A watch that belonged to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler has been sold at a Maryland, US auction for $1.1 million to an anonymous bidder.
The Huber watch, dating from the 1930s, shows a swastika and initials AH engraved on it, The Independent reported on Saturday.
The auction, held at Alexander Historical Auctions in Chesapeake City on Thursday, has been described on their website as a “World War II relic of historic proportions”.
The timepiece is a reversible gold wristwatch by Andreas Huber, which was likely given to Hitler on April 20, 1933, on his 44th birthday, when he was named an honorary citizen of Bavaria alongside former chancellor Paul von Hindenburg.
The watch has three significant dates - Hitler’s date of birth, the day he became chancellor and the day the Nazi Party won the elections of March 1933.
The watch was authorized by the Nazi Party or NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) and engraved by Andreas Huber in Munich.
Jewish leaders condemned the auction as during Hitler’s rule in Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945, an estimated 11 million people had been killed, 6 million of whom had been murdered because they were Jewish.
A total of 34 Jewish leaders described the auction as “abhorrent” in an open letter.
However, the auction house said the sale had been aimed at preserving history.
