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April 7, 2021 - Droog Magazine periodical for investigative journalism

Fake Hitlers from Florida

to Hitler Forgery Industry index | 2021 | to Droog Magazine





Intro
|
Watercolors | Fake euro banknotes? |

Concentration camp fakes?

Auction policies | Past "Hitler" auctions by AA

In the ever continuing  stream of clearly fake Hitler watercolors and sketches traded by the Tallahassee (Florida) based auction house "Affiliated Auctions" (AA) we've spotted yet three other "new" fake Hitlers - all three accompanied by Certificates of Authenticity (CoA) issued by the laughable CoA swindler Frank P. Garo.

As we've demonstrated before the man will authenticate anything as long as he is paid for it, these CoA's have as little value as the fake Hitlers they accompany.

The junk will be auctioned at April 28, 2021. Four of the five Hitlers now to be auctioned were also offered at a previous AA auction (on January 27, 2021).


The watercolors

Lot 1324: "Adolf Hitler watercolor painting w CoA". Start price ca. $500; estimated at $2,000 - $4,000. Buyers premium 18%.


Click to enlarge.


Click to enlarge.

Description by auctioneer: "Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) Austrian-born German politician, later dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945. 1910 Vienna Period Aquarelle watercolor painting on card stock with minor spotted foxing, 2.5cm crease to left border, otherwise in very good condition. Detailed village scene with an old mill, signed lower right corner. Garo Certificate of Authenticity dated 1972. Dimensions: 10 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches. This lot has a reserve."


Click to enlarge.

Comment by Droog Magazine:
Another worthless fake. It is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity issued by Frank P. Garo, which in itself is a clear forgery indicator. Garo issued it in 2018, not 1972, as stated by the auctioneer.

Source: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/100881681_adolf-hitler-watercolor-painting-w-coa


Lot 1325: "Adolf Hitler watercolor painting w CoA". Start price ca. $500; estimated at $2,000 - $4,000. Buyers premium 18%.


Click to enlarge.


Description by auctioneer: "Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) Austrian-born German politician, later dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945. 1911 Vienna Period Aquarelle watercolor painting on card stock, in very good condition. Detailed garden scene with gazebo, signed lower left corner. Garo Certificate of Authenticity dated 1972. Dimensions: 8 1/4 x 7 inches This lot has a reserve."

 


Click to enlarge.

Comment by Droog Magazine: Another worthless fake. It is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity issued by Frank P. Garo, which in itself is a clear forgery indicator. Garo issued it in 2018, not 1972, as stated by the auctioneer.

Source: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/100881682_adolf-hitler-watercolor-painting-w-coa


Lot 1326: "Adolf Hitler aquarelle watercolor painting w CoA". Start price ca. $750; estimated at $3,000 - $5,000. Buyers premium 18%. 


Click to enlarge.



Description by auctioneer:
"
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) Austrian-born Germanpolitician, later dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945. 1911 Vienna Period Aquarelle watercolor painting on card stock, in very good condition. Detailed garden scene with gazebo, signed lower left corner. Garo Certificate of Authenticity dated 1972. Dimensions: 81/4 x 7 inches This lot has a reserve."



Comment by Droog Magazine: Another worthless fake. It is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity issued by Frank P. Garo, which in itself is a clear forgery indicator. Garo issued it in 2018, not 1972, as stated by the auctioneer.

But there's more to this CoA. On January 24, 2019 the Berlin police seized three alleged Hitlers at Auktionhaus Kloss in Berlin. One of these three was accompanied by a CoA issued by Frank P. Garo on exactly the same day as the above CoA. The Berlin one had the number  29025 - and the present one is numbered 29024.

So Garo has issued them directly after each other - which in al likelihood means that the Kloss "Hitler"and this 2021 "Hitler" were in 2018 owned by the same person - who might even be the actual forger.  

Sources

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/100881683_adolf-hitler-aquarelle-watercolor
-painting-w-coa

Bart FM Droog. 'Hitlers' in Berlijn - TPO ontdekt weer nieuwe Hitlervervalsingen.
The Post Online, Amsterdam, 23-01-2019.
https://tpo.nl/2019/01/23/hitlers-in-berlijn-tpo-ontdekt-weer-nieuwe-hitlervervalsingen/

Bart FM Droog. Berlijnse politie doet inval bij veilinghuis na onderzoek TPO over valse Hitler-schilderijen.  
The Post Online, Amsterdam, 24-01-2019.
https://tpo.nl/2019/01/24/berlijnse-politie-doet-inval-bij-veilinghuis-na-onderzoek-tpo-over-valse-hitler-schilderijen/

Christina Burack. Berlin police seize 'A. Hitler' paintings on forgery suspicions at auction.
Deutsche Welle, 24-01-2019.
https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-police-seize-a-hitler-paintings-on-forgery-suspicions-at-auction/a-47222587

Sven-Felix Kellerhoff. 98 percent of 'Hitler's' paintings are counterfeits.  The Post Online, Amsterdam, 31-01-2019.
https://tpo.nl/2019/01/31/98-percent-of-hitlers-paintings-are-counterfeits/

Jaap van den Born & Bart FM Droog. Traced Garo Certificates. Droog Magazine, Eenrum, 2019-2021.
http://www.droog-mag.nl/hitler/coa/garo/garo-certificates-of-authenticity.html#traces


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The euro banknotes

Just as at the previous AA-auction euro banknotes are offered. This time banknotes of €100 as well as one of €50, all "valid", and all at start prices which are much lower than their actual value.



Lot 1113-1117: euro banknotes. Click to enlarge.


Selling banknotes for less than their actual value? Isn't that the practice of counterfeiters?

Sources

Banknotes, European Bank. Bruxelles, [seen 24-03-2021].
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/html/index.en.html

Nieuwe biljetten van 50, 100 en 200 euro zijn voortaan smaller. Radar. Avrotros, Hilversum, 28-05-2019.
https://radar.avrotros.nl/nieuws/item/nieuwe-biljetten-van-50-100-en-200-euro-zijn-voortaan-smaller/

Lot #1113 - 2 x €100 1 x €50– start bid $60
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/100881469_current-foreign-currency-face-value-250-euros

Lot #1114 - 2 x €100 – start bid $50
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/100881470_200-euros-current-paper-currency-banknotes

Lot #1115 - 2 x €100 – start bid $50

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/100881471_200-euros-current-paper-currency-banknotes

Lot #1116 - 2 x €100 – start bid $50
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/100881472_200-euros-current-paper-currency-banknotes

Lot #1117 - 2 x €100 – start bid $50
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/100881473_200-euros-current-paper-currency-banknotes


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Concentration camp fakes?

New at Affiliate Auctions is the presence of two objects allegedly originating from Nazi concentration camps. These are lot 1355 and 1356, respectively an armband worn by a Jehova Witness prisoner (purple triangle) and an armband worn by a criminal prisoner (green triangle). According to the stamp print these armbands originate from KL (Konzentrationslager) Buchenwald.   






Lots 1355 and 1356; click on the upper pictures to enlarge.

The start price of lot 1355 is $80; that of 1356 circa $60.

It is known that forgers have produced in the past a wide range of artefacts supposedly originating from Nazi concentration camps. Many of these objects were debunked in the 1990s by the US researcher Alec S. Tulkoff, including many "authentic" armbands".



Two fake armbands shown by Tulkoff; allegedly worn by a Jehova Witness (left) and a homosexual (right). Click to enlarge.

The two armbands offered by Affiliated Auctions have all the characteristics of the ones described and shown by Tulkoff: see the superfluous stamp prints and the stamp prints of numbers. The low start prices are also indications of the fake nature of these armbands.

Tulkoff, in 2000: "Prisoners and Capos did not wear armbands with triangles. (...) These fake armbands come in a wide variety of colours. They usually display some sort of ink stamp denoting either a camp and/or a specific work location. Once again, there is no photographic or archival evidence (or any oral history testimony) which I have encountered that proves the authenticity of these items. (...) These are relatively common fictitious items that have appeared on the market." Fakes likes these surfaced in the US in the early 1990s.

As Affiliated Auctions doesn't give any information at all about the provenance of the armbands, both are to be considered to be post 1945 products. The trade in these fake concentration camp items is probably the most sickest part of the trade in (fake) Nazi militaria.

Sources

Lot 1355: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/100881712_wwii-german-third-reich-jehovah-witness-armband

Lot 1356: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/100881713_wwii-german-third-reich-criminal-witness-armband

Alec S. Tulkoff. Counterfeiting the Holocaust. A historical and archival examination of Holocaust artifacts. Edited by Larry Urish. Schiffer Military History, Atglen, PA, [2000]. Pages 61-62.


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Auction policies


Affiliated Auctions: “Descriptions are not intended to be definitive and should be thought of as opinions on the genuineness, authorship, attribution, provenance, period, culture, source, origin, or condition of the property. No statement made in item leads, descriptions, estimate or during the sale should be considered an assumption of liability or warranty. Lots of items that we deem to be questionable in nature will be described as “unauthenticated”. Usage of this term does not imply anything other than our opinion. Artworks described as a work by a specific artist fall into our highest tier of authenticity, however, no qualified statement about the authorship is strictly implied. Artworks described as “attributed to...” are most likely, in our opinion, a work by the artist but there is less certainty expressed than in the terminology described above. (…) The term signed by and/or dated by the artist is believed to have been inscribed by the artist's hand. The term bears signature implies that the signature may have been added by someone other than the artist. (...) Autographs and autographed items are believed to be authentic unless otherwise stated.”

Source: Terms & conditions. Affiliated Auctions, 2021.

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Affiliated Auctions - in the past


On March 8, 2018 this auction house sold six clearly forged Hitler sketches, as being authentic Hitler artworks. All six were accompanied by fraudulent certificates of authenticity issued by Frank P. Garo. The works were sold for $20,800.

In 'The Tallahassee Auction' (Droog Magazine, 09-03-2018) we reported on this case.  

On April 11, 2019 Affiliated Auctions sold another fake Hitler. This one was sold for $ 3,800. We reported on that case in 'A Hitler' in Florida' (Droog Magazine, 03-04-2019).

On June 25, 2019 Affiliated Auctions sold another fake Hitler. This one was sold for $ 7,400. We reported on that case in 'A Hitler' in Florida (2)' (Droog Magazine, 24-09-2019).

In 2020 and 2021 (January and March) Affiliated Auctions offered more fakes.

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© Compilation Bart FM Droog, 2021.
Photos courtesy Affiliated Auctions.