BERLIN (AP) - A Lebanese-born Swiss real estate mogul said Monday that he purchased Adolf Hitler's top hat and other Nazi memorabilia from a German auction in order to keep them out of the hands of neo-Nazis and has agreed to donate them to a Jewish group a Lebanese Christian who has lived in Switzerland for decades told The Associated Press he paid some 600,000 euros ($660,000) for the items at the Munich auction last week intending to destroy them after reading of Jewish groups' objections to the sale 'œI wanted to make sure that these pieces wouldn't fall into bad hands so I decided to buy them,'ť he said in a telephone interview he decided it would be better to donate them to a Jewish organization and got in touch with the Keren Hayesod-United Israel Appeal group Chatila is never going to even see the items - which also include a silver-plated edition of Hitler's 'œMein Kampf'ť and a typewriter used by the dictator's secretary - that will be sent directly to the group I just thought it was the right thing to do,'ť he said Neither Keren Hayesod nor the Hermann Historica auction house responded to requests for comment Keren Hayesod's European director told France's Le Point magazine that while no final decision had been made on what to do with the items they'd likely be sent to Israel's Yad Vashem memorial which has a selection of Nazi artifacts which had led the campaign against the auction going ahead such an act of selfless generosity to do something that you feel strongly about is the equivalent of finding a precious diamond in an Everest of coal,'ť EJA chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin wrote Chatila in a letter provided to the AP 'œYou have set an example for the world to follow when it comes to this macabre and sickening trade in Nazi trinkets.'ť Chatila said Rabbi Margolin had inspired him in the first place He also acknowledged there was some opposition in his native country 'œI understand that some of the Lebanese people were not happy with my gesture thinking that I was helping the '~enemy,''ť Chatila said at his Geneva office gesturing with air-quotes as he alluded to perennial tensions between Lebanon and Israel a lot of Israelis thought that it was a great move because this is another approach for peace - or something that is close to peace,'ť he added In what the company is calling a "realignment," Bosch Building Technologies announced on Thursday morning that it is selling most of its product businesses The fire alarm business will remain with the company the company’s Building Technologies division will focus on its regional integrator business with solutions and services for building security “We want to become one of the global leaders for systems integration in building technology and to seize the favorable opportunities for growth in this market,” Christian Fischer deputy chairman of the Bosch board of management This is why we will in the future be focusing on systems integration as our core business.” “Bosch is now looking for a buyer who will take on all three business units together with their associates and locations The product business with fire-alarm systems Because of its importance for systems integration it is to be merged with the integrator business and continued.” I would suspect that Bosch will be targeted by a VC fund as opposed to an existing vendor It could potentially become a target for Motorola given their large EMEA business and limited overlap; however “We are confident we will be able to find a buyer who will take over all three business units and who will further strengthen the business and give it a secure future,” Fischer said Bosch does not intend to develop this business further the president of Bosch Building Technologies added: “The product business is excellently positioned for a promising future under a new owner: innovative products and a market environment with attractive opportunities for growth.” the Building Technologies division will employ some 7,600 associates and operate at 40 locations in 8 countries As a brand-independent systems integrator with a large portfolio of energy and building solutions the division intends to benefit in the future from digitalization and a growing customer demand for integrated and cross-domain solutions in the areas of building security This move comes on the heels of Bosch's July acquisition of massive Canadian integrator Paladin Technololgies Paladin was merged into Bosch's Climatec business unit to create a large North American integration force of more than 3,000 associates In addition to Bosch's move to exit the security products space, Carrier has also publicly disclosed it is looking to divest its security products business will probably be better positioned under new ownership they are avoiding the channel conflict issues that are certain to impact the product business after its purchase of Paladin but the nature of a global conglomerate makes the task of having a coherent product and go-to-market strategy difficult That makes it difficult for Bosch employees to execute on a constantly changing strategy and it makes it difficult for the channel and channel partners to be properly aligned I think the Bosch products division will be ultimately more successful under new ownership with the caveat that in some cases the new owners don’t actually extract value out of the acquisition." Paul Rothman is Editor-in-Chief of Security Business magazine a print publication hosted on SecurityInfoWatch.com Paul Rothman is Editor-in-Chief of Security Business magazine. Email him your comments and questions at [email protected]. Access the current issue, full archives and apply for a free subscription at www.securitybusinessmag.com perhaps also Kuchenreuther and Purdey or even Holland & Holland the German auction house Hermann Historica The big names in the history of firearms are put up for auction as are the almost forgotten developments of ingenious inventors they form a kaleidoscope of gtechnology – always different always new and always fascinating – embedded in the world of the auction business The metallic clack as the auctioneer hits the top of the auction desk with the steel tip of his pen "Sold for 23,000 euros to the bidder with the number.. A Heckler & Koch PSP pistol in mint condition..." The auctioneer's voice is calm, clear and distinct. He routinely recites the most important information about the item on offer and then moves on to the bidding. It is an auction at the Munich auction house Hermann Historica – a well-established marketplace for militaria These were not even included when the auction house was founded and were only added in 2000 but now make up a significant part of the business “Fine Antique and Modern Firearms” is the name of the catalogue in which the auction items are carefully sorted concisely described and lavishly photographed The items designated as lots in the auction catalogue are also given a starting price This is the price at which the auctioneer offers the respective item for sale In contrast to the auctioneer is the hustle and bustle in the auction room some of whom are following the progress of the auction with considerable tension waiting attentively so as not to miss the call for the coveted collector's item in order to raise their bidding card at the decisive moment What follows is sometimes a veritable battle for the coveted items Currently in vogue and with enormous price increases are the pistols from the German manufacturer Heckler & Koch from the 1970s and 1980s Some of the items in the auction are so rare that customers are happy to dig deeper into their pockets to get their hands on the coveted piece customers also include museum curators and gun dealers who want to replenish their stocks or fulfil specific search requests from their customers Once the item has been awarded to a bidder a sometimes complex process begins behind the scenes the online catalogue is updated and the hammer price is now visible to everyone Some customers who took part in the auction on site want to pay straight away and take the item with them while other customers bid on other items first and then collect the entire purchase at once some customers from abroad have to wait until they can add the auctioned item to their home collection They have to wait for the invoice to be issued obtain the necessary acquisition and import documents and present them to the auction house which then has to apply for the necessary export licences Only then can the item begin its journey to its new owner It often takes months between the auction and receipt of the gat the buyer's place of residence post-auction sale – five important auction terms explained simplyThe starting price is the price at which an item is offered in the auction catalogue and at which the auctioneer begins the auction unless there are already several higher written bids the lot is called one bidding step above the second highest bid.When a lot has reached its highest bid This is the price at which the auctioneer awards the lot to a bidder after it has been called "for the third time" The hammer price is typically higher than the starting price – but it does not have to be the hammer price is equal to the starting price.The winning bidder pays a premium in addition to the hammer price This is part of the remuneration for the auction house The premium at Hermann Historica is currently 29.5% and also includes the statutory VAT.The consignor receives the hammer price for his item minus the so-called buyer's premium This is another part of the remuneration for the auction house which also finances part of the costs of producing the catalogue The buyer's premium at Hermann Historica is currently 20% again including VAT.If an item is not sold at auction it can be purchased in the so-called post-auction sale Here it is possible to buy it at the starting price plus the buyer's premium The post-auction sale begins immediately after the auction of the respective item and typically lasts six weeks It is also interesting to look at the other way round That of a firearm until it is called by the auctioneer in the auction It all starts with the owner's desire to make a profit on one or more guns Entire collections are often broken up and high double-digit sometimes even triple-digit numbers of guns are offered for sale in this way These firearms are often accompanied by a wide range of accessories The customers on the consignor side are just as diverse as the customers on the auctioneer side museums or simply the surviving dependants of gun owners who want to place the inherited item on the market It is precisely this point that makes the realisation so interesting Laymen are often unable to correctly assess the collector's value of a gun on the international market and would be prepared to sell a rare 08 pistol to an authorised person for a moderate amount Gun dealers may lack the clientele for high-priced treasures from the world of collectors and enthusiasts in their shops focussing on hunters and sport shooters the decisive factor in choosing a renowned auction house is often the good feeling of achieving a good market price because "the customers determine the price" This means that nobody needs to be annoyed if they later find out that the item they sold to a fellow shooter at a favourable price would have been worth much more Hermann Historica auctions the guns on behalf of its customers the transaction is then handled by the auction house as an arms trading company This means that the buyer does not know who consigned the gun and the seller does not know who bought it An anonymity that is appreciated in collector circles the starting price in the auction is set by the auction house's expert – after a detailed appraisal of the item Questions about the manufacturer and model originality and state of preservation play an important role in the valuation price development in recent years and current trends also play a role Different legal classifications in the countries of Europe often lead to certain differences in demand and therefore also in pricing A circumstance that can pay off in hard cash for both buyers and sellers What characterises the experts at Hermann Historica is a trained eye a wealth of experience and the ability to compare a piece to be valued with other firearms stored at the auction house Questions about the originality of a bluing are easier to answer if several pieces can be used for comparison The expert then prepares the text for the catalogue and commissions the photo – in the case of expensive guns several photos and possibly also a translation of the description the individual descriptions are sorted in order to form a coherent sequence in the catalogue The auction catalogue then forms the starting point for the next auction It often begins with incredulous amazement at the rare firearms that have once again been put together into an offer reveals certain developments on the market in the starting prices prompts the collector's heart to check the available funds and purchase authorisations and then fear or discuss with other fellow collectors And everyone waits for the redemptive click of the steel pen tip – whether consignor The excitement is practically always there More information on upcoming and past auctions is also available on the website of the Hermann Historica auction house. Deutschlandinfo@vsmedien.de International contact to all4shooters.com:info@all4shooters.com The international editorial team General Terms and Conditions Terms of Use Colophon Contacts Privacy Policy An empolyee holds a wallet and a strawhat that belonged to Eva Braun the wife of Adolf Hitler prior to an auction in Grasbrunn European Jews are outraged over the auctioning of Nazi memorabilia that belonged to Adolf Hitler and other senior figures in the Third Reich Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter Adolf Hitler's hat and his partner Eva Braun's dresses are among the items that were on sale as were Hermann Göring's cigarette box and a silver-covered edition of Hitler's Mein Kampf autobiography The European Jewish Association (EJA) failed to get the Munich-based Hermann Historica to stop the auction EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin said in a letter that the sale was a disgrace "Selling such items should be no different than selling the personal items belonging to Osama Bin Laden the product was described as a "food chopper." Inspection of the actual shipments revealed 1,300.. British police believe the five detainees arrested on Monday Israeli Air Force employs some 50 munitions to target Houthi infrastructure in Yemen 24 hours after missile strike close to.. Analysis  Archaeology Blogpost Business & Finance Culture Exclusive Explainer Environment Features Health In Brief Jewish World Judea and Samaria Lifestyle Cyber & Internet Sports Diplomacy  Iran & The Gulf Gaza Strip Politics Shopping Terms of use Privacy Policy Submissions Contact Us The first issue of Israel Hayom appeared on July 30 Israel Hayom was founded on the belief that the Israeli public deserves better more balanced and more accurate journalism [contact-form-7 id=”508379″ html_id=”isrh_form_Newsletter_en” title=”newsletter_subscribe”]