WATERCOLOURS AND sketches attributed to Adolf Hitler are going on sale on Tuesday, bringing not entirely welcome attention to this small Cornish town. Jefferys Auctioneers in the sleepy community of Lostwithiel normally sells antiques and farm equipment. But the attention connected to the Hitler sale has forced the tiny auction house in southwest England to instal multiple telephone lines to accommodate an anticipated crush of bidders from Canada to New Zealand.
“It is not something I would want to be associated with personally. Anything to do with Hitler and the Nazis does not sit easily with me,” said Tony Smith, 70, who was out early in the town centre.
The 21 watercolours and two sketches, most of them landscapes, were found in a farmhouse in Belgium, not far from where Hitler was stationed in Flanders during World War I.
The anonymous owners had the paper tested to determine its age, confirmed the signature and matched landmarks in the paintings to sites where Hitler was posted, said Chris Walton, a spokesman for Jefferys.
Terry Betts, 52, said the attention was good for the town, which depends on tourism.
“I do not have any trouble with the auction at all,” Betts said. “It’s part of history, not good history maybe. But we live with dictators like that now – don’t we? — the Saddam Husseins of the world.” Are the paintings genuine? It is impossible to say. The experts who authenticated them in the 1980s are dead. Still, the works could sell for up to $8,000 each, Walton said. “Some people would consider the sale somewhat controversial, but the pieces were executed so long ago — nearly 100 years ago — that they now just rep resent something of the past,” Walton said. “The paintings are of historical interest rather than artistic merit.” Hitler is thought to have painted hundreds of pieces before becoming Nazi leader. In the past, his paintings have sold for $5,000 to $50,000.
Dealing with Hitler'’s work and other items related to the Nazi regime has always been a thorny issue.
In many European countries, including Germany, it is illegal to buy, own or sell Nazi memorabilia. A German auction house in 2001 withdrew a Hitler painting following public protests. The Center of Military History in Washington D.C., has hundreds of Nazi-related pieces — including four Hitler paintings — but they are locked in vaults and not on display.
“It is in very bad taste,” said Rhonda Barad with the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish advocacy group. “Most auction houses have steered clear of such sales because it offends a lot of people still alive today.” Buyers of Hitler items are usually private collectors of military memorabilia or World War II enthusiasts, art dealers and auction houses say.