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August 20, 2021, updated 23-08-2021.

The Hitler Forgery Industry

to Hitler Forgery Industry main page - to Droog Magazine

2010  |

The strange business of selling fakes, forgeries and other concoctions attributed to Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) and other Nazi criminals.


21-01-201o: 1 fake Hitler at US auction
21-04-2010: 21 fake Hitlers at UK auction
??-09-2010: 16 fake Hitlers at UK auction

Exchange rates / value of money 2010





January 21, 2010: 1 fake Hitlers at Alexander Historical Auctions LLC, Stamford, CT, USA

Lot 653: "Adolf Hitler Watercolor". Sold for $8,000.





Click to enlarge

Description by auctioneer: "An original watercolor painting signed "A. Hitler" at lower-right, 9 1/2" x 8" on heavy stock, a view of the Church of St. Mary of Victory in Vienna, painted in Hitler's typical style, with his typical slight distortions of perspective and inattention to human figures. This painting was sold to noted collector Dr. John Lattimer by respected historian and militaria dealer Ben Swearingen, and is accompanied by various letters to Lattimer by Swearingen. From the Evan Lattimer collection. In fine condition, in custom slipcase.”

Comment by Droog Magazine: The church depicted on this work is the Kirche Maria vom Siege. Which, as far as is known, was never depicted by Hitler. The hand is clearly from a different artist than Hitler. The signature looks different from the signatures Hitler used on his Viennese "watercolors". This work is a fake, not even a forgery, as it doesn´t resemble any believed to be authentic Hitlers.

The only thing that this work proves is that naming "noted" collectors as reliable provenance is of no worth at all. The Hitler collections of most, if not all, all Hitler collectors consist mainly of forgeries and fakes. 

Source:

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/adolf-hitler-watercolor-current-bid-5-500-00-653-c-a895d5909c (accessed 20-08-2021).

 

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21-04-2010: 21 fake Hitlers at UK auction

The UK based Mullock's Specialist Auctioneers & Valuers in Church Stretton (Shropshire) organized in 2009-2019 at least 14 auctions, on which works allegedly made by Hitler (watercolors, oil paintings, pastel and sketches) were sold.

The most bizarre fake at this auction: lot 390, a watercolor allegedly made by Hitler in 1929.

None of these 'Hitler's' are authentic, as they don't fit the general description of Hitler's watercolors from 1910-1913, as established by  the Viennese police in 1936. None of these works resemble in anything the authentic Hitler works registered by the NSDAP Hauptarchiv in 1936-1940. Furthermore, the wide variety of styles of the works sold by Mullock's is a clear indication that these works were made by many different artists.

On April 15, 2010, Mullock’s offered 21 works attributed to Hitler. These were 7 watercolors, 2 pastels, 1 oil painting, 11 sketches. Supposedly some of these sketches were the sketches Hitler made for his entry exams for art school, 1907.

Needless to say: these were forgeries too. Hitler lacked both the talent and the skill to produce sketches like these.

See our special report on Mullocks, pages 8-11:

https://www.droog-mag.nl/hitler/mullocks-history-of-hitler-auctions.pd

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??-09-2010: 16 fake Hitlers at UK auction

Again at Mullock's.

See our special report on Mullocks, page 12:
https://www.droog-mag.nl/hitler/mullocks-history-of-hitler-auctions.pdf


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Exchange rates / value of money 2010

1 euro = 
1.21 US dollar.
1 US dollar = 0,82 euro.   
1 euro = 0,83 UK pound
1 UK pound = 1,20 euro
1 euro = 1,39 Swiss francs
1 Swiss franc =0,72 euro

Wisselkoersen archief ECB, 11-06-2010.

https://wisselkoers-euro.nl/archief-wisselkoersen/2010-06-11/


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


Historischer Währungsrechner. Österreichische Nationalbank (Geldwertrechner).
https://www.eurologisch.at/docroot/waehrungsrechner/#/


Value of the Guilder/Euro. International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam.
http://www.iisg.nl/hpw/calculate.php


© Compilation Bart FM Droog, 2021.