DFW Elite Toy Museum to Seeking Information from WW II Vets and Car Buffs about Eva Braun Mercedes 540K

    FORT WORTH, TX, June 22, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- One of the rarest and most valuable toys at the DFW Elite Toy Museum in Fort Worth is a 1938 Mercedes 540K made by German toymaker Tippco. The toy is purportedly a replica of a car that Adolf Hitler gifted to his mistress Eva Braun.

Whether Hitler ever gave Eva such a car remains a subject of debate. Some say that Hitler was fond of giving Eva golden tokens of his affection; others insist that he was dour and frugal and that he would have never given such a flashy gift to his mistress for fear of drawing attention to her.

If she did receive the car, many wonder what happened to it. One story is that Eva's chauffer drove the 540K to Austria in the waning days of the Third Reich and hid it in a barn, where it was eventually found, sold, and then shipped to New Jersey. An auction company, the source of this story, exhibited a car purporting to be Eva's 540K in some U.S. cities in the 1970s, but that car has since vanished.

"We would like to hear from anyone who might know more about the Eva Braun Mercedes or who saw it when it was exhibited in the United States," said Rodney Ross, the toy museum's curator. Anyone with more information or an Eva Braun car story can contact DFW Elite Toy Museum Curator Rodney Ross through the toy museum's website (DFWEliteToyMuseum.com).

Debuting at the Berlin Auto Show in 1936, the 540K sold briskly among the well healed because of its elegant design and superior performance. Aided by a supercharger, the 540K is one of the few 1930s autos capable of 100 mph.

The Tippco replica of the Mercedes 540K is gold with a blue-green top and running boards. Tippco produced the Eva Braun Mercedes model in 1942. Toy Collector Ron Sturgeon, owner of DFW Elite Toy Museum, acquired it after searching for more than five years.

"We purchased this Eva Braun Mercedes toy more than 20 years ago in Switzerland and have been told that there are only four or five of this toy in the world," said Ross. "We have never encountered another for sale or in the hands of another toy collector and would like to locate any others," added Ross.

About DFW Elite Toy Museum

A dog-friendly museum with free admission, the DFW Elite Toy Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, has a collection of more than 3000 rare and collectible toys. For more information about the museum and the special rare toys in the current exhibition, please visit http://www.dfwelitetoymuseum.com.

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