Nazi artefact auction cancelled after backlash

An auction house has cancelled a sale of wartime items that included Nazi artefacts after concerns were raised by a campaign group.

Harper Field Auctioneers and Valuers, based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, was due to auction the items on Wednesday.

The campaign group Community Solidarity Stroud District had asked for the cancellation of the sale over concerns it could contribute to hatred and division.

After the business cancelled Wednesday's auction and removed the Nazi artefacts from its website, a spokesperson said the matter was "closed".

The auction consisted of 80 lots of artefacts associated with the Nazis, including medals, armbands, helmets and swords.

Community Solidarity Stroud District staged a small picket line outside the auction house earlier, after receiving a "poor response" from the auction house, which initially refused to cancel the sale.

"We don't believe that people should be profiting from the genocide of millions," said Denise Needleman from the campaign group.

She added: "Two weeks ago in Stroud, we had the Holocaust Memorial Day event which was very well attended.

"We came together to remember what genocide is and remember what the Holocaust was, so to see this sale so soon afterwards reminds us that there is a market still for Nazi paraphernalia."

Last week, the group wrote a letter to the auction house calling for the removal of the auction, which had more than 100 signatures.

While it is unlawful to sell Nazi symbols in some parts of Europe such as Germany and Austria, there are no specific laws prohibiting the sale or ownership of Nazi artefacts in the UK.

In 2025, a Scottish auction house announced it would no longer sell Nazi artefacts in its collections.

Needleman said she would like to see some sort of sanctions over such sales.

"If there was an ethical framework which auction houses signed up to in the UK, that'd be a very, very positive move," she said.

She said items like those that were due to be sold should go to museums instead, with an educational framework.

"Many people in Stroud and many Jewish people in Stroud have come from families who lost people in the Holocaust," Needleman continued.

"It's not a far distant memory, it becomes part of the fabric, three generations on."

A spokesperson from the auction house said: "We are a small business and have had to take steps to protect ourselves.

"After speaking to all our staff we have simply cancelled tomorrow's auction."

"We consider the matter closed," they added.

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