Hitler's watch sells for $1.1m

At a US auction, a watch rumoured to have belonged to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler brought $1.1 million (£900,000). The Huber watch displays a swastika and bears the initials AH engraved on it. It was purchased from an anonymous bidder. Prior to the auction at Alexander Historical Auctions in Maryland, Jewish leaders denounced it.

The auction house, which has in the past offered for sale Nazi artefacts, told German media that its goal was to preserve history. Between 1933 and 1945, Adolf Hitler served as the leader of Nazi Germany, presiding over the systematic killing of up to 11 million people, six million of whom were Jewish.

The fascist leader may have received the watch as a birthday present in 1933, the year he was appointed Chancellor of Germany, according to the watch's product catalogue.

According to an appraisal by the auction house, the watch was taken as a souvenir in May 1945 when about 30 French soldiers stormed the Berghof, Hitler's mountain retreat.

The timepiece is believed to have been sold again and passed down through several generations until today.

A dress once owned by Eva Braun, the wife of Adolf Hitler, autographed photos of Nazi leaders, and a yellow cloth Star of David bearing the word "Jude," which is German for "Jew," were among the other items up for auction. In order to isolate and persecute Jews during the Holocaust, the Nazis made them wear the yellow identifiers as armbands or badges.