Copy of Schindler’s list fails to find eBay buyer

A sign is posted in front of eBay headquarters on July 20, 2011 in San Jose, California. AFP FILE PHOTO

LOS ANGELES – An original copy of the list of Jews saved by Oskar Schindler from the Holocaust has gone unsold on eBay, but the auctioneer said Monday he’s not disappointed.

The 14-page typewritten list — bearing the names of 801 men — originated with the German industrialist’s right-hand man Itzhak Stern and had a steep opening bid of $3 million.

But by the end of the online auction Sunday at 6:00 pm Los Angeles time (Monday 0100 GMT), not one bid had been placed — although there was no lack of interest.

“Over half a million people viewed the auction on eBay and we had more than 13,000 ‘watchers’ (individuals monitoring a potential sale), which is exceptionally high,” auctioneer Eric Gazin told AFP by email.

Without giving details, Gazin said “active discussions” now are under way with “multiple parties” who are still interested in acquiring the one-of-a-kind document.

In the meantime, he added, “there are no plans to relist the list or lower the price.”

The list is one of four known to exist, and the only one in private hands. The others are in museums in Israel and the United States.

It once belonged to a nephew of Stern in Israel who sold it about three years ago to the current owner, who acquired it as an investment, Gazin’s partner Gary Zimet, of momentsintime.com, told AFP.

Schindler is credited with saving the lives of some 1,200 Jews employed in his factories during World War II. He died in anonymity in Germany in 1974 at the age of 66.

His story was the focal point of director Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning film “Schindler’s List” in 1993.