This comprises souvenirs collected by an Allied soldier from the Reich Chancellery after May 8, 1945. 2 boxes containing items from the Führer's office and the New Reich Chancellery: Facsimile stamp with the signature “Adolf Hitler” in brass with wooden handle. Also a stamp dryer, on whose blotting paper numerous “Adolf Hitler” ink impressions from the facsimile stamp. Seal “Der Führer” above national eagle, brass with blackened wooden handle. Seal “Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP” (Chancellery of the Führer of the NSDAP), brass with light wooden handle. Stamp “Kasse des Führer” (Führer's Cashier), rubber with black wooden handle. Incoming stamp “Adjutantur der Wehrmacht beim Führer” (Wehrmacht Adjutancy to the Führer), rubber with red wooden handle. Another rubber stamp with the facsimile signature “Adolf Hitler” on wood, for insertion into a stamp. 2 adjustable date-incoming stamps with years up to 1945. 1 large incoming stamp with running 5-digit incoming number. 2 original packages of red sealing wax, originally tied with paper vignette “Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP.” Also an opened package of sealing wax. Furthermore various stamping and sealing utensils, stamp pads, 2 bottles of stamp ink for stamp pads, pen nibs, pencils, etc.
The items are contained in an old folding box, also found in the New Reich Chancellery, on the lid with paper vignette “Kanzlei des Führers der N.S.D.A.P.” (with early party eagle) as well as in a wooden box with sliding lid, on the inside lined with stationery “Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP” and the impressions of the seal “Der Führer” as well as the rubber stamps.
This estate is suitable as an important document of German contemporary history for a museum exhibition, to document both the vast power and administrative apparatus surrounding the “Führer” as well as the total collapse of the Third Reich.

Provenance: 63rd Auction Hermann Historica Munich of October 29, 2011, hammer price EUR 50,000 plus buyer's premium. In recent years this estate was exhibited at the “Eyewitness Museum” in Beek, Netherlands, which closed in 2022.

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Administrative Equipment from the Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP and the New Reich Chancellery

This extensive collection of administrative office equipment — comprising facsimile stamps, official seals (Petschaft), rubber stamps, date stamps, ink pads, sealing wax, writing implements, and their original storage boxes — provides a remarkable window into the bureaucratic machinery that surrounded the center of National Socialist power. The objects originate from two related but institutionally distinct bodies: the Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP (KdF), a Nazi Party organization, and the Neue Reichskanzlei (New Reich Chancellery), the state building that housed Hitler’s official governmental functions.

The Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP

The Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP, also known as the Privatkanzlei des Führers (“Private Chancellery of the Führer”), was established in November 1934 in Berlin as a separate agency. It operated in parallel with the German Reich Chancellery under Hans Heinrich Lammers and the Nazi Party Chancellery (known until 1941 as the “Staff of the Deputy Führer”), led by Martin Bormann. The KdF was headed by SS-Obergruppenführer Philipp Bouhler, who bore the title Chef der Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP. Bouhler was appointed to this position on 17 November 1934 and held it until 23 April 1945.

The chancellery’s responsibilities encompassed a wide range of administrative tasks: handling complaints against party officials, processing appeals from party courts, dealing with official judgments, reviewing clemency petitions from NSDAP members, and managing Hitler’s personal affairs. A revealing detail about the nature of this work is that much of the incoming correspondence consisted of trivial complaints, petty grievances, and minor personal squabbles among Party members — a striking contrast to the monumental façade the regime projected.

In 1939, the KdF relocated its offices to the vicinity of the New Reich Chancellery at Voßstraße No. 8, where it initially employed twenty-six staff members. By 1942, this number had increased fivefold, reflecting the expanding bureaucratization of the Nazi state during wartime.

The New Reich Chancellery

In late January 1938, Hitler officially tasked architect Albert Speer with designing and building a new Reich Chancellery, setting a deadline of January 1939. Speer declared the construction complete two days before the deadline, although interior fittings continued well into the early 1940s. The total construction cost exceeded 90,000,000 Reichsmark. The building was devastated by air raids and nearly completely destroyed during the Battle of Berlin. In 1949, at the command of the Soviet city administration, demolition of the remaining ruins began.

The Objects and Their Function

The items in this collection served as everyday administrative tools in daily use until 8 May 1945. The brass facsimile stamp bearing the “Adolf Hitler” signature with its wooden handle was used to mechanically reproduce Hitler’s signature on documents requiring his approval. The accompanying stamp dryer with blotting paper, bearing numerous ink impressions of this facsimile signature, attests to the intensive use of this instrument.

The two Petschaft (wax seals) — one inscribed “Der Führer” above the Hoheitsadler (national eagle) in brass with a blackened wooden handle, the other reading “Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP” in brass with a light wooden handle — were used to authenticate official documents with wax seals. Two original sealed packages of red sealing wax, still tied with their original cord and bearing paper labels of the “Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP,” complement these sealing implements.

Among the rubber stamps are one marked “Kasse des Führers” (“Treasury of the Führer”) and an entry stamp from the “Adjutantur der Wehrmacht beim Führer” (“Wehrmacht Adjutancy to the Führer”). The latter institution, the Adjutantur der Wehrmacht beim Führer und Reichskanzler, was established after the death of President Hindenburg. The position of Wehrmacht adjutant was held by Oberst Hoßbach from 1934 to 1938, followed by Oberst, later Generalmajor Schmundt, who was attached as an independent group to the Wehrmachtzentralamt. Two adjustable date entry stamps with years up to 1945 and a large entry stamp with a five-digit sequential number document the systematic recording of incoming and outgoing correspondence. Documents were placed in Reich Chancellery signing folios containing blotter paper and brought to the desk of the official who would sign them.

The Storage Boxes

The objects are housed in two boxes that are themselves part of the historical ensemble. One is a folding box (Klappkiste) bearing a paper label on its lid reading “Kanzlei des Führers der N.S.D.A.P.” with an early party eagle. The other is a wooden box with a sliding lid, its interior lined with letterhead paper from the “Kanzlei des Führers der NSDAP” and bearing impressions from the “Der Führer” seal as well as the rubber stamps.

Provenance

According to the provenance statement, this collection was gathered by an Allied soldier from the Reich Chancellery after 8 May 1945. It was sold at Hermann Historica Munich’s 63rd Auction on 29 October 2011, achieving a hammer price of EUR 50,000 plus buyer’s premium. The collection was subsequently displayed at the Eyewitness Museum in Beek, Netherlands. This museum, which opened in 2013, faced significant setbacks including the coronavirus pandemic and a theft of extremely valuable objects in August 2020. The museum closed its doors on 1 October 2022.

This collection powerfully documents both the extensive administrative apparatus surrounding the National Socialist leadership and its total collapse in the spring of 1945.