Adolf Hitler's Pencil, Gifted By His Girlfriend, Sold For 10% Of Estimated Price

A pencil, which is believed to have once been owned by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, has been sold for a far lesser price than the estimated value at an auction in Belfast.

Hitler had received the silver-plated pencil from his girlfriend Eva Braun. The pencil was sold for £5,400 on Tuesday, according to a report in the BBC. However, the pre-sale estimate was around £50,000 to £80,000.

According to reports, it was gifted by his long-term partner on his 52nd birthday on April 20, 1941. The pencil was originally purchased in 2002 by a collector and remained in their family for over two decades.

However, the auction was held despite criticism from the European Jewish Association, which had called for the item to be withdrawn from the auction. The pencil, with the initials 'AH' , was sold at a specialist auction of "militaria, police and important Irish historical Items".

Chairman of the European Jewish Association, Rabbi Menachem Margolin, called the event an "insult to the millions who perished" in the Holocaust, as well as "the few survivors left, and to Jews everywhere".

Bloomfield Auctions' managing director, Karl Bennett, defended his company's decision to include the items that belonged to the Nazi dictator. "I understand why some people may struggle to understand why items like these are sold and collected," he said.

He further said that they "preserve a piece of our past and should be treated as historical objects, no matter if the history they refer to was one of the darkest and most controversial in recorded history".

Every historical item has a story to tell of a particular time and stated that their their customers were "legitimate collectors who have a passion for history", Bloomfield Auctions said in a statement, last week.

Apart from the pencil, there were other items that belonged to Hitler at the auction. A signed photo of Hitler was sold for £6,200, after expecting to reach £10,000 - £15,000. A section of Swastika bunting sold for £170 and an armband sold for £190, Sky News reported.