There has been much speculation over the years as to the veracity of the claims that the Nazis made lampshades out of human skin.
Many people believe it’s just a ridiculous urban legend, created to make the Nazis seem even more evil than they really were.
Well, in 2005, a lampshade was bought in a car boot sale for $35 from a man who told the buyer it was made from the skin of a Jewish person.
The buyer, Skip, eventually became too uncomfortable with the lamp and gave it to his journalist friend Mark Jacobson, who investigated things further.
The lamp was brought to Bode Technology in Washington, DC, where it underwent a DNA test.
Bode Technology is one of the leading DNA labs in the world, having done much work for the US government, including identifying remains from 9/11.
When the results came back, it was confirmed that the material used on the shade was in fact human skin from two different people.
The first mention of Nazi skin lampshades comes from 1945, by a reporter named Ann Stringer, who says that other items made in the Buchenwald concentration camp included shrunken heads and an ashtray made from a human pelvis.
