Nazis looted a Torah scroll fragment, sold it in Oslo for $8,500

A fragment of a Torah scroll looted by SS soldiers during the Holocaust was sold at an auction in Oslo for $8,500. The Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned the sale, and Jewish organizations demand its return to the legal heirs.

A fragment of a Torah scroll looted by SS soldiers during the Holocaust and sent to Germany as a souvenir was sold at an auction in Oslo for $8,500 – more than four times the high estimate. For decades, the fate of the fragment remained unclear until it appeared on the art and historical items market. The Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned the sale, and Jewish organizations demand its return to the legal heirs. The article quotes a source named Taylor, who noted that Norway adopted in 2024 the best practices document for implementing the Washington Conference principles on art and cultural property confiscated by the Nazis, which states that these assets are not private collectibles but part of the collective and religious memory of the Jewish people.