Edmonton antique store removes Nazi memorabilia after Twitter backlash

It’s the time of year where we pause to reflect on the legacy of war.

But the question of whether we should be re-selling Nazi memorabilia for profit came to the front doors of an Edmonton antique store.

Bashir Mohamed took to Twitter for advice, after finding plates with Nazi symbolism.

https://twitter.com/BashirMohamed/status/1454519397846974464

“This item in front of me with this horrific past, and it’s just offered up for sale,” said Mohamed.

The owner of the Old Strathcona Antique Mall told CityNews after reading comments on Twitter, they will no longer be selling the items in store.

“The continued emotional trauma, of families of survivors, I guess that’s where it really came home to me yesterday,” said Betty Reitan, the owner of Old Strathcona Antique Mall.

“No one should be profiting off of genocide. And that’s what these items represent,” said Jenn Magalnick, a Holocaust education coordinator with the Jewish Federation of Edmonton.

We have been following this since @BashirMohamed raised this in a tweet. We hope that the Nazi memorabilia that was found at @EdmAntiqueMall is in fact no longer for sale and we will continue to monitor. Seeing memorabilia of a genocide being sold in Edmonton disgusts us (1/2). https://t.co/lXgMjl3w1D

— Jewish Edmonton (@JewishEdmonton) November 1, 2021

The Jewish Federation of Edmonton is hopeful the items are not just off the shelves, but no longer being sold, as we enter Holocaust Awareness Month.

They believe these items belong in a museum.

“It’s true that it is a part of our history. But having something like that in a store, rather than in a museum with educational context. Having it in-store, without a connection to what it is and what it represents, really trivializes it.”

Magalnick recommends anyone with these types of items reach out to a museum or an organization like the Jewish Federation of Edmonton for advice on what to do with the items.

“Unfortunately, it’s not that uncommon. Part of the reason I wanted to get involved is, I saw similar items at that same store, I’ve brought it up and been told ‘oh we’ll look into it’,” said Patricia Sauthoff, an assistant lecturer in the department of history classics and religion at the University of Alberta.

https://twitter.com/BashirMohamed/status/1454632628728971271

After seeing Tweets on the subject, Sauthoff felt compelled to email the antique mall, concerned about these items falling into the wrong hands with no context, as new generations of antisemitism arise.

“Just this weekend in Edmonton, you had people walking through the streets wearing Stars of David, and associating mask mandates and vaccine mandates to the Holocaust, and that is really scary to see because it really undermines the terrible things that happened,” she said.

We’ve said it before and we will say it again. There is no equivalence. Regardless of how anyone identifies, equating the Holocaust to COVID vaccines or passports is disgusting. It is beyond disrespectful to the victims, survivors & their descendants. Stop. #COVID19 #ABCOVID https://t.co/jMzJrqCx7B

— Jewish Edmonton (@JewishEdmonton) October 31, 2021

The owner of the antique mall says she will be donating her personal collection to a museum, but defends private war collectors in purchasing these Nazi memorabilia, noting how most items in Alberta were brought to Canada by soldiers.

“They were souvenirs of this horrible monster that they had defeated,” said Reitan.

But says she’s grateful the harm these items were causing was pointed out.