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Nazi Memorabilia Auction in France Canceled After Objections

Exhibits from the Nazi era are seen in a cupboard at the auction house Hermann Historica in Munich, Germany. | Photo: REUTERS
Exhibits from the Nazi era are seen in a cupboard at the auction house Hermann Historica in Munich, Germany. | Photo: REUTERS
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Nazi Memorabilia Auction in France Canceled After Objections

Exhibits from the Nazi era are seen in a cupboard at the auction house Hermann Historica in Munich, Germany. | Photo: REUTERS
Exhibits from the Nazi era are seen in a cupboard at the auction house Hermann Historica in Munich, Germany. | Photo: REUTERS

An auction displaying memorabilia from the Nazi era had been canceled following the objections of an association combating anti-Semitism, the local authorities announced. According to AFP, the auction was scheduled on January 9, in Soissons, northern France.

The local authorities said: "We were notified that an auction of Nazi memorabilia is set to be held in Soissons, on Saturday. The news was mentioned in the local media as well."

"After evaluating the situation, we made some calls upon the request of the chief, who advised to cancel the event, and the organizers agreed to cancel it," they added.

In a statement on its official website, the French National Bureau of Vigilance against Anti-Semitism accused "irresponsible organizers" of "adding value to the Nazi era" by holding this auction.

The bureau has also reminded of the ban on "wearing badges or icons similar to those worn by organized members charged of committing crimes against humanity."

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Russia Expels Two UK Diplomats as it Negotiates to Restore US Ties

A flag flies at the British embassy in Moscow, Russia September 13, 2024. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A flag flies at the British embassy in Moscow, Russia September 13, 2024. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Russia Expels Two UK Diplomats as it Negotiates to Restore US Ties

A flag flies at the British embassy in Moscow, Russia September 13, 2024. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A flag flies at the British embassy in Moscow, Russia September 13, 2024. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Russia accused two British diplomats on Monday of spying and gave them two weeks to leave the country, reinforcing the downward trajectory of Moscow's diplomatic relations with Europe even as it negotiates to restore ties with the United States.
Britain's Foreign Office rejected the allegations against its diplomats as "baseless".
Moscow has been angered by Britain's continued military support for Ukraine and by Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recent statements about putting British boots on the ground and planes in the air in Ukraine as part of a potential peacekeeping force, Reuters said.
The expulsions also come days after three Bulgarians were found guilty in a London court of being part of a Russian spy unit run by Wirecard fugitive Jan Marsalek to carry out surveillance on a US military base and other individuals targeted by Moscow.
The two Britons appear to be the first Western diplomats to be expelled from Russia since Moscow and Washington opened talks on restoring staff at their respective embassies that have been depleted by tit-for-tat expulsions, part of Donald Trump's rapprochement with the Kremlin that has alarmed European allies.
Similar expulsions have sharply curtailed the functioning of Russian embassies across the West and of Western missions in Russia since President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022.
Russia's Federal Security Service said the two British diplomats had provided false information when getting permission to enter the country, and it had "identified signs of intelligence and subversive work" they had carried out, harming Russian security.
The Kremlin said Russia's intelligence services were doing everything necessary to safeguard national security.
Responding to Moscow's decision, Britain's Foreign Office said in a statement: "This is not the first time that Russia has made malicious and baseless accusations against our staff."
RELATIONS IN DEEP FREEZE
Russia's Foreign Ministry said it had summoned a British embassy representative over the expulsions and had complained that the diplomats were "undeclared" employees of Britain's intelligence services, something Moscow would not tolerate.
The ministry said it would "respond in kind" if London now decided to "escalate" the situation.
Russian police in February opened a criminal investigation into an alleged assault on a freelance journalist by a person believed to be an employee of the British embassy, an allegation London dismissed as "an interference operation" designed to intimidate legitimate diplomats.
That announcement came a day after Britain announced it was expelling a Russian diplomat in retaliation for Moscow throwing out a British diplomat last November.
Relations between Britain and Russia have plunged to post-Cold War lows since the start of the Ukraine war. Britain has joined successive waves of sanctions against Russia and provided arms to Ukraine.