On Monday, an Israeli court ordered the auction of a tattoo kit that was alleged to have been used by a Nazi at Auschwitz to temporarily stop the sale from going forward, according to the AFP news agency. At the ceremony, attended by Tom Tugendhat, a British member of Parliament and co-chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, the kit was given away in the hope that it would bring some resolution to one of the great mysteries in history.
The kit, believed to have been used on Auschwitz prisoners, was handed over to a family in Florida by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum and is reported to be worth millions. In addition to the tattoo kit, it also included implements that were used to tattoo the victims of the infamous concentration camp.
However, on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Haifa District Court said that the auction had been put on hold and that a full investigation was underway. The spokesman also said that it was unclear whether the kit would return to the family if the auction was eventually blocked or whether it would be incinerated.
The kit’s family originally picked it up in July from the United States and they said that they plan to use it as a gift to a new family member, according to the Israel National News.
“We do not mean the contents of the tattoo kit or the implements or the manpower that went into making them,” Irina Klonoski, a spokeswoman for the Auschwitz museum, told the Associated Press. “But it is someone who received a tattoo that they have with a chance of identifying him.”
Aside from the haunting image of a person getting a tattoo at the concentration camp, experts have also raised concerns that if someone were to commit the crime at Auschwitz, the equipment may be stolen and resold, reports The Guardian.
Read the full story at The Guardian.
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