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August 21, 2021; updated 24-08-2021.

The Hitler Forgery Industry

to Hitler Forgery Industry main page - to Droog Magazine

2012  |

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

??-01-2012:
1 fake Hitler in the USA
29-01-2012: 1 fake Hitler in Slovakia
??-05-2012: 2 fake Hitlers in the UK
20-04-2012: 5 fake Hitlers in the USA
08-05-2012: 1 fake Hitler at US auction
??-06-2012: 1 fake Hitler in Slovakia
27-09-2012: 1
fake Hitler in the UK
??-??-2012: 2 fake Hitlers in Slovakia

Exchange rates / value of money 2012



??-01-2012: 1 fake Hitler in the USA

One fake Hitler was sold in January 2012 by Manion’s  Inter-national Auction House in Kansas City. On the auctioneer's site it was described as:

Flowers in a Vase with Two Apples

"1910. colored chalk on paper. 21 14"x16 3/4" size. (perhaps Hitler's largest such painting. Signed A.Hitler. Listed in Billy Prices book 'Adolf Hitler the Unknow Artist' on page 157."


If the description is correct, then it was this work:



And this is a clear fake work, as Hitler didn't paint, draw or sketch any still life at all. The signature is also a clear fantasy one.

Sources

Defuncft Manions.com page, saved on the Internet Archive.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120426181237/http://www.manions.com/hitler-art-auction-manions.htm

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 version: Adolf Hitler. The unknown artist, Billy F. Price Publishing Co., Houston TX, 1984.
Take note: Birthplace of many Hitler myths; consists of concoctions and many depictions of forged Hitlers watercolors, oi lpaintings, drawings and poems. The English versions contains some additional reproductions of alleged Hitlers.

https://www.bartfmdroog.com/droog/niod/price.html


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29-01-2012: 1 fake Hitler in Slovakia

In 2012 the Slovakian auction house Darte in Nižný Hrušov sold four Hitlers. The first one in January, “Nächtliche See”, for €32,000. Later that year works titled “Evening Land" (€17,000), "Waldweg" (€12,000) and “Gastein” (€10,000) were sold. In 2011 it had already sold a work titled "Das Geheimtreffen" (“Secret meeting") for €10,200. The similarity between all these Hitlers? They were all fake.



Fake Hitler "Nächtliche See". Click to enlarge. 

I.

NAP / DPA - "A Slovak auction house is auctioning a painting of Adolf Hitler. The motif is very gloomy. Nevertheless, there are interested parties.

A Slovakian online auction house Darte is auctioning off a painting of Adolf Hitler for the second time in a short time. This is reported by 20min.ch.

The painting, "Nächtliche See" (Night Lake), shows moonlight reflecting over a rather gloomy lake. Last month, Darte already auctioned "The Secret Meeting". In it, three monks can be seen on armchairs, reading. "The Secret Meeting" found a buyer for 15,000 francs, according to 20min.ch.

The online portal claims to have learned that the two works came from the estate of a Slovakian family that now wants to get rid of the Hitler pictures."

NAP/DPA. Ein echter Hitler für die Wohnzimmerwand. Gruselige Kunst. Augsburger Allgemeine, Augsburg (D), 26-01-2012.
https://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/panorama/Ein-echter-Hitler-fuer-die-Wohnzimmerwand-id18482601.html

II.

Hitler work "Nocturnal Sea" auctioned for 32,000 euros - worldwide auctions with Führer art


Julian Barlen: "32,000 euros was what one "art" lover was willing to put on the virtual table when he bought Adolf Hitler's painting "Nächtliche See" at an internet auction on Sunday. The auction company "Darte" from Slovakia had offered the work from 1913 for an opening bid of 10,000 euros.

Hitler, whose rejection at the art academy at a young age probably gnawed at him throughout his life, never tired of making all kinds of drawings, watercolours and oil paintings - mostly with nature motifs. The "Nocturnal Sea" measures 60 x 48 cm and shows - surprise - a full moon above a sparkling expanse of water.

According to the owner of the auction house, Jaroslav Krajnak, The painting originates from the estate of a Slovakian painter, according to media reports. This painter may have met the young Hitler in person when he unsuccessfully tried to make a name for himself as a serious artist in Vienna.

The current auction is not the first of its kind. Last month, the auction house had already put "The Secret Meeting" (Das Geheimtreffen) under the hammer. And other dealers also profit time and again from the fact that pictures of the Nazi dictator meet with lively interest at home and abroad. At the end of 2009, for example, the auction house Weidler sold the paintings "Zerschossenene Mühle", "Weißenkirchen in der Wachau" and "Haus mit Brücke am Fluss" for a total of around 42,000 euros.

The 21 pictures of Hitler from the First World War, which turned up in a Belgian attic in 2006, changed hands some time later in Great Britain for the equivalent of about 170,000 euros.

Julian Barlen. Hitler-Schinken "Nächtliche See" für 32.000 Euro versteigert – weltweite Auktionen mit Führer-Kunst. Endstation Rechts, Schwerin, 29-01-2012.
https://www.endstation-rechts.de/news/hitler-schinken-naechtliche-see-fuer-32000-euro-versteigert-weltweite-auktionen-mit-fuehrer-kunst.html


III.


Comment by Droog Magazine: both works sold by this Slovakian auction house are to be considered as fakes. Even though the works weren't depicted in the articles about this auction, the descriptions make it clear that they are fakes.

Just as the 21 "Hitlers from Belgium" and the works sold by Weidler. 

And again it strikes that the journalists who wrote these articles had clearly no idea what kind of works Hitler really made and how many.


Source for the information about the Hitlers sold by Darte 2011-2012:

NAJVYŠŠIE DOSIAHNUTÉ CENY DIEL A. HITLERA NA AUKCÁCH:
32 000 eur - Morské nokturno ( DARTE 2012 )
17 000 eur - Večerná krajina ( DARTE 2012 )
12 000 eur - Waldweg ( DARTE 2012 )
10 200 eur - Tajné stretnutie ( DARTE 2011 )
10 000 eur - Gastein ( DARTE 2012 )

https://www.dartesro.sk/?act=dielo-katalog&dielo=85364

Address auction house Darte

DARTE Aukčná spoločnosť s.r.o.
Nižný Hrušov 333
094 22
Slovenská republika
Tel: +421 905 356 921, +421 905 959 101
Email: dartesro@dartesro.sk
https://www.dartesro.sk/



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2o-04-2012: 5 Hitlers in the USA

On April 20 (the birthday of Adolf Hitler!), 2012 five Hitlers were auctioned at Manion’s  Interntional Auction House in Kansas City. On the auctioneer's site they were described as:

1. Meadow Landscape with Pond and Mountains – Watercolor



4.75x3.25" size postcard size watercolor signed A.Hitler. Meadow landscape with pond and mountains in back ground. Done in the classic Hitler style, 14.5x12" wood frame, matted, Circa early 1900's, teens. Highest bid $1025.

2. The Opera on the Ring – Watercolor



In reference book by Billy F. Price titled "Adolph Hitler- The Unknown Artist" on page 135, painting number 194, Signature 1.1 A.Hitler. 10.5x14.5" in size". Authentication document is by Peter Jahn, Wien dated am 28, Feber, 1980. Highest bid $9379.

3. Floral Arrangement – Oil



Titled "Floral Arrangement" according to a brochure we have of "William Rasmussen Collection" and also in a book by Billy F. Price titled "Adolph Hitler- The Unknown Artist" on page 159 photo number 310. Oil painting on plywood. The outside of the frame measures 14-1/4" X 22-1/2". This painting has an authentication certificate from Peter Jahn Vienna dated 17 Mai, 1982. Highest bid $9379.

4. Flowers in Two Vases – Oil



Reference book 'Adolf Hitler the unknow Artist' by Billy Price page 157 photo number 298. Oil on cardboard, 1909-1912. The outside measurements of the frame are 15-1/4" X 18-1/2". The original documentation has been misplaced, however, a notarized letter certifying that there is indeed an original authentication and that this is a true copy of it will be provided. The original authentication was made by Peter Jahn, Wien dated 5 Juni, 1980. Highest bid $6048.

5. Farm and Trees – Watercolor Postcard

[no depiction to be found]

5.5x3.5" size heavy card stock, typed lettering on back Postkarte, hand painted watercolor scene of farm house and building in the distance w/trees in the forground, signed Adolf Hitler in red, early 1900's style signature. Highest bid $893.

Comment by Droog Magazine: All these are clear fakes, which don’t resembly any thought to be authentic Hitler work.

Sources

Brenna Hawley. Hitler paintings go up for sale at Manion’s International Auction House. Kansas City Business Journal, Kansas City, 22-03-2012.
 https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/blog/2012/03/hitler-paintings-go-up-for-sale-at.html

Defunct Manions.com pages, saved on the Internet Archive, under.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120426181237/http://www.manions.com/hitler-art-auction-manions.htm

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 version: Adolf Hitler. The unknown artist, Billy F. Price Publishing Co., Houston TX, 1984.
Take note: Birthplace of many Hitler myths; consists of concoctions and many depictions of forged Hitlers watercolors, oil paintings, drawings and poems. The English versions contains some additional reproductions of alleged Hitlers.

https://www.bartfmdroog.com/droog/niod/price.html



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??-05-2012: 2 fake Hitlers at Barnes Thomas County Auctioneers, Penzance, Cornwall, UK


Click to enlarge.


Click to enlarge.

Two paintings, ‘Der Lehrling Muster’ (9.2 inch by 6.5), allegedly made by Adolf Hitler in 1912, and ‘A Coastal Scene’ ( 5 inch by 7.5 inch), allegedly made by him in 1919 were sold for £1,600 early May 2012.

The Daily Mail: “ The paintings, which were estimated to sell for between £2,000 and £3,000, were sold by Barnes Thomas County Auctioneers in Penzance, Cornwall.

But the sale has not gone done well with those living near the auction house who say much of the value comes from the paintings' association with their mass murderer creator.

Helen Rolfe said: ‘These paintings are not fine, unlike the others presented for sale, but more pertinently are presumably offered because of their association with fascism and murder.

‘Surely no local collector is interested in these? I suspect that the auctioneers anticipate telephone bills from elsewhere.

‘In my opinion, Barnes Thomas should have declined to accept these mediocre pictures by Adolf Hitler, and made a small stand in support of the millions of bereaved families of the post-war period.’”

Comment by Droog Magazine: These two alleged Hitlers were utter fakes, resembling in nothing the believed to be authentic Hitlers.

Source:

Tom Gardner. Mein Canvas: Crude watercolours painted by a young Adolf Hitler sell for £1,600 at auction. Daily Mail, London, 03-05-2012.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2138914/Mein-Canvass-Crude-watercolours-painted-young-Adolf-Hitler-sell-1-600-auction.html


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08-05-2012: 1 fake Hitlers at Alexander Historical Auctions LLC, Stamford, CT, USA

Lot 2: "Adolf Hitler Watercolor Painting". Sold for $14,000.





Description by auctioneer: "An original watercolor painting by future dictator Adolf Hitler, 13 3/4" x 9 1/4" on heavy rag paper, a street scene depicting what appears to be a government building with an armed soldier standing in the foreground, likely in Munich ca. 1920, executed in a black ink wash with muted shades of orange, ochre, brown, burgundy and ivory. The image is signed in graphite pencil "A. Hitler" at lower-right, uncharacteristically in gothic block letters, as Hitler's works were typically signed in cursive of block letters - although we were able to locate another example signed in a similar manner.

The colors, style, poor perspective, and choice of subject are entirely consistent and typical of Hitler's work. Paper soiling and toning is consistent with age, and this item emanates from a collection untouched for forty years. In custom gilt-engraved folder and matching slipcase.

Having handled many Hitler paintings in the past, we feel that the provenance, style, and aberrant signature, along with the lack of trumped-up paperwork, points to this piece as being completely genuine and certainly not one of the dozens of frauds and oils (!) to have reached the market over the past dozen years.”

Comment by Droog Magazine: One thing is sure: Hitler made no watercolors at all after the First World War. The hand is clearly from a different artist than Hitler. The signature looks different from the signatures Hitler used on his "watercolors". This work is a fake, not even a forgery, as it doesn´t resemble any believed to be authentic Hitlers.

The only noticable thing about this work is what the auctioneer, Bill Panagopulos, admits: that many fake Hitlers are accompanied by trumped-up paperwork.

Source:

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/adolf-hitler-watercolor-painting-2-c-0f0f6bc6c1 (accessed 21-08-2021).



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??-06-2012: 1 more fake Hitler in Slovakia


The oil painting allegedly made by Hitler, with a photo of the cruel dictator inserted.  Click to enlarge.

In June 2012 the Darte auction house in Slovakia offered again a fake Hitler, titled (in Slovak)
"Večerná Krajina" ("Evening Landscape").  A Slovak newspaper reported:


"Where do Hitler's paintings in Slovakia come from? The auction house Darte is offering the fourth painting of the Nazi dictator.

For the first time, it is a larger-sized oil painting, the starting price is 15 thousand euros. The young Hitler created it in 1914 or 1915, when he still wanted to embark on an artistic career. The auctioneer has been sworn to secrecy by the original owners. However, it is not impossible that other paintings of the man who made his bloody mark on history will be discovered.

The Darte auction house in Nizhny Hrabovec is auctioning its fourth work by Adolf Hitler. They all come from the same owners. However, the company's managing director and forensic expert Jaroslav Krajňák is not allowed to reveal their identities, as he is bound by confidentiality. "This is a family that has this painting received directly from Hitler. Their ancestors lived in Vienna, one branch lives in Slovakia," he revealed. Their mother was a painter who had a studio in Vienna. The future Führer is even said to have worked directly for the family. As they moved around during the war, the descendants may have inherited some twenty of Hitler's paintings. Recently, they began to sell them off. As they are unique collectors' items, they are in great demand.

Darte's latest offering in an online auction is “Evening Landscape”, measuring 42 x 53 cm. It was created in 1914 or 1915 and depicts a landscape from an unknown location in Austria. "This is the first time we have a larger oil painting from him. It's already a better quality work, obviously the painter was guided by someone when he painted it. Both the composition and the play with light are well handled. It also comes from his beginnings as a painter," says Krajňák. The painting has already been restored, as evidenced by the restoration report and written provenance from the owners. The start price is 15 thousand euros.”


Comment by Droog Magazine: Hitler didn’t make oil paintings. This didn't stop an idiot in paying €17,000 for it.


Source:

Na Slovensku predávajú už štvrtý Hitlerov obraz! Nový Cas, Brratislava, 05-06-2012.
https://www.cas.sk/clanok/225169/na-slovensku-predavaju-uz-stvrty-hitlerov-obraz/


 

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27-09-2012: 1 fake Hitler in the UK

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.


Click to enlarge.

In 2012 it sold this fake Hitler for £750.

Description by auctioneer: "Hitler (attributed) Alpine mountain scene with church and small village in foreground, watercolour on paper. Signed ‘A Hitler’ to bottom right hand corner. Image size approx 29x20cm. This is accompanied with a certificate issued by Thomas Sack, Alpenst 4, 78464 Konstanz, Germany (art.shop@web.de) which reads in translation: ‘Josef Wallner, Felberst 6 , Vienna 15. Statement of Provenance. I hereby state that this watercolour painting (town with church and mountains in the background– signed ‘A Hitler’) has been personally purchased by my grandfather Alois Wallner directly from Adolf Hitler in Vienna in the year 1912 together with another picture. As I’ve been told by my grandfather, he just paid a total of 5 Kronen for one painting. As far as I can remember, the painting was stored all the years in my grandfather’s office room. ‘As my grandfather died, the painting became the property of my father Johann Wallner. After his death I became the legal owner of this painting. Vienna, March 19, 1979. Josef Wallner’. The certificate further states that the painting was sold on commission to Mr Jeff Finnegan, Rhode Island, USA in February 2004."

Comment by Droog Magazine: Ahum. Hitler didn´t make landscapes in his Viennese period.

Thomas Sack, also known as Tom Sack, born 1982, is a German artist, art dealer, forger and Certificate of Authenticity swindler.

He started his career in Konstanz at the Bodensee, then moved to Berlin and later settled in Rinteln-Schaumburg, near Hannover.

He was in 2011 convicted by the Bückeburger Landesgericht for certificate fraud on a commercial basis in 34 cases.  Shortly before that conviction he was sentenced by a Berlin court to two years prison for selling forged paintings (allegedly made by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Liebermann, Paul Cézanne and Amadeo Modigliani) and certificate fraud.

One part of this swindling schemes was funny, though. He made also works which he attributed to the non-existent artist Cara Gano. He offered these via E-bay with a start price of €15,000, and then he made biddings himself, to raise the price.

In 2021 Thomas Sack was working as a lawyer in Rinteln.

Sources:

https://www.mullocksauctions.co.uk/lot-51418-hitler_attributed_alpine_mountain_scene_church_and.html?p=31

Stefan Sievering. Kunstfälschung? Maler als Betrüger angeklagt. Er soll 200 Sammler angeschmiert haben. Bild, Berlin, 02-06-2009.
https://www.bild.de/regional/hannover/maler-als-betrueger-angeklagt-8552908.bild.html
Tom Sack. Fall Tom Sack. Press release, 05-11-2009.
https://web.archive.org/web/20210824122916/https://www.firmenpresse.de/pressinfo133442/waertsilae-s-interim-report-january-march-2012-to-be-published-20-april-2012-at-8-30-a-m-local-time.html

Nina Grunsky. 7000 Euro für einen Max Liebermann. Westfalen Post, Essen, 30-11-2009.
https://www.wp.de/wp-info/7000-euro-fuer-einen-max-liebermann-id342289.html
Hans Weimann. Die Farbe soll wenigstens trocken sein. Alvensleben.de, 29-10-2010.
https://www.v-alvensleben.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/29_10_2010.pdf

NN. Tom Sack: Freispruch zum Greigen nahe. Schaumburger Nachrichten. Hannover, 26-01-2011.
https://www.sn-online.de/Schaumburg/Rinteln/Rinteln-Stadt/Tom-Sack-Freispruch-zum-Greifen-nahe

Berliner Oberstaatsanwalt fordert unbedingte Haftstrafe für Tom Sack – Prozess um Kunstfälschungen wird neu aufgerollt.
Politik Express, Boston, MA, 05-07-2011.

https://www.politikexpress.de/berliner-oberstaatsanwalt-fordert-unbedingte-haftstrafe-fuer-tom-sack-prozess-um-kunstfaelschungen-wird-neu-aufgerollt-435410.html

Jakob Gokl. Porträt: Ex-Kunstfälscher Thomas Sack will in den Stadtrat. Schaumburger Zeitung, Rinteln, 19-08-2021.
https://www.szlz.de/region/rinteln_artikel,-portraet-exkunstfaelscher-thomas-sack-will-in-den-stadtrat-_arid,2700131.html


See also our special report on Mullock’s:

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


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??-??-2012: 2 more fake Hitlers in Slovakia...

...sold by the Slovakian auction house Darte in Nižný Hrušov. See also 29-01-2012.

These two works were titled:

Waldweg (Forest Road), €12,000
Gastein (= Austrian ski and spa town), €10,000.

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Exchange rates / value of money 2012

1 euro = 
1.29 US dollar.
1 US dollar = 0.76 euro.   
1 euro = 0.80 UK pound
1 UK pound = 1.25 euro
1 euro = 1.20 Swiss francs
1 Swiss franc =0.83 euro

Wisselkoersen archief ECB, 11-05-2012.

https://wisselkoers-euro.nl/archief-wisselkoersen/2012-05-11/


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.