest." John Barsamian found the globe in May 1945 in Berghof, which is the home of Hitler in the Bavarian Alps town of Berchtesgaden. John didn’t want anyone to know about the globe, therefore, he only told his close friends who mentioned it. He told the reporter that “Hardly anyone knew I had it”. But after beating cancer and burying his wife, Viola in 2004, he is ready to give up the globe and let the world know about it. The globe is expected to have a value of $15,000 to $20,000 during the auction.
I think this is very cool to know that someone still has valuable items from the war, especially if it belongs to Hitler. Being able to possess an item for such a long time is quite impressive, considering it’s from the war time. I think we are quite fortunate to know that people like John is willing to share precious items such as this globe to the world instead of keeping it a secret and end up losing a important piece of historical item forever. This is a very important piece of historical item and people can learn a lot from this globe. Though I have never seen this globe, so I wouldn’t know the condition of the globe, but, I still think that this globe should be worth more for the amount of historical information that this globe contains; we never know, but this globe may allow us to learn more about Hitler, and his tactics used during the war. Anyhow, I think who ever buys this globe during the auction should feel honoured and proud and should try his best to keep the globe in the best condition possible.

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