A letter sent by Adolf Hitler to his ally the emperor Hirohito of Japan in 1943 is set to cross the block at RR Auction.
It’s addressed to “His Majesty the Kaiser of Japan” and officially informs Japan that Germany will be replacing its former ambassador Eugene Ott with Heinrich Stahmer.
Germany allied with Japan and Italy in 1940
The change was made after it was discovered that a member of Ott’s staff, Richard Sorge, had been operating as a Soviet spy in Japan.
While Ott had no part in the espionage himself, the Japanese and Nazi top brass were furious Sorge was able to get access to sensitive information on Ott’s watch.
Ott and Stahmer had both worked to form the Axis alliance, made up of the fascist governments of Germany and Italy and imperial Japan.
The letter is handwritten (though not by Hitler) and is signed by the dictator at the end. It’s expected to make in excess of $6,000.
There’s also an ultra-rare US Air Force A-2 flight jacket, complete with original hand-painted insignia.
The jacket remains in great condition
The lot formerly belonged to Technical Sergeant Roy Hoff.
On the front Hoff has stencilled 29 bombs, showing his flown missions. A leather custom patch bears the 364th Bombardment Squadron emblem.
On the reverse is a stunning painting of Hoff’s B-17 bomber, below which is the legend “GI Jive”.
Few of these hand-painted jackets have survived in such good condition. This example is already at $4,510, double its $2,000 low estimate.
Please sign up to our free newsletter to receive exciting news about medal and militaria auctions.
