Lot 4575

Description

18 carat yellow gold, the outer surfaces with a fine honeycomb structure in relief, the edges chiselled, no manufacturer's marks. The birthday dedication (tr.) "Presented to my faithful employee and comrade Milch as a token of my sincere appreciation – Hermann Göring 30.III.31" engraved on the inside in Göring's handwriting. The London Assay Office's 1945 stamp for 18 carat gold. 197 g. Dimensions (closed) 79 x 104 mm. In a replacement, English leather case.Erhard Milch (1892 - 1972), Generalfeldmarschall, State Secretary in the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (Reich Ministry of Aviation), Inspector General of the Luftwaffe and, on the death of Ernst Udet in 1941, Generalluftzeugmeister until July 1944.
In a sworn statement dated 1948, GFM Erhard Milch described how his marshal's batons and other items of value, including this gold cigarette case, were stolen (here translated in abridged form): "On 26 April 1945, I left Berlin as ordered and made my way to the Sierhagen estate in Holstein. On 4 May, several English soldiers arrived and took me prisoner. I was taken to Neustadt, where I was received in a restaurant by a major general (Brigadier General Derek Mills-Roberts). The general wrested my interim marshal's baton from my hand and beat me about the head with it until the shaft shattered into several pieces. He then grasped hold of one of the many bottles of champagne still standing on the table and smashed it over my head. Thereupon I was brought to Lübeck and turned over to a Scottish regiment, who treated me correctly and properly, in accordance with military procedure. During my absence, certain English soldiers misappropriated all the valuables in my personal belongings, including my marshal's baton, my wedding ring, my signet ring, my gold and silver cigarette cases, gold watches etc." Furthermore, in his memoirs, the actor, Peter Ustinov describes seeing the above incident during his military service on a newsreel film made by the British Army.
Cf. Hermann Historica, Contemporary German history from 1919, 72nd Auction, lot no. 8171.
Provenance: Das Zigarettenetui stammt aus dem Besitz des bekannten niederländischen Sammlers alter Waffen "Henk" Visser (1923 – 2006), der es wiederum von seinem besten Freund Neville Whitley, ebenfalls ein sehr bedeutender Sammler aus Nordirland geschenkt bekommen hatte. Whitely erwarb das Etui von einem irischen Offizier der britischen Armee. Visser wurde in Groningen geboren und war während des Zweiten Weltkriegs noch in der High School am niederländischen Widerstand beteiligt. Er wurde zum Tode verurteilt und wartete drei Monate in der Todeszelle, bevor er in ein Gefangenenlager in Deutschland geschickt wurde.
Condition: II + Questions about the lot?