Hitler memorabilia auction rakes in thousands despite protests

An auction of Nazi memorabilia, including Adolf Hitler's top hat, raked in hundreds of thousands of euros in Munich Wednesday in the teeth of German and international protest.

The hammer fell on the Nazi leader's top hat at 50,000 euros ($55,310), according to the Hermann Historica auction house website, while items of clothing belonging to his partner Eva Braun each sold for thousands. One buyer paid 130,000 euros for a silver-plated copy of Hitler's antisemitic political manifesto Mein Kampf that once belonged to senior Nazi Hermann Goering, emblazoned with an eagle and the party's swastika emblem. Other lots of clothing and personal belongings from notorious World War II Nazi leaders like Heinrich Himmler and Rudolf Hess also packed the catalogue pages.