Hitler’s Globe Bar From His Private Yacht Emerges After 70 Years, Could Be Yours

You can no longer get your hands on the Fuhrer’s yacht, since it was dismantled in 1951, after its owner brought it to the U.S. and, after several attempts to secure a buyer, decided to sell it for scrap. The vessel, a former aviso converted into state / private yacht for Hitler’s use going by the name Grille, was built in 1934. Hitler would refer to the 30+ stateroom yacht as the White Swan of the Baltic.

Alexander Historical Auctions, which now holds the listing for the globe-shaped bar, notes that the announcement of the Fuhrer's death came from the foredeck of the Grille, when, on May 1, 1945, Grand-Admiral Donitz confirmed he would replace him as the German President. The ship would eventually end up at Doan Salvage Yard, whose owner contacted the father of the bar’s current owner, asking him if he wanted anything off it before it was taken apart.

Hitler was against drinking alcohol, but he was also an egomaniac who loved to show off. He had the bar built in the shape of a globe, because he imagined that he would, one day, conquer the world. This is the place where the likes of Benito Mussolini, Hermann Goering, Joseph Goebbels and Rudolph Hess drank in Hitler’s presence, while sailing on Grille.

According to the auction house, the bar comes in mostly unrestored and all-original condition, except for the wooden framework that offers support and makes it functional. It’s accompanied by a notarized Letter of Provenance from the owner and five original brass bar stools with padded seats, four of which have been restored according to photos of the original ones on the vessel. The fifth one is all original.

The auction for the entire lot will take place on October 29, with bidding starting at $75,000. Estimates say it will sell for $150,000-$250,000. “This is simply a fantastic relic, symbolic of the false grandeur and excesses of Hitler's Hundred Year Reich,” the auction house notes.