A SILVER tray which belonged to Hitler is being auctioned in Bristol next month.

The silver presentation tray was presented to him as a 50th birthday gift – and is expected to fetch more than £1,000 when it is auctioned at Dreweatt's militaria sale on March 6.

The tray bears the Fuhrer's personal German eagle crest and his initials. It was part of a lavish gift from his chief architect Albert Speer, who later became the Fuhrer's Minister of Armaments.

Speer ordered six silver dinner services totalling 3,000 pieces so Hitler could entertain guests of State at the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, the Nazi Party HQ in Munich, his mountain homes in Bavaria, the Gasthaus at Obersalzberg and his apartment in Munich.

Hitler was presented with the extravagant gift on April 20, 1939, after hundreds of thousands watched the Fuhrer driven at the head of a motorcade of 50 white limousines as 50,000 troops paraded Nazi Germany's military might in Berlin.

Auctioneer Malcolm Claridge said: "The tray is part of the six 50th birthday silver presentation dinner services which were commissioned for Hitler and was made by Bruckmann, Germany's finest manufacturer of silver tableware.

"After the fall of Nazi Germany the Reich Chancellery and Hitler's homes were ransacked and many of the 3,000 silver pieces were looted and have subsequently found their way on to the market. We have put a conservative estimate of £600 to £800 on the tray, but it could easily sell for more than £1,000."

Last November, Dreweatt's sold two pieces of Hitler's bed linen embroidered with his crest for £2,000.