Description
Here is an Adolf Hitler Formal Dinner Knife acquired by Major Donald Grey Brownlow in the final months of WW2. It measures approximately 10″ in length. This particular piece was liberated from his home in Obersalzberg (Berghof) in May of 1945. All pieces from the Brownlow collection are in exceptional condition. Along with the knife, you will get a copy of Brownlow’s certificate of provenance. You can find various pieces of AH silverware/flatware out there, but very few with this kind of provenance. There is a very slight dimple in the upper right corner of the handle. It’s very difficult to photograph, but I thought I’d mention it. It does not detract from this piece whatsoever. The blade is in unusually perfect condition. Considering what these pieces must have gone through, this one is in almost perfect shape.
I was fortunate to be contacted by the estate of the individual that purchased the flatware directly from the veteran, Donald Grey Brownlow. It came to me with the original signed/wax sealed letter of provenance, from Brownlow, stating that the three informal pieces were acquired from the Brown House, the national headquarters of the National Socialist German Worker’s Party, and eight formal pieces from the Hitler’s home in Obersalzberg, in May of 1945.
Brownlow landed on Utah Beach during the D-Day invasion and later partook in the Battle of the Bulge. During the battle in the Ardennes, he and two other members of his unit were captured by SS troops, but the men were fortunate to escape two days later. Mr. Brownlow earned a Purple Heart after shrapnel from a German tank shell wounded him. He also earned a Bronze Star for finding and deactivating a minefield. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre from the French government.
When he came back to the US, he became a history teacher at a Pennsylvania University and also authored several books about WW2. Three of his signed books, “Panzer Baron”, “Hell was my home” and “The Accused” came with this lot of flatware, which all are for sale in the books section.