Holocaust profiteers

Nazi memorabilia dealer apologises for trying to sell 'fake' death camp uniform on eBay for £11,000 as victim's family call for police probe

• Viktor Kempf, 62: 'I would like to apologise for awaking bad memories'
• But victim Wolf-Gierszon Grundmann's outraged family say it is a fake
  
• Police in Vancouver, where Kempf lives, are poised to open a fraud case

By Simon Murphy and Matthew Kalman


MAIL ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

A Nazi memorabilia dealer who tried to sell a concentration camp victim’s clothes on eBay for more than £11,000 has apologised – and pledged to return the garment to the man’s family.

Dealer Viktor Kempf, 62, claimed the striped uniform belonged to Wolf-Gierszon Grundmann, who died in Auschwitz in 1941.

Last night Kempf said: ‘I am ready to present the uniform to the family as a donation. And I would like to apologise to them for awaking sad feelings and bad memories.’

The complete Auschwitz prisoner uniform, including cap, shirt, trousers and shoes, which seller Viktor Kempf claimed belonged to Wolf-Gierszon Grundmann. But Mr Grundmann's outraged family claim it is a fake

Several Star of David armbands, used to identify and demean Jews, were on eBay for up to £165

However, experts and Mr Grundmann’s relatives believe the uniform is counterfeit and have asked police to investigate.

• Ebay's sick trade in Holocaust souvenirs: Outrage over auctions of Death Camp relics

How the Mail on Sunday broke the story last week

Last week an investigation by this newspaper revealed how online auction site eBay was profiting from the sickening trade in Holocaust relics.

It caused global outrage and led to an apology from eBay, which removed 30 items from sale – including the uniform – and pledged to make a £25,000 donation to charity.

Mr Grundmann’s disgusted relatives accused Kempf, who lives in Vancouver, Canada, of ‘trying to make money out of a personal tragedy’.

Mr Grundmann’s daughter’s half-sister, Fani Simon, 66, said she would be asking Canadian police to investigate Kempf.

Ms Simon, who lives in Tel Aviv, Israel, said: ‘This is terrible and upsetting. I feel very angry.

‘We are absolutely sure this uniform is a fake, which means someone stole his identity.’

Another of the uniforms since removed by eBay, with close-ups of the buttons and material for buyers

Vancouver Police last night confirmed that they are ready to open a fraud investigation.

Kempf told The Mail on Sunday he bought the uniform from a collector in Holland, who had obtained it from an American dealer. Kempf added: ‘I never thought that I would cause any harm. It is not illegal to buy and sell these items.’

Dr Shimon Samuels, of the Simon Wiesenthal centre for Holocaust studies in Paris, said genuine clothing from Nazi concentration camps was rare: ‘When the camps were liberated there was a fear of typhus and everything was burnt as a precaution. So it is very unlikely that anything beyond a few rags would have remained.’

Detailed records of victims, including serial numbers, are kept by Holocaust museums and are easily accessible online – making identity fraud simple. Mr Grundmann, of Proszowice, Poland, arrived at Auschwitz on January 16, 1941. A few months later his family received a letter saying he had died.

Toothbrushes apparently used by Auschwitz victims were on sale at £145

A battered case inscribed with the name Samuel and a Star of David, listed at £492

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles, said: ‘It is flat out disgusting for eBay, to profit from the prison garbs of Holocaust victims. They are on the same page as advertisements for major companies like Kia and McDonald’s. This is taking the sale of Nazi death camp memorabilia to the mainstream. It is deplorable.

‘These precious items only belong in museums because they are witnesses to history. This trade is demeaning to everyone who died in the Holocaust.’

eBay has broken no UK laws by selling materials from the Holocaust. But the same trade is banned in Germany, Austria and France. In 2000 Yahoo was sued in France for allowing an auction of Nazi memorabilia.

Mrs Clarke, whose father was shot just a week before Auschwitz was liberated by Russian soldiers in 1945, said: ‘Many survivors of Auschwitz burnt their uniforms. But I do know of some who kept theirs, and other mementoes.

SELLING HOLOCAUST MEMORABILIA: IS IT ILLEGAL?

‘HOLOCAUST’ SALES: WHY CAN’T EBAY  STOP THEM?
The company said it uses a filter system which is supposed to pick up restricted items uploaded by sellers, but admitted that goods can slip through the net. eBay said that in light of The Mail on Sunday’s findings, it would be redoubling its efforts to remove items of concern.
HOW MUCH DOES EBAY MAKE FROM THEM?
The site makes ten per cent from the final sale price of items and receives a listing fee ranging from free to a few pounds depending on type of sale and country which it is being sold from. In the case of the concentration camp uniform priced at $18,000, the company would receive a listing fee of 50 cents (31p) and royalties of $1,800 (£1,125) should the item sell for its full price.
WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?
The authenticity or origin of Holocaust items cannot be immediately verified, but the sellers claim the memorabilia is genuine and in some cases have stated that it was originally sourced from the victims’ families.
IS IT ILLEGAL?
The sale of Holocaust memorabilia is legal in the UK but outlawed in Germany, France and Austria.

Profiting from pain: Woman's curlers from the Warsaw Ghetto were listed at £17

Wooden clogs were up for sale as part of a female concentration camp victim's uniform

The striped pyjama-style concentration camp uniform was worn by death camp inmates