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January 24, 2020 - updated october 4, 2022

 The Hitler Forgery Industry

to Hitler Forgery Industry main page - to Droog Magazine

1980


The strange business of selling fakes, forgeries and other concoctions attributed to Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) and other Nazi criminals, inclusive the trade in some authentic material.

Content
'Hitler' in Cornwall, August 1980
'Hitlers' at Graf Klenau (Germany), September 1980
Hitlers sold for 41,000 D-Mark (Germany), December 1980


Exchange rates / value of money 1980


'Hitler' in Cornwall


At an auction in Cornwall a watercolour signed "A. Hitler, 1911", depicting a n Austrian villagesight is sold for the equivalent of 1,400 Dutch guilders (then about $742 / £336) to an Italian art dealer. The auctioneer  stated that when one looked at the way the  shadows were painted on the work, it must have been made when two suns shone.

Source:

Lelijk [Ugly]. Trouw, Amsterdam, 12-08-1980.
https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ABCDDD:010827750:mpeg21:a0147

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'Hitlers' at Graf Klenau

The Munich based auction house Graf Klenau offered on September 20, 1980, four alleged Hitler watercolors and a drawing. Two of the watercolors were landscapes of the Salzburg area, dated "1909" - which means that these two are obvious fakes, as Hitler made no watercolors at all in 1909, and made no landscapes either.  These works were offered for 12,000 D-Marks (unknown if this was the price for both of them, or for each).


Elisabeth-brücke, Wien; 14 x 20 cm (according to Price). Click on image to enlarge.

One of the other watercolors is titled "Elisabeth-brücke in Wien". It had a start price of 10,000 D-Mark. It is depicted in Price as nr. 192, and also in color (page 60). At the auction the work was accompanied by two letters, allegedly originating from Hitler's friend, business partner  and court photographer Heinrich Hoffmann, in which is stated that Hitler bought this work in 1938 for 3,500 Reichsmark, to be exhibited at a special exposition - which is rather suspicious, as Hitler never planned such an exposition and said in 1944, in a conversation with Hoffmann:

Transcription


 "The works shouldn't cost today more than 150 or 200 Reichsmark. It is madness, when somebody pays more for them."

Transcription of converstation Hoffmann and Hitler, Obersalzberg, March 12, 1944. Bundesarchiv, NS26/43a - 93.


What is even more suspicious that in Price is stated that this work was registered and photographed by the Hauptarchiv der NSDAP, with negative number 213/14. Yet, on an original Hauptarchiv der NSDAP document (NS 26/34-43, L. Knobloch, Photoabteuling, 12.4.1939), which contains a list of negative numbers of alleged Hitler watercolors, this code belong to the work "Schönbrunner Linie"; the "Elisabeth-brücke" isn't mentioned at all. Also on a list of all watercolors bought by the Hauptarchiv (Aquarelle des Führers, NS 26/34-43, mid 1939) the "Elisabeth-brücke" isn't mentioned.

So, given all this the "Elisabeth-brücke" must be regarded as a fake, and the Hoffmann letters as forgeries - unless Hoffmann lied in these letters.

Finally the drawing. This was a colored in pencil drawing, depicting the birth house of Schubert, signed "A.H.08". It was, according to a newspaper report, accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity signed by both August Priesack and Albert Speer.  Probably the newspaper was wrong in this and belonged two seperate CoAds to this work - anyhow: as both Priesack and Speer wedere notorious swindlers, these CoAs can be regarded as forgery indicators. This work is probably Price 81 - an obvious fake, just as Price 80 and 82.


Sources:

Lelijk [Ugly]. Trouw, Amsterdam, 12-08-1980.
https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ABCDDD:010827750:mpeg21:a0147

Hitlers "kunst" op veiling. De Volkskrant, Amsterdam, 05-09-1980.
https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ABCDDD:010857101:mpeg21:a0004

Billy F. Price [= August Priesack and Peter Jahn]. Adolf Hitler als Maler und Zeichner. Ein Werkkatalog der Ölgemälde, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen und Architekturskizzen. Gallant Verlag, Zug, 1983. English title Adolf Hitler. The unknown artist, 1984.
Birthplace of many Hitler myths; consists of concoctions and many depictions of forged Hitlers watercolors, oil paintings, drawings and poems.
https://www.bartfmdroog.com/droog/niod/price.html


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Hitlers sold for 41,000 D-Mark (Germany)

According to the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad an American museum bought for nearly 45,000 guilders (approx. 41,000 D-Mark) three alleged Hitler watercolors at an Munich auction.


Source:

Hitler. NRC Handelsblad, Rotterdam, 05-12-1980.
https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ABCDDD:010857101:mpeg21:a0004

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Exchange rates / value of money 1980

1 D-mark = 1,10 NL guilder
1 NL guilder = 0,91 D-mark
1 US dollar = 1,89 NL guilder
1 NL guilder = 0,53 US dollar
1 UK pound = 4,25 NL guilder
1 NL guilder = 0,24 UK pound
1 B-franc =  0,07 NL guilder
1 NL guilder = 14,28 B-franc
1 F-franc = 0,47 NL guilder
1 NL guilder = 2,13 F franc
1 Swiss franc = 1,20 NL guilder
1 NL guilder = 0,83 Swiss franc
1 A schilling = 0,15 NL guilder
1 NL guilder = 6,66 A-schilling
1 DK kron = 0,35 NL guilder
1 NL guilder = 2,85 DK kron 
1 S kron = 0,38 NL guilder
1 NL guilder = 2,63 kron
1 E peseta = 0,03 NL guilder
1 NL guilder = 33 E peseta

Wisselkoersen - Amsterdam. Het Parool, Amsterdam, 08-01-1980.
https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ABCDDD:010847479:mpeg21:a0155

CPI Inflation Calculator – for US dollars.This inflation calculator uses official records published by the U.S. Department of Labor.
https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/

Convertisseur franc-euro. Pouvoir d'achat de l'euro et du franc. Le convertisseur franc-euro mesure l'érosion monétaire due à l'inflation.
https://www.insee.fr/fr/information/2417794


Value of the Guilder/Euro. International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam.
http://www.iisg.nl/hpw/calculate.php
 
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© Compilation Bart FM Droog, 2021.