The collection was donated by the family of David Wilken, a Jewish South African who fought with the South African forces during the Second World War. It consists of a photograph of David Wilken taken while he was in the medical corps of the South African Army. It also contains a Nazi flag, which was taken from a building in Genoa, Italy. The family donated the flag and photograph on behalf of Wilken, who had kept the flag as a reminder of the experience. Following the defeat of Italy, Wilken participated in a parade through the city with the Allied Forces, when he saw the flag hanging on the side of a building. He was so offended by the flag, that he stopped the vehicle he was travelling in and scaled the building to take it down.