When you see the words “most destructive weapon of all time” chances are that you’re likely to think of nuclear bombs and the like. Although in certain situations this is likely to be accurate, this time a different historical artefact owns this title.
In a recent announcement by Alexander Historical Auctions in Maryland, it was revealed that German dictator Adolf Hitler’s phone is set to be auctioned off. Hitler’s name is etched in the history books as a result of all the atrocities he committed against Jews in Germany.
Described by the company as “Hitler’s mobile device of destruction,” calling it “arguably the most destructive ‘weapon’ of all time”, the chipped red phone, with bits of its original black showing through, is engraved on the backside, with the Fuhrer’s name and a swastika.
The phoned, which was made by Siemens, goes up for sale on February 19, 2017.
The phone was recovered from the Fuhrer bunker, the shelter where Hitler and Joseph Goebbels did some of the most evil bidding. Hitler used it to issue commands during the final two years of World War II.
The phone was recovered by British officer Ralph Rayner from Hitler’s bunker while visiting Berlin. His son Ranulf Rayner, 82, inherited the phone after his father’s death in 1977.
“My father didn’t see it as a relic of Hitler’s glory days; more a battered remnant of his defeat, a sort of war trophy,” Rayner told CNN.
He hopes the objects recovered will be bought by a museum, rather than a private collector.
“I want them to remind the world of the horrors of war.”
The auction house estimates that “the most destructive weapon of all time” will be sold for between $200 000 and $300 000.