Auction house workers clearing a long-vacant home in Alaska that was about to be listed for sale have discovered what they call an invaluable “time capsule in history.”
They removed an old trunk from the home that appeared to be filled with yellow papers and blankets.
Auction house staff thought the items were personal belongings.
But when they brought it back to the auction house and dug a little deeper, they were shocked at what they discovered: carbon copies of transcripts from the Nuremberg war-crimes trials.
They also found a staff directory for the multinational tribunal that prosecuted scores of Nazi masterminds in those infamous trials, a translated letter to Nazi faithful that signs off with “Heil Hitler” and personal credentials and correspondence belonging to a lowly post-war stenographer who squirreled the mementos away for decades.
“One of my guys noticed that one of the pieces of paper said Nuremberg, and it happened to be a telephone book. So, then we started looking at it, and we go, ‘Wow’.” Then we really started looking at it, and go ‘Wow, Wow’.” said auction house owner Duane Hill.
The collection, which belonged to the late Maxine C. Carr, is the featured lot in an auction of World War II relics scheduled to take place on Saturday.
Little is known about Carr’s time in Alaska, although state records show she eventually used her married name, Maxine Sud.
Carr died at least a decade ago, but it’s not clear exactly when she passed away.
Her 91-year-old widower, Chand Sud, lives in an Anchorage assisted living facility.
Through the auction house, he declined to comment to The Associated Press.
Hill said the widower was surprised to learn about the documents, although he knew of Carr’s Nuremberg past.
An old undated news article found among his wife’s possessions says Maxine Carr worked for 32 months on the International Military Tribunal staff in Nuremberg.
In November 1945, the landmark Nuremberg trials began.
Twelve of the 23 defendants, including Hitler aide Hermann Goering, were sentenced to death.
The Carr collection is being auctioned as one lot, with no minimum bidding set.
Asked how much he thought the collection would go for, Hill said he had absolutely no idea.
Several other private collections of mementos from that era also are being auctioned and include Nazi arm bands, German and Russian medals, and a tiny Hitler propaganda booklet.
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