This is a virtually pristine black-and-white bust portrait of Hess by Conrad of Berlin.  Hess, with piercing, deep-set eyes, heavy eyebrows, and a serious expression on his face, appears in uniform with a heavy overcoat prominently featuring a button with a Nazi eagle and swastika design.  He has signed with a bold signature in blue-black ink in the broad white margin at the bottom of the photograph.

In the accompanying cover letter, Hess’s adjutant Winkler writes to send the photograph to a young girl.  In full:  “I am pleased to be able to send you the enclosed photograph of the Führer’s Deputy with the desired signature.  Heil, Hitler!”

This photo has the name of the girl’s father and his address written on the back in pencil with the notation “Gau,” together with the notation “Hess” on the edge in blue ink.  It is very fine, and only the notations on the back keep it from being extra fine.  The accompanying cover letter is signed Winkler in blue fountain pen.  It has crossing mailing folds, one of which goes through the blind-embossed Nazi eagle in the letterhead, a paper clip stain in the blank upper right margin, two small holes in folds, and a tiny split in the top of the vertical fold.  It is fine. 

We reject Nazism and all that it represented.  Yet the German Third Reich and the Holocaust that it systematically carried out played an undeniable role in 20th Century history.  Since we believe that to decline to offer Third Reich material, although it is offensive, would aid those who want to sweep the Third Reich under the rug and deny that the Holocaust occurred, we offer this material because the world must never forget what happened, lest it happen again.  As Winston Churchill said, paraphrasing the Spanish philosopher George Santayana, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.  Click here to read more about these thoughts in our Blog posts of January 8 and February 26, 2010. 

Unframed.