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84-year-old man fined $293,000 for possessing a German World War II tank that he kept in his basement


easterneagle87

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easterneagle87

This is sooo coooll!! 

 

An 84-year-old man from Germany has been convicted of illegal weapons possession.

In 2015, an investigation found a WWII Panther tank in his basement, as well as a hoard of ammunition.

The stash of weaponry took the army nine hours to remove.

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An 84-year-old man from Germany has been convicted of illegal weapons possession and has been fined €250,000 ($293,972) along with a suspended prison sentence of 14 months.

An investigation into the man's home in Heikendorf, Northern Germany, in 2015 unveiled a World War II-era Panther tank, as well as a plethora of ammunition.

The court ruling, ordered on 2 August, stated that the man must sell or donate the tank and anti-aircraft cannon to a museum or collector within the next two years, the BBC report.

The armaments were discovered in the retiree's basement in 2015 after local authorities were informed of its war-time contents after the property was searched for Nazi-era art, according to the BBC.

It took 20 soldiers nine hours to remove the trove of military hardware from the unnamed man's home.

There was also a horde of Nazi memorabilia, including a bust of Hitler, mannequins in Nazi uniforms, swastika pendants, SS rune-shaped lamps, and a statue of a naked warrior holding a sword in his extended hand that once stood outside Hitler's Chancellery in Berlin, by the dictator's favorite sculptor, Arno Breker, reported War History Online.

At the time of the raid, the mayor of Heikendorf, Alexander Orth, told Suddeutsche Zeitung that the man once drove the tank as a snow plow in 1978.

When asked his thoughts on the ownership of the tank, the mayor replied, "One loves steam trains, the other old tanks."

 

 

Panther tank.jpg

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As noted, this case has been ongoing since 2015.  It's amazing it has taken 6 years to make it through the courts.

 

For all of the trouble this collector has endured, he is sitting on a gold mine.  Given his advanced age, being forced to sell off his collection might be the best thing that ever happened to him financially. 

 

It will be interesting to see what the Panther sells for.  Of all of the production Panzers, I believe the Panther has the fewest surviving examples. 

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Proud Kraut

Big thing over here, German gun control laws are very restrictive. I have read somewhere that a museum in Seattle, U.S.A. was interested in purchasing the Panther but I don´t know if this was only a rumor.

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I Hate Moths

Lets not forget the stigma of treasuring such controversial things. I hope that they do not punish this man for his passion of collecting. We may all find our selves in a similar situation.

 

Tom

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  • 2 weeks later...

I saw that video.  I am not sure what is more interesting... a German made Panther, or a British made Panther using German parts!

 

It makes the whole discussion about post war made "parts daggers" seem insignificant!

 

I suppose we all wish we had the money to keep a tank in our basement.

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  • 1 year later...
Dirt Detective
On 8/8/2021 at 4:54 PM, I Hate Moths said:

Lets not forget the stigma of treasuring such controversial things. I hope that they do not punish this man for his passion of collecting. We may all find our selves in a similar situation.

 

Tom

Spot on,  This guy is a collector just like most of us.  sad to see.  Guess I better not dig this one out..:)

1astuartc.JPG

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  • 4 weeks later...

What's being glossed over is that he was using this in the 1970s as a snow plow, to the knowledge of local authities and they were totally fine with it. Even probably appreciative of his efforts.

 

Fast forward to the new woke generation, and he's now been convicted, fined etc. I'm sure the hoarding of the ammunition has a big part of it, but still. It was known back then he had it and it wasn't a problem. Nobody called the Army or Police in 1978 when he was driving around town with it. 

 

Reminds me various gun laws, one day you own something completely legally, next day they vote in laws that make you a felon.

 

...just my 2 bitter sense.

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

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