Germany has canceled an auction of Holocaust artifacts following backlash from politicians and outrage from Holocaust survivors, Poland’s Foreign Minister Sikorski confirmed on X/Twitter.
"Thank you, [German Foreign] Minister Johann Wadephul, for the information that the offensive auction of Holocaust artefacts has now been cancelled. Respect for victims requires the dignity of silence, not the din of commerce," Sikorski wrote on Sunday.
Sikorski described the auction as “offensive,” stating, “I spoke with Wadephul about the planned auction of items from the time of German terror during World War II in Neuss. We agreed that such an outrage should be prevented.”
"The memory of Holocaust victims is not a commodity and cannot be the subject of commercial trade. Polish diplomacy appeals for the return of artifacts to the Auschwitz Museum," Sikorsky commented.
A group representing Holocaust survivors called on the German auction house Felzmann to cancel the upcoming sale, which was set for Monday and included hundreds of Holocaust artifacts, as reported by the Associated Press. The items listed for auction included over 600 lots in western Neuss, near Düsseldorf.
The International Auschwitz Committee (a Berlin-based survivors group) called on the German auction house to cancel Monday's sale. "For victims of Nazi persecution and Holocaust survivors, this auction is a cynical and shameless undertaking that leaves them outraged and speechless," International Auschwitz Committee vice-president Christoph Heubner said in a statement on Saturday.