Do you want to see Adolph Hitler's butter knife? Bill Given has it

Leonard L. Hayhurst, Coshocton Tribune
·3 min read

COSHOCTON − Bill Given of Coshocton has an extensive collection of more than 1,000 military items spanning from the American Revolution to the Vietnam War. When it comes to World War II, he has everything from leather bomber jackets with hand painted logos to Adolph Hitler's butter knife.

Given never passes up a chance to share his memorabilia and its history with the public. He recently showcased some of his World War II items for a program at the Coshocton County District Library. In collaboration with WOUB Public Media in Athens, attendees were able to view an exclusive premiere of the first episode of the second season of the PBS series "World on Fire," looking at the lives of ordinary people during the international conflict.

Bill Given displays a bomber jacket from World War II featuring a hand painted back during a recent presentation at the Coshocton County District Library. Given has more than 1,000 military items ranging from the American Revolution to the Vietnam War.
Bill Given displays a bomber jacket from World War II featuring a hand painted back during a recent presentation at the Coshocton County District Library. Given has more than 1,000 military items ranging from the American Revolution to the Vietnam War.

Given thought a lot of the costumes and the history the series dealt with was spot on. He feels its important to keep history alive and to pass it down to the younger generations. His collection is a very tangible way of doing that. People can see and even touch actual pieces that were part of events that shaped the world as we know it today.

"It's not worth having if you can't share it, number one," Given said. "When it comes to our Americana, you want to glorify our boys and what they did. They were the Greatest Generation, as they say. With the Nazi stuff, you want to present that as the trophies brought back by our victorious allies. The evilness within some of these things is happening right now today in Israel. You want to make sure nobody forgets what was happening at that time."

Bill Given displays one of the many Nazi daggers part of his collection of more than 1,000 military items. He said U.S. soldiers brought a lot of Nazi items back from Europe as trophies.
Bill Given displays one of the many Nazi daggers part of his collection of more than 1,000 military items. He said U.S. soldiers brought a lot of Nazi items back from Europe as trophies.

Given's collection

Given started collecting when he got out of college in 1974, when his uncle who served in World War II gave him some Nazi souvenirs he had collected while in Europe. He later connected with other local veterans and collectors such as Norm Wright and Max Cooley. 'Given started collecting when he got out of college in 1974, when his uncle who served in World War II gave him some Nazi souvenirs he had collected while in Europe. He later connected with other local veterans and collectors such as Norm Wright and Max Cooley.

Cooley was part of a force that invaded the famed Nazi meeting place, the Eagle's Nest. It's there he claimed one of the most fascinating pieces in Given's collection, a table knife with Hitler's initials that was most likely used by him on one of his 14 trips to the facility. Given said Hitler thought of himself as a king or emperor and would have table service, among other items, only he could use.

Given joked while Hitler boasted a 1,000 year Reich, it only lasted 12 years, but they produced enough memorabilia and propaganda as if it did last a millennium.

"It's been an honor for me to take care of these things and be a caregiver over the years," Given said.

A collection of knives, a Gestapo badge and other items from the collection of Bill Given.
A collection of knives, a Gestapo badge and other items from the collection of Bill Given.

This is just a few of the items from World War II Given has in his collection:

● A British pith helmet designed for desert warfare, such as in North Africa.

● A variety of German daggers, many which are very ornate because the Nazis were big on pomp and circumstance. One has numbers under the cross guard and research revealed its former owner, an SS officer who died in the Ukraine in 1943 who was a member of Hitler's Life Guard.

● An SS officer's hat with a skull emblem.

● A Gestapo badge identifying members of Hitler's secret police, who weren't so secret and very much feared. A Gestapo badge superseded any other rank or title.

● A formal dinner knife from the Eagle's Nest with the initials A.H., signifying it was for use by Adolph Hitler.

● A bomber jacket from the Eighth Air Force featuring a hand painted emblem on the back. It belonged to a navigator who wrote the name of every bomb on patches on the jacket. After the military, he became an ophthalmologist in Florida.

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Local man has more than 1,000 items in military memorabilia collection