The private papers of Heinrich Himmler, chief of the German SS during the Nazi era, and of his family, were purchased recently in Mexico for $40,000 from a former Nazi, it was disclosed at a press conference today by Chaim Rosen-Thal, who until a few months ago was Israel’s Cultural Attache at the Israel Consulate here.
But Rosen-Thal said that the authenticity of the vast collection of documents has not yet been completely verified and is under scrutiny by various experts. He declined to identify the person who sold the documents because “one of the conditions” of the seller was that his name would not be disclosed. Rosen-Thal said the sellet was “the secretary of the secretary” of Himmler whom he identified as Karl Wolf.
Rosen-Thal, who said he learned about the existence of the documents five years ago from a friend in Belgium who is an art and gun collector, said the collection includes about 700 personal letters of Himmler and his family; scores of photos from the private albums of the Himmlers; and diaries and legal documents, such as a Nazi Party membership book belonging to Himmler’s wife, Marya. Rosen-Thal introduced xeroxed copies of these documents at the press conference. He said that after the documents are sifted through and authenticated, they will be given to an Israeli institution, probably to Tel Aviv University.
Rosen-Thal came under fire recently in the Israel press for not returning to Israel after he completed his four of duty here, but he said today that he extended his stay in the United States because of the Himmler documents.
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