No takers for 'Schindler's List' up for auction

An auction for one of “Schindler’s Lists” had no bids on eBay.

The list was put up for sale on July 18, and ran for 10 days, until July 28. The auction, which started at an eye-popping $3 million for the piece of Holocaust history, was open only to approved bidders. 

The winning bidder would be required to pay a $10,000 deposit. The remaining amount owed would be due within seven days. The winner also would need to pick up the document in Israel.



The list is named for German businessman Oskar Schindler, who compiled the 801 names of workers he deemed essential for his enamel factory, thus sparing them from concentration camps.

Only four original lists are known to exist, including the one up for auction dated April 18, 1945, which is described as 14 onionskin pages long.

The date, say experts, could be part of the problem – along with the high price. Since the film focuses on the first two lists, not the one on the auction block, the subsequent lists are updates to the original – and not worth the steep price, according to ABC News.

"When they say 'Schindler's list,' it's almost like they are using the romance of the original list and the magic of that to sell what was prepared at the end of the war," David Crowe, Holocaust historian and the author of "Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities, and the True Story Behind the List," told ABC News.

"This list is far less valuable." He added he had not personally seen the list that had gone up for auction.

The seller actually references Crowe’s book in the original listing:
“Up for auction is not a copy of that list, but the actual one. It was sold by Itzhak Stern's nephew to the current owner. It is dated in pencil on the first page, April 18, 1945.

The listing continues, “The auction will also include a copy of the affidavit from Stern's nephew, recounting more details and provenance on The List.There's a complete history of the composition of the list in David Crowe's brilliant bio, Oskar Schindler: The Untold Account of His Life, Wartime Activities, and the True Story Behind the List.”


For those who want to see that history without paying for it, a copy of the list also can be seen for free at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Eric Gazin, president of AuctionCause.com and the one who put the list up for sale, told ABC news that he still has bidders who are interested. "We are in active discussions with multiple parties," he said.

“Own a piece of history,” the auction site reads. “This exceedingly rare original Schindler’s List is the only one ever on the market. It emanates from the family of Itzhak Stern, Schindler’s accountant and right hand man (played by Ben Kingsley in the Academy Award-winning film). There are 3 others known which are in institutional hands. It is 14 pages in length and lists 801 male names, dated April 18, 1945. It is guaranteed authentic.”

The seller told the Daily Mail he had no plans to reduce the price.

“The value and price of noted historical documents has been rising the past two years as investors realize their significance and investment value,” he told the Daily Mail. “It's a fair price given its history and its provenance.”

Source: Claudine Zap / Yahoo News