Candidate on TV show The Apprentice apologises following discovery that his online auction site facilitated sale of Nazi memorabilia
A candidate on the television programme The Apprentice has apologised following the discovery that his online auction site facilitated the sale of a piece of Nazi memorabilia.
Raven Yard Antiques, which is owned by Gregory Ebbs and serves as a marketplace for third parties to auction items, was found to have facilitated the sale of a Nazi German officer’s dress dagger for £725.
Mr Ebbs is a candidate on The Apprentice, the popular BBC reality show hosted by the Jewish businessman and celebrity Sir Alan Sugar.
Following the discovery and prior to the apology, a spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “Raven Yard Antiques’ worthy mission is ‘to promote sustainable living’, but it cannot do that while facilitating the sale of artefacts that are synonymous with death. Nazi militaria are reminders of the slaughter of six million Jewish men, women and children. These items belong in a museum, not in the hands of sick collectors acquiring them from an auction house that stands to make a profit from these sales. Sir Alan Sugar, who was recently the victim of criminal antisemitic harassment, would likely take exception to this sort of entrepreneurship. The sale on Gregory Ebbs’ website of a swastika-emblazoned dagger for hundreds of pounds on the day that the first episode of The Apprentice leaves us with many questions for Mr Ebbs.”
Mr Ebbs said: “I in no way condone or wish to be looking to be celebrating this abhorrent and shameful part of history and I apologise for any offence caused. My online business is an antiques marketplace where independent sellers have a platform to sell a wide range of antiques, memorabilia & militaria from many different periods of history. The item in question was sold by a third party vendor. This type of memorabilia is not something I would personally sell or stock. The website is relatively new and I will be looking to implement stricter vetting procedures for third party vendors.”
Image credit: Raven Yard Antiques
