Check out this video:
http://www.spiegel.tv/?t=6m28s#/filme/magazin-vom-05072015/
Short summary of the Video:
Some German retired guy (in his 70's) hoarded a myriad of small arms in his home, plus he had stored a torpedo, a V1 (!), a Panther tank and a 88-m Flak in his garage (with several underground levels, according to the commentator, sorry - no subtitles
).
The district attorney came to his house and confiscated all the small arms, the Panther, the torpedo and the Flak for violation of the War Weapons Control Act (as they were not "demilitarized"). He was allowed to keep the V1, as it did not contain explosives (and because there was no fuel for the pulse jet engine, I guess).
It took 2 tank retrievers to get the stuff out of the multi-story underground garage, plus the idiots from the German Army rotated the Panther through 90° INSIDE the garage two times, damaging walls and sculptures in the process.
The guy also had quite a few sculptures, one (in his garden, it's in the video) sculpture was made by Hitlers favorite sculptor.
The authorities became aware of the guy during the recent biggest search of nazi art since the end of WW II, which was started because a group trying to trade nazi art got busted, and where the authorities then found infos about other collectors and storage points.
The group had tried to sell 2 huge bronze sculptures which were made by the aforementioned artist, a bronze horse and bronze man (somewhat like the greek sculptures depicting olympic athletes). Both of these sculptures resided in Hitlers personal atrium/garden in the Chancellery of the Reich (in Berlin) and were removed by the Russians when they captured the city. The Russians then kept storing them in one or another army base in East Germany, but a few months after the wall came down in 1989, some corrupt Russian officers must have sold them to criminals (or collectors) from West Germany (just like many Russians had sold their Makarov pistols, nightvision devices etc. to get some US Dollars or German Marks, before they would be redeployed to Russia), where then the bulky sculptures had dissapeared for some 25 years and ultimately declared to be lost without trace by the authorities, until these traders had tried to sell them recently.
The German state considers the Nazi art to be state property, that's why they kept searching hard for traces.
Whatsoever, the Panther looks brandnew, it had just lost its tracks (or those German Army Guys had removed them, not sure). According to the commentator, the Panther is not in running condition, some engine part might have ceased working.
The German guy used the Panther to plow the public street and the driveways of his neighbors in winter, until a few years ago, when the mayor had told him to stop doing it, as he figured that the tank's tracks would ruin the pavement (some neighbors are being interviewed, but they sound quite happy and thankful).
The guy is not quite kosher, though. There is an old German sign at the entry to his driveway, which reads "Deutsche Schutzzone" (= German protected/safe zone), it's a sign that was used in the German colonies, to mark German territory (Africa, Pacific), until 1918. So, since he can't use Third Reich signs/material, he put up that one, I guess.
So, this guy might be either a Nazi, or he's a die-hard fan/collector of German WWII stuff ...., well I don't know.
The Panther looks nice though. The district attorney's press release stated that neither the Panther, the Torpedo, nor the Flak were demilitarized. Guns + Torpedo were fully operational.
http://www.spiegel.tv/?t=6m28s#/filme/magazin-vom-05072015/
Short summary of the Video:
Some German retired guy (in his 70's) hoarded a myriad of small arms in his home, plus he had stored a torpedo, a V1 (!), a Panther tank and a 88-m Flak in his garage (with several underground levels, according to the commentator, sorry - no subtitles
).The district attorney came to his house and confiscated all the small arms, the Panther, the torpedo and the Flak for violation of the War Weapons Control Act (as they were not "demilitarized"). He was allowed to keep the V1, as it did not contain explosives (and because there was no fuel for the pulse jet engine, I guess).
It took 2 tank retrievers to get the stuff out of the multi-story underground garage, plus the idiots from the German Army rotated the Panther through 90° INSIDE the garage two times, damaging walls and sculptures in the process.
The guy also had quite a few sculptures, one (in his garden, it's in the video) sculpture was made by Hitlers favorite sculptor.
The authorities became aware of the guy during the recent biggest search of nazi art since the end of WW II, which was started because a group trying to trade nazi art got busted, and where the authorities then found infos about other collectors and storage points.
The group had tried to sell 2 huge bronze sculptures which were made by the aforementioned artist, a bronze horse and bronze man (somewhat like the greek sculptures depicting olympic athletes). Both of these sculptures resided in Hitlers personal atrium/garden in the Chancellery of the Reich (in Berlin) and were removed by the Russians when they captured the city. The Russians then kept storing them in one or another army base in East Germany, but a few months after the wall came down in 1989, some corrupt Russian officers must have sold them to criminals (or collectors) from West Germany (just like many Russians had sold their Makarov pistols, nightvision devices etc. to get some US Dollars or German Marks, before they would be redeployed to Russia), where then the bulky sculptures had dissapeared for some 25 years and ultimately declared to be lost without trace by the authorities, until these traders had tried to sell them recently.
The German state considers the Nazi art to be state property, that's why they kept searching hard for traces.
Whatsoever, the Panther looks brandnew, it had just lost its tracks (or those German Army Guys had removed them, not sure). According to the commentator, the Panther is not in running condition, some engine part might have ceased working.
The German guy used the Panther to plow the public street and the driveways of his neighbors in winter, until a few years ago, when the mayor had told him to stop doing it, as he figured that the tank's tracks would ruin the pavement (some neighbors are being interviewed, but they sound quite happy and thankful
).The guy is not quite kosher, though. There is an old German sign at the entry to his driveway, which reads "Deutsche Schutzzone" (= German protected/safe zone), it's a sign that was used in the German colonies, to mark German territory (Africa, Pacific), until 1918. So, since he can't use Third Reich signs/material, he put up that one, I guess.
So, this guy might be either a Nazi, or he's a die-hard fan/collector of German WWII stuff ...., well I don't know.
The Panther looks nice though. The district attorney's press release stated that neither the Panther, the Torpedo, nor the Flak were demilitarized. Guns + Torpedo were fully operational.
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