Ten minutes before the opening: Torah scroll fragment looted by the Nazis removed from auction

The Valkyrie Historical Auctions auction house in Oslo removed a Torah scroll fragment looted by the Nazis from the sale ten minutes before its opening, following pressure from the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The auction house itself purchased the fragment for $8,500 and it will be donated to a Holocaust commemoration organization in San Diego.

The Valkyrie Historical Auctions auction house in Oslo removed a Torah scroll fragment looted by German SS soldiers from the auction ten minutes before its opening, following pressure from the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The fragment, torn from a Torah scroll and used as wrapping paper for a package sent by an SS soldier through the mail, was put up for sale. The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the sale a "moral atrocity." The auction house itself purchased the fragment for $8,500, plus a 25% commission, totaling $10,625. The fragment will be donated to a Holocaust remembrance organization in San Diego, United States. A source at the auction house said there was no practical way to remove the item from the sale at the last moment, so they submitted an unusually high bid.