The pristine white summer tunic, meticulously tailored from fine doll skin wool and bearing the hand-stitched name “Reichsführer SS Himmler” inside its breast pocket, has shattered all previous records in the militaria collecting world. This singular garment, the only authenticated uniform of Heinrich Himmler to survive the war, was sold at auction for a staggering $2. 2 million, including the buyer’s premium, cementing its status as the most expensive SS object ever sold.
The sale, conducted by the renowned German auction house Hermann Historica following the death of its previous owner, the prominent collector Dave Delich, has sent shockwaves through the historical community, reigniting debates about the lucrative and morally complex trade in Nazi artifacts.
The tunic’s journey from a looted Bavarian villa to the pinnacle of the auction world is a story steeped in the final chaotic days of the Third Reich. In May 1945, as American forces swept through southern Germany, an eight-man patrol from the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Texas Infantry Division, captured Himmler’s palatial home in the village of Gmund on the shores of the Tegernsee. The Reichsführer-SS, the architect of the Holocaust and the second most powerful man in Nazi Germany, was nowhere to be found, having fled north in a desperate attempt to attach himself to the remnants of the German government.
His wife, Margareta, and their daughter had already abandoned the property days earlier, fleeing to northern Italy, leaving behind a treasure trove of personal effects that would soon be thoroughly looted by souvenir-hungry GIs.
Among the soldiers who descended upon the abandoned villa was First Sergeant Paul E. Davis of Company E, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. Davis, who arrived shortly after the initial patrol, made off with a host of items, including Himmler’s personal stationery, photographs, a sash from the Italian Order of Saint Maurice and Saint Lazarus, and the grand prize: the summer dress tunic.
A remarkable photograph from the period shows a grinning Davis wearing the tunic and sash outside Himmler’s house, holding in his left hand a pre-war SS parade helmet, a relic that would later find its way to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. Davis kept these items for nearly four decades, eventually selling the lot in June 1982 to collector Dr. Robert Lee, who in turn sold them to Dave Delich, a foremost collector of Third Reich material in the United States.
The tunic itself is a masterpiece of pre-war tailoring, a symbol of the perverse luxury enjoyed by the Nazi elite. Such lightweight uniforms were introduced in 1937 for wear between April and September, designed to be easily washed, and were discontinued in 1940 due to wartime economies. This example, made of white doll skin wool, features a four-button front, an open collar, French cuffs, and scalloped, pleated pockets.
The rank badges are unique to Himmler, consisting of black velvet collar tabs with silver aluminum hand-embroidered clusters of three oak leaves surrounded by a wreath. The single shoulder board is of three interwoven twist silver aluminum cords, and the right sleeve bears an honor chevron issued to all SS personnel who were members of the party before January 1933. The maker’s label, Steckbart, and the handwritten date of 22 April 1938, along with Himmler’s name, authenticate its provenance beyond doubt.
The tunic’s condition and details offer a fascinating glimpse into Himmler’s personal history and his relatively modest decorations compared to other Nazi leaders like Hermann Göring. Himmler’s World War I service had been very limited, and he was not awarded high Nazi decorations with the exception of the Blood Order, the ribbon of which is permanently stitched to the tunic’s right pocket buttonhole, signifying his participation in the failed 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. The left breast pocket contains stitched loops for a ribbon bar, the Golden Party Badge, and his Reich Sports Badge in silver, an award he strove hard to achieve despite his unathletic build.
A later addition, the gaudy combined pilots and observers badge in gold with diamonds, was awarded by Göring despite Himmler never having piloted a plane. The tunic’s stripped state, missing its usual metal decorations, suggests it had been placed in long-term storage at Gmund, as Himmler had moved his primary residence to his mistress’s villa at Schönau am Königssee.
The sale of this tunic has not been without its controversies, as it highlights the enduring and uncomfortable allure of Nazi memorabilia. While some argue that such items are historical artifacts that must be preserved for study, others decry the trade as profiting from the instruments of genocide. The tunic’s new owner, who remains anonymous, has chosen to keep the garment in a private collection, meaning it will not be accessible to the public for education or remembrance, unlike the Himmler parade helmet which now resides in a museum in New York.
This has drawn criticism from historians who believe that such significant objects should be housed in public institutions to serve as tangible reminders of the horrors of the Nazi regime.
The story of the tunic also underscores the vast amount of material that was looted from Himmler’s two Bavarian properties in the spring of 1945. His second villa, at Schönau am Königssee, was captured by the US 7th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division on the same day as the Gmund house. This property, used by Himmler when visiting Hitler at the Berghof, was also abandoned and stuffed full of uniforms and personal items, including a special armored limousine that was later put on permanent display in a German museum.
The looting was so extensive that items have been trickling onto the market for decades, with many surfacing at auctions in the United States in recent years. The sheer volume of material taken suggests that other significant Himmler relics, perhaps even other uniforms, may still be hidden in attics and basements across the country.
According to research, some of Himmler’s clothing was removed from the Königssee house in April 1945 by one of his secretaries, Erika Lorenz, and later burned before US forces arrived. However, the grapevine suggests that several of his field gray World War II uniforms were indeed taken as souvenirs by GIs but have never surfaced publicly. The possibility remains that a veteran’s family is unknowingly sitting on a literal goldmine, unaware of the immense historical and monetary value of a garment that might be tucked away in an old trunk.
The $2. 2 million sale of the white summer tunic has undoubtedly intensified the search for such items, as collectors and dealers scour estate sales and family histories for any trace of the Reichsführer’s missing wardrobe.
The provenance of the tunic is meticulously documented, from the receipt written on Himmler’s personal headed notepaper by First Sergeant Davis in 1982 to its appearance in several reference books on Third Reich regalia. This paper trail was crucial in establishing its authenticity and driving its price to astronomical levels. The tunic was considered the crown jewel of Dave Delich’s collection, and its sale was one of the most anticipated events in the militaria auction calendar.
The final price of $2. 2 million far exceeded pre-sale estimates, demonstrating the intense demand for items directly associated with the highest echelons of the Nazi leadership, despite the ethical questions surrounding such transactions.
The sale has also brought renewed attention to the broader market for Nazi artifacts, which continues to command the highest prices in the world of militaria collecting. Uniforms of Nazi leaders, in particular, hold a major allure for serious collectors who are willing to pay vast sums to own a piece of history, however dark that history may be. The tunic of Heinrich Himmler, the man responsible for the systematic murder of millions, is now the ultimate prize in this macabre field.
Its sale serves as a stark reminder of the enduring fascination with evil and the complex ways in which we choose to remember, or profit from, the past. As the tunic disappears into another private collection, its future remains uncertain, a silent witness to one of history’s greatest crimes, now a commodity traded among the ultra-wealthy.
