A rare cutlery set which is believed to have belonged to Adolf Hitler and is engraved with the Nazi leader's initials has emerged for sale for a staggering £10,000.
The Krupp Berndorf silver knife, fork, serving spoon and teaspoon, each embossed with 'A.H'., were salvaged from the Third Reich at the end of World War Two by British Army interpreter Willie Cohen.
Willie, described as a 'Jack the Lad' character, gifted them to British antique dealer David Corcoran, who kept them on the shelf of his Kent workshop for years.
The friends often laughed about using the cutlery, with auctioneers highlighting how 'chilling' it is to think that it could have been used by an evil dictator.
Now the silverware will be going under the hammer, eight decades after it was first picked up by Willie, at Duke's Auctions, of Dorchester, Dorset.
The Krupp Berndorf silver knife, fork, serving spoon and teaspoon, each embossed with 'A.H'.
The rare find is expected to fetch a staggering £10,000 when it goes up for auction
The cutlery set's previous custodians, Willie and David, became friends when they spent time together in a Manchester military prison in 1942.
David was locked up for 15 days for swearing at an officer, while Willie was punished for being AWOL after running off with a woman.
After doing his sentence, Willie, the Paris-born son of German parents who had moved to England pre-war, was recruited as an interpreter and sent to Germany.
He was assigned to the British Armistice Commission but returned with Hitler's cutlery, possibly found in a trunk looted from the Reich Chancellery.
Willie later gave David the cutlery, which was since consigned by David's widow, who lives in the Midlands.
David said in a 1982 newspaper article: 'While Willie was in Germany he got hold of some very interesting stuff.
'He was a bit of a villain and when he came back to England he sold some of the things he had brought with him.
The set was gifted to British antique dealer David Corcoran, who kept them on the shelf of his Kent workshop for decades
Julian Smith, specialist at Duke's, said: 'Each piece is silver and maker-marked Krupp Berndorf and engraved 'A H'.'
'Back in the 50s, I used to go round to Willie's with a couple of birds and we'd laugh about eating dinner with Hitler's knife and fork.'
Julian Smith, specialist at Duke's, said: 'Each piece is silver and maker-marked Krupp Berndorf and engraved 'A H'.
'The set was owned by antique dealer David Corcoran, who acquired the set from a friend Willie Cohen, a real 'Jack the Lad' character.
'It is being sold by his widow who hopes the set will go to someone who will appreciate them as they have just been tucked away in her home.
'It is chilling to think that Hitler may have used this cutlery, but there is a fascination among some collectors for these types of items.'
The set will go under the hammer on May 17.




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