Luftwaffe Heavy Silver Presentation Case from Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe Hermann Göring to Swedish Industrialist Birger Dahlerus, Christmas 1939
This is a personal Christmas gift from Generalfeldmarschall Hermann Göring to his Swedish acquaintance Birger Dahlerus as thanks for his efforts to avert the impending war between Germany and England.
Heavy solid silver cigarette case, gold-plated, a work by the famous Prof. Herbert Zeitner, the favorite jeweler of Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe Hermann Göring. The lid is engraved with a large Luftwaffe national eagle, with a radiant sun in the background. Interior also gold-plated, with fine engraved facsimile dedication on the inside of the lid in Hermann Göring's handwriting: “Birger Dahlerus in dankbarer Würdigung der Anstrengungen fr den Frieden ! Hermann Göring Kriegsweihnacht 1939”. On the underside with jeweler's marks of master goldsmith Prof. Herbert Zeitner “Zeitner Berlin”. Dimensions 7.5 x 12.5 x 1.5 cm, weight 240 grams. Complete in red presentation case, interior with cream-colored silk bed for the case, inside of lid with white silk and imprint “Werkstatt H. Zeitner Berlin - Handarbeit.”, dimensions 12.5 x 15 cm. The case still contains the handwritten note by Hermann Göring with the dedication as template, which was transferred by Zeitner as engraving. (Extremely rare, normally the template was discarded afterwards). Only very slight traces of age, with beautiful patina, untouched since 1939 in very good original condition.
Included is a copy of the book by Birger Dahlerus “Der letzte Versuch London - Berlin Sommer 1939” 1973, with several photographs, including Göring together with Dahlerus.
Birger Dahlerus (* February 6, 1891 in Stockholm; † March 8, 1957 ibid.) was a Swedish industrialist. He became known as Hermann Göring's mediator in the final days before the outbreak of World War II. Dahlerus had personal contacts with Hermann Göring from his time in Sweden as well as with leading circles in England. With Hitler's approval, Göring enlisted Dahlerus in August 1939 to achieve an agreement with London. He met with Adolf Hitler, Arthur Chamberlain and Lord Halifax, the British Foreign Minister. In the critical phase on the eve of the outbreak of war, he negotiated and attempted to avert the war. On August 31, he visited the Polish Ambassador Józef Lipski in the morning, accompanied by British Counsellor George Ogilvie-Forbes, to explain Hitler's last offer regarding the Danzig question. In the first days after the outbreak of war, Dahlerus continued his efforts, but met with rejection in London from British leadership with the offer that Göring would come to England for negotiations. The mediator failed due to Poland's refusal to negotiate and England's determination to now stop Hitler. In 1946, Dahlerus testified as a witness for Göring at the Nuremberg Trial. In July 1945, he published his memoirs from 1939 under the title “Sista försöket” (“Last Attempt”). They appeared in Germany in 1948 in translation by Hellmuth Dix, a brother of Rudolf Dix, who was defense counsel in the Nuremberg Major War Criminals Trial.
Heavy solid silver cigarette case, gold-plated, a work by the famous Prof. Herbert Zeitner, the favorite jeweler of Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe Hermann Göring. The lid is engraved with a large Luftwaffe national eagle, with a radiant sun in the background. Interior also gold-plated, with fine engraved facsimile dedication on the inside of the lid in Hermann Göring's handwriting: “Birger Dahlerus in dankbarer Würdigung der Anstrengungen fr den Frieden ! Hermann Göring Kriegsweihnacht 1939”. On the underside with jeweler's marks of master goldsmith Prof. Herbert Zeitner “Zeitner Berlin”. Dimensions 7.5 x 12.5 x 1.5 cm, weight 240 grams. Complete in red presentation case, interior with cream-colored silk bed for the case, inside of lid with white silk and imprint “Werkstatt H. Zeitner Berlin - Handarbeit.”, dimensions 12.5 x 15 cm. The case still contains the handwritten note by Hermann Göring with the dedication as template, which was transferred by Zeitner as engraving. (Extremely rare, normally the template was discarded afterwards). Only very slight traces of age, with beautiful patina, untouched since 1939 in very good original condition.
Included is a copy of the book by Birger Dahlerus “Der letzte Versuch London - Berlin Sommer 1939” 1973, with several photographs, including Göring together with Dahlerus.
Birger Dahlerus (* February 6, 1891 in Stockholm; † March 8, 1957 ibid.) was a Swedish industrialist. He became known as Hermann Göring's mediator in the final days before the outbreak of World War II. Dahlerus had personal contacts with Hermann Göring from his time in Sweden as well as with leading circles in England. With Hitler's approval, Göring enlisted Dahlerus in August 1939 to achieve an agreement with London. He met with Adolf Hitler, Arthur Chamberlain and Lord Halifax, the British Foreign Minister. In the critical phase on the eve of the outbreak of war, he negotiated and attempted to avert the war. On August 31, he visited the Polish Ambassador Józef Lipski in the morning, accompanied by British Counsellor George Ogilvie-Forbes, to explain Hitler's last offer regarding the Danzig question. In the first days after the outbreak of war, Dahlerus continued his efforts, but met with rejection in London from British leadership with the offer that Göring would come to England for negotiations. The mediator failed due to Poland's refusal to negotiate and England's determination to now stop Hitler. In 1946, Dahlerus testified as a witness for Göring at the Nuremberg Trial. In July 1945, he published his memoirs from 1939 under the title “Sista försöket” (“Last Attempt”). They appeared in Germany in 1948 in translation by Hellmuth Dix, a brother of Rudolf Dix, who was defense counsel in the Nuremberg Major War Criminals Trial.
