Nazi propaganda game goes up for sale at Shropshire auction

The rare game – a blatant propaganda tool for children and families to play in 1940s Nazi Germany – is one of a range of World War Two-related items that will go under the hammer at Ludlow Racecourse on March 1.

Called Wir Kampfen Gegen den Feind – We Fight Against the Enemy – the game has a map of Britain and die-cast U-boats, fighter planes and bomber aircraft to attack in an offensive centered on Scarborough.

But the three-player children's game made it impossible for Germany to lose, with Britain offering no defence.

The game is believed to have been produced in the early 1940s, as the labelling of "Frankreich" on the board indicates it was made after German troops rolled into Paris in 1940.

It has been valued at £300 by Church Stretton-based auctioneers Mullocks after being put up for sale by a German collector.

Ben Jones, consultant at Mullocks, said: "It was meant to show the German people, especially children, that they can't lose, they won't lose and Britain will ultimately fall."

Other war-related items up for sale include two sets of gold cufflinks, each expected to fetch more than £1,000.

One has the German swastika overlaid with an Italian fasces, or bundle of sticks, thought to have been given to Adolf Hitler by his ally, leader of the Italian National Fascist Party Benito Mussolini.

The other set of cufflinks, bearing the Nazi stormtrooper SS symbol and the initials HH, belonged to Heinrich Himmler.

Thought to be worth the same as both sets of cufflinks together, however, is a set of Hitler's dog tags from his formative years serving as a soldier in World War One.

Stamped officially with Adolf Hitler's volunteer number 148, these were issued to him when he was due to report to the 4th Company, 1st Replacement Battalion after recovering from his wounds in October to December 1916. The tags were never used by him however, as he instead returned to his previous 3rd Company unit.