This might not be the right sub... if it's not please direct me. I'm kind of new to reddit and I couldn't find a better one.
My grandfather fought in World War II like many grandfathers in my age group. He was in the European theater and while he wasn't at D-Day (at least he never spoke about it), he did fight in the Battle of Bulge and was one of the first units to assist the liberation of Dachau. And like most American GIs during the war, he brought back memorabilia. Specifically, he has a German dagger and an arm band with a swastika on it.
As a kid, I was really excited that he left it to me, but as I've gotten older, I've gotten less comfortable with it in my posession. I'm so conflicted. On one hand, it's stolen from a Nazi which I think is a positive. But what then? I can't display it, it's not something to whip out and show dinner guests, I don't even think it makes a great show and tell item for my students (I'm in school to be a history teacher) as you can just see it in a book. The physical object adds no extra context.
So, now that my grandfather has passed and my grandmother has alzheimer's and we're starting to go through all of the stuff, I have kind of started to feel as if I want to get rid of it. This took a lot of thinking and soul searching as I was very close to my grandfather and I want to hold onto as much of his stuff as possible, but with the new reassertion of Neo-Nazism over the last year or so, I think it's the best decision.
So, I guess this rambling post is just leading to the question in the title. I obviously want to give it to a reputable place. My grandfather signed up to fight fascism and spent the rest of his life fighting injustice, so it would make me sick (and him too), if it went to a Neo-Nazi or Klansman. The two museums I checked were the Holocaust Museum in Washington and the WWII Museum in New Orleans. The Holocaust Museum doesn't take any Nazi garb and the WWII museum was unclear about the patch, but the would not take the dagger.
Can anyone else think of any other places?
P.S. I may keep the dagger as it's not overtly Nazi. I may get it look at by an expert, because I think it might be Pre-Nazi. The armband is what I'm most concerned about.
First off, you are not alone. There have been, according to numerous museums that might be interested in such paraphernalia, there has been a significant increase in calls regarding such donations.
What to do?
Most national museums are uninterested or opposed to accepting such donations. The USHMM and the New York City Museum of Jewish Heritage both reject those items last I knew. Even the WWII Museum in New Orleans has listed both of the items you named as ones they are not accepting.
Hence, you might be better off with a more local museum dedicated to WWII, Veterans, or American History. With such a museum though, it is advisable to maintain the rights over the items (loan them that is) so that you could pull the items if improperly used.
What MIGHT make the items useful for public historians is if you found significant documentation of the meaning of the items to your father and detailed records of his service. They could conceivable create a narrative about the fetishizing of Nazi items by American GIs.
If you still have questions or thoughts, feel free to respond here or PM me. I can ask people in some museums what they might suggest.
I have no interest in selling it, especially over the internet. I want to have full control over what happens to it. Frankly burning it is not out of the question if I can't find a place for it to go.
I can certainly understand your reticence to hold on to it, but I do have to take issue with your statement that the object doesn't add context in a classroom. I could not disagree with this more. I teach US history, and currently as I type this there is a 1918 US issued gas mask bag sitting on the table next to me. I showed it to my class this very afternoon and let them touch it. Feel the material. Let them see its age, the stitching, how it was produced. Wonder about who wore it, where all it had been. In my college "US since 1865" class many years ago, my professor brought in a Nazi flag his father had brought back from the war. That was the first time I'd ever seen one not behind glass. I think you have an item that makes for a GREAT piece to show a classroom. I say this because I've found over the years that many students don't have granddads who brought home war things. Many families have no antiques, no significant items that mean anything to them. You showing a young student the physical manifestation of hate and let them hold it in their hands may be the first time they ever think differently about history. Material objects can be the lifeblood of a classroom. I totally understand the reluctance based on the object, but I urge you to think about trying to use it for good, for education. At the very least, please donate it rather than destroy it.