Hitler’s globe sold for $65,000 at US auction

The personal terrestrial globe, a unique relic, was taken as a souvenir from Hitler’s residence at Berchtesgaden in Germany on May 10, 1945 by John Barsamian, an American soldier at the end of the World War II.

The globe is mounted on a wood base with a metal half- meridian attached at the north and south poles, and stands 18 inches high in all, with a diameter at the equator of over 12 inches, according to Live Auctioneers in the US.

The globe is marked entirely in German. Notably, the borders of Germany include the portion of Poland allotted to them under the German-Soviet Frontier Treaty of 1939, as well as Austria and the Czech Sudetenland, the auction house said. The globe is accompanied by a letter written by Barsamian to his family, dated May 10, 1945. 

“I am going to tell you something now that I bet will really surprise you. Today I went and visited Adolph Hitler’s Home at Berchtesgaden in the Alps. The place had been bombed, however, parts were still standing,” Barsamian wrote. 

“It was really some thrill to walk all around Berchtesgaden and look out over the majestic Alps and think that just a short while ago Adolph Hitler stood where I am standing and looked over the countryside,” he wrote. 

The globe was auctioned for $65,000, the auction house said.