The Nazi dictator apparently left the pair of boxer shorts, which are expected to fetch between $4,000 and $5,000, at the Austrian Parkhotel Graz hotel in 1938. The Austrian family that runs the hotel kept the underwear for decades. The grandson of the previous owners recently decided to auction the boxers.
The white-striped linen shorts are in a "as-new condition" and are described as "surprisingly large" at 19 inches long with a waist of about 39 inches, because Hitler was an "atrocious dresser and preferred the loosest clothing." The auction listing also states that "the shorts bear his monogram: ‘A. H.' just to the right of the top of the fly."
A signed copy of Hitler's racist manifesto, Mein Kampf, which is an autobiographical book that outlines how the Nazi party leader became anti-Semitic as well as his eugenicist plans he later implemented, is expected to sell for as much as $20,000.
Hitler's globe, which was taken as a souvenir from Hitler's home in Bavaria by an American soldier, is also being sold by Alexander Historical Auctions. The globe is expected to sell for about $100,000.
Other Third Reich memorabilia being auctioned off include Adolf Hitler's monogrammed cocktail glass, which is thought to sell for between $750 and $1,000, as well as a parasol that belonged to Hitler's wife, Eva Braun, which is expected to sell for as much as $1,500.
Last year, Eva Braun's lilac underwear was sold at the Philip Serrell auction house in Malvern, United Kingdom for a whopping $3,828. They were only expected to sell for around $528.
— Alexander Historical (@AlexAuto) September 8, 2017
According to the president of the auction house, Bill Panagopulos, the items will not be sold to any unsuitable buyers.
"If Richard Spencer [a vocal white supremacist] were to walk in here or buy any of this online, I'd throw him out," Panagopulos said.
However, Panagopulos also added that "the same kind of people who would buy a confederate or union sword or stamps are interested in these items."
The Anti-Defamation League, which is a non-governmental organization based in the United States whose mission is to stop the defamation of Jewish people and secure justice for all people, is concerned about the items attracting the wrong types of people.
According to the organization's deputy national director Ken Jacobson, "Some people will be attracted to [these items] for good historical reasons."
"But we have concerns about such auctions especially with the extreme elements feeling emboldened," Jacobson added. "You have to wonder whether any of this is playing into this mood or not."
