Dear Madam or Sir,

referring to the negative news coverage about our upcoming auction, we feel obliged to rectify the current impressions concerning Hermann Historica:

Hermann Historica has the reputation of an internationally known auctioneer, specializing in historical objects of all times and provenances – German history between 1933 and 1945 is only one of many segments in our catalogue.

We are fully aware of the responsibility that this segment requires and have always felt obligated to treat this critical subject with all due care and attention.

When conveying historical objects to museums, archives or serious collectors, Hermann Historica obeys the most restrictive requirements. In this respect, our work is equally important and indispensable in providing museums and collections with objects of contemporary history. In this way we contribute to a better understanding of this period and help avoiding a repetition of these disastrous developments. For years, we have been providing the most distinguished international museums and collections with items of the era in question and strongly believe that banning this segment would have no other effect than creating a non-transparent market.

In this context, we want to point out that our terms and conditions unmistakably requires all business partners to treat the items in question in a socially adequate way (regulated by §§86a, 86 StGB).

All visitors and customers are subject to a thorough control.

We consider the tabloid coverage of our work as being undesirable, since sensational headlines cannot communicate the serious background of our activities – in contrast to our intentions, it fuels the wrong impression of Hermann Historica acting in an irresponsible fashion. Understandingly, this impression might offend large parts of the public. Hermann Historica is fully aware of the devastating German history between 1933 and 1945 and is strictly opposed to all neo-nazi or national socialist movements.

The complexity of the topic as well as the risk of being misunderstood and attracting an undesired group of customers has lead us to the decision to minimize public announcements and press releases. We believe that this is the only way to carry out our work in a responsible manner. News coverage with the primary objective to create spectacular headlines only renders this delicate task impossible and might spur disturbance.

We hope that you understand our position – Hermann Historica, Munich.”

Auction 61		Online Catalogues
Auction: Monday, May 9, 2011 - 10.30 a.m. Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Wednesday, May 11, 2011 Thursday, May 12, 2011