Police are called to auction house amid fury over Nazi flag which was hoisted in window to promote World War Two sale

• The flag was removed on Monday following a complaint to West Mercia Police
•  The flag, which features a black swastika, is expected to fetch £500 at auction

Police were called after an auctioneer hoisted a Nazi flag in his window to promote a World War Two sale, which could fetch £500.

The flag, which features a black swastika against the Austrian red-and-white triband, is expected to go under the hammer on September 30.

The upcoming auction at Saturday Auction House in Blackminster, Evesham, Worceshire, has sparked controversy among locals after auctioneer Trevor Williamson put the flag in the shop window.

The flag was removed on Monday after a complaint was made to West Mercia Police. 

Mr Williamson says the 3ft by 5ft flag was seized by British troops in World War Two and kept as a souvenir.

Police were called after an auctioneer hoisted a Nazi flag in his window to promote a World War Two sale, which could fetch £500

The flag, which features a black swastika against the Austrian red-and-white triband, is expected to go under the hammer on September 30

The flag was passed down through the soldier’s family before a relative decided to sell it.

Johanna Anderson, 44, was one of those who saw the flag on her way to a nearby spinning and weaving shop last Saturday.

She said: ‘I pulled up on the car park, looked up and thought ‘wait, what?’

‘Someone I know came over and I had to ask if she was seeing the same thing as me. It was overlooking the car park and pretty hard to miss.

‘I have an elderly Jewish friend I meet there and was glad she wasn’t there that day as her family were killed in the holocaust.

‘It turns out the flag had been there a week already – she had seen it and had reported it to the police.

‘I don’t have family that were directly impacted but seeing it had a strong emotional impact on me.

‘If it was in a museum it would be different but this was completely without context.’

Auctioneer Trevor Williamson says the 3ft by 5ft flag was seized by British troops in World War Two and kept as a souvenir

Mr Williamson said: ‘We have been instructed to sell the flag as part of an estate sale in the usual manner.

‘As auctioneers, we act as agents and do not uphold or subscribe to any political movement or regime.

‘It’s regrettable that the action of temporarily displaying the flag has caused offence.

‘We have replied to the five persons who have raised objection and advised that the flag has been removed.

‘There are two sides to the rationale to consider here; On one hand and without argument, the Nazi flag is divisive but remains as a stark reminder of the darkest and most abhorrent period in human history, a period that should not be forgotten and never repeated.

The upcoming auction of the flag at Saturday Auction House in Blackminster, Evesham, Worceshire, has sparked controversy among locals

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said they received a report of a business on Blackminster Business Park in Evesham displaying an offensive flag

‘On the other, this artefact is of significant importance having been captured by British troops during World War Two, and in this context represents victory over fascism.

‘We had put the flag in the window for a week and when police came to see us they advised us to remove it.

‘They said they couldn’t force us to take it down but we decided it was best to. Context is everything in cases like this.’

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: ‘On Sunday, September 3 we received a report of a business on Blackminster Business Park in Evesham displaying an offensive flag.

‘Officers visited the business on Monday and after discussions with the owners the flag was removed.’

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