Telegram Which was sent to Hitler by his deputy may fetch 15,000 pounds

LONDON: The infamous telegram which Hitler's deputy sent to the German dictator, asking him if he could take over the Nazi party in last days of the World War II, is expected to fetch 15,000 pounds at an auction.

Herman Goering, founder of Gestapo - the official secret police of Nazi Germany - sent the telegram to Hitler on April 23, 1945, asking for permission to assume leadership of the crumbling Third Reich.

The telegram sent Hitler in a frenzied rage and caused him to strip his hand-picked successor of power and appoint Admiral Karl Doenitz as his successor.,

An angry Hitler sent him a return message saying he had committed "high treason."

The telegram will be auctioned in the US tomorrow where it is expected to fetch over 15,000 pounds.

The telegram, received by Hitler's secretary Martin Barman, was found in the Berlin bunker by an American soldier after the collapse of Nazism on May 8, 1945.

Captain Benjamin Bra din found the telegram along with other papers and brought them back to the US.

The telegram was handed down to Bra din's son and in turn to his son's university professor who is now putting it up for sale at the Alexander Historical Auctions in Maryland.