This is an excellent example of a one-of-a-kind tapestry done in heavy gold bullion thread. This tapestry appears on page 66 of the book "World War II German War Booty", volume II by Lt. Thomas M. Johnson, and the information provided states that the tapestry was removed from the Berchtesgaden residence of Heinrich Himmler in April of 1945 by a member of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne during the occupation of Berchtesgaden. The soldier was advised that this piece originally hung in the Reichstag, and was found intact following the Reichstag Fire during which another similar tapestry was destroyed. The tapestry was designed by Professor Karl Diebitsch and created by Elsie Seifert. Diebitsch joined the Nazi Party on May 1, 1920 as a member of the Freikorps. He completed his formal art training in 1925 and following that lived and worked in Munich as a painter and graphic artist, later moving to Berlin in 1933 after the Nazi Party came into power. Diebitsch was responsible for much of the Third Reich regalia, including the chained SS Officers dagger scabbard, sword parts, (including the handle of the Degen, SS ceremonial smallsword), many other SS items, and with designer Walter Heck, the all black SS uniform. He also designed the letterhead logo of the Ahnenerbe, many of the German postage stamps during the Third Reich and crests for the SS Officers. He served as the Director of SS Porzellan Manufaktur prior to WWII and served as a Reserve Officer in the Waffen SS during WWII with staff assignments to the SS-Totenkopfstandarte (SS Death Head Regiment), SS-Regiment "Germania", SS-Division "Wiking" and the Hohere SS und Polizei Fuhrer (Higher SS and Police Leader) of Italy. He was finally promoted to the rank of SS-Oberfuhrer in April of 1944 and managed to survive the war and died during the 1980s. Construction is blood red velvet, running 140" long and 78 1/2" wide, with a further 10" of thick gold bullion tassels at the bottom. The top 40 1/2" of the backing is left open, with the lower section dominated by a finely executed field of gold bullion decorations, starting with a 2 7/10" thick border with piping accents, leading to an open section with swastika themed Greek Key pattern, terminating in each corner with a sunwheel design. In the center is a wide field consisting of gold bullion, with piping bordered blood red velvet sections forming alternating patterns of swastikas and oak leaf clusters, measuring 10 3/4" and 10 5/8" wide, respectively. This piece was formerly part of the Lesher Collection, during which time it was photographed for Thomas M. Johnson's book "World War II German War Booty, Volume II". A copy of said book is supplied with this lot.

Very fine, showing a separation of the bullion in the lower left quadrant of the main field, along with a few other small losses and minor staining. A superb piece, truly a one-of-a-kind without equal among the trophies of the Second World War.