To the Editor:Re “What Kind of Person Spends $1,000 on an SS Bowl?,” by Menachem Kaiser (Opinion guest essay, Oct. 1):Objects by themselves have no meaning. Context — the story the thing tells — transforms an object into an “artifact.” Trading in Nazi memorabilia is trading in Nazi history and ideology, an ideology of hate and violence whose foundational tenet was (and is) antisemitism. Ruth BergmanFarmington Hills, Mich.To the Editor:As the former executive director of the Buffalo Holocaust Resource Center, I am well aware of the thirst for Nazi paraphernalia in Western New York. Area antique marts often sell Nazi Lugers, swastika flags and used Nazi pearl-handled knives. Many U.S. veterans of World War II from Western New York returned home with spoils of war, and some family members brought in horrific concentration camp liberation photos and Nazi flags found in the attic after their parents died.

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Persons: Menachem Kaiser, Ruth Bergman Farmington Organizations: SS, Buffalo Holocaust Resource, U.S Locations: Ruth Bergman Farmington Hills, Mich, Buffalo, Western New York, Nazi