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February 4, 2021 - updated July 28, 2022

The Hitler Forgery Industry

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Charles E. Snyder

Introduction | Hitler expert? | The Snyder Hitler collection |
Snyder's CoAs | Militaria collectors about Snyder |
Snyder & the Chapman Brothers

By Bart FM Droog

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

Introduction: Charles E. Snyder

The Militaria dealer Charles E. Snyder Jr. (1931-2015) was known among Militaria col-lectors as a dealer who sold a large number of forgeries and fakes. Unfortunately, Snyder succeeded in convincing some journalists of his reliability, hence he was presented by a.o. The Washington Post as a reliable expert on Nazi Mili-taria and Hitler's artworks, which gave him the oppor-tunity to cheat even more people.

Sources

Charles. E. Snyder Jr. Dignity Memorial, October 2015.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/bowie-md/charles-snyder-6630609

Marc Fisher. The Art of Evil. Half a century later, the paintings of Adolf Hitler are still a federal case. The Washington Post, Washington, 2002.
https://web.archive.org/web/20031203110824/http://www.snyderstreasures.com/
pages/postarticle.htm

Charles E. Snyder - Hitler expert?

Snyder's reputation as expert on Hitler's artwork is based largely on the high amount of "Hitlers" he traded and on an article he wrote in 1998 for Militaria Trader. An article which is a story in itself.

Charles E. Snyder, Jr. Major USAF (Retired). The Real Deal - Adolf Hitler Original Artworks. Military Trader, Vol 5, Issue 9. September 1998.

Archived on: https://web.archive.org/web/20040101070127/http://www.snyderstreasures.com
/pages/real_deal.htm#(5)

This article is a mix of some facts and many concoctions, aimed at selling the forged and fake Hitler paintings from his collection. It's a well known swindler's trick - "authenticating" objects by referring to "reference books" or articles written by themselves. Another trick is referring to auctions where fake objects have been traded, as 'evidence' for their authenticity.

The most interesting part in Snyder's 1998 article are the last lines:

"Charles Snyder has been buying and selling original Adolf Hitler artworks for over 25 years. He bought his first Hitler painting from Peter Jahn in 1972. Since then, he has bought and sold nearly 50 original pieces. His current collection includes of 16 paintings – one of the largest single collections in the US – liberated from Berchtesgaden, Obersalzberg, in May 1945 by a US Army paratrooper. These paintings and other items will be featured in his forthcoming book Treasure Trove: The Looting of the Third Reich."

The Austrian Peter Jahn was involved in the trade of mainly forged Hitlers from 1935 until the late 1980s. The "US Army paratrooper" is the mythical Lt. D.C. Watts, who, if Snyder is to believed, looted trainloads of Hitleriana from the Berghof.

A good example of Snyder's non-expertise is this:

		On the back side of this work, coded by Snyder 'A69 Country Church', according to signature and date on the front painted by Hitler in 1914, a S. Morgenstern stamp print can be found. It is known that the Viennese frame maker Samuel Morgenstern bought sometimes water-colors from the young Hitler. In 1910-1913, when Hitler lived in Vienna.
		In 1914 Hitler lived and worked in Munich and had no contact with his former Viennese clients at all – so this stamp print is a clear forgery indicator.

Click on images to enlarge.

According to Snyder this work “is a view of an unidentified country church in heavy woods (most likely in the Munich, Bavaria area)”. Apparently Snyder didn't know that Hitler made only cityscapes in 1910-1914.

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The Charles E. Snyder Hitler collection

Snyder bought and sold a great number of alleged Hitler watercolors, oil paintings and drawings. On his defunct but archived website Snyder's Treasures more than hundred of these can still be seen.

https://web.archive.org/web/20160512002516/http:
//www.snyderstreasures.com/pages/hartworks.htm

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Snyder's Certificates of Authenticity

Charles E. Snyder, also known as Charlie Snyder, must have issued numerous Certificates of Authenticity to objects allegedly originating from Adolf Hitler, Eva Braun, Hermann Goering and other Third Reich personalities. These CoAs have no value at all - except as "forgery indicators".

Most Nazi militaria collectors seem to know this, as surprisingly little Snyder CoAs can be traced online. Anno 2021 only this one popped up:

Click on image to enlarge.

Snyder issued this CoA to two mirors, allegedly from Eva Braun. These two silver mirrors are however in all likelihood not very valuable antique mirrors, upgraded by an unknown engraver with Eva Braun's initials.

Snyder CoA issued in 2003 belonging to this locket, allegedly looted from the Berghof - a clear fake product (click on images to enlarge):

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Militaria collectors about Snyder

Even though Charles E. Snyder passed away in 2015, his legacy - a hugh quantity of fakes and bogus Certificates of Authenticity - is still very alive. Many Militaria collectors have it the past warned for any object connected to Snyder, as can be seen in this small anthology.

Wehrmacht Awards Forum, 2001-2015

Over the years, numerous complaints about Charles E. Snyder were listed on this forum. See:
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/forum/community-forums/collector-community-forum/420-dealer-alert-charles-e-snyder-jr

Forum Axis History, 2007

“edw52”, 19-08-2007: “What is the deal with Charlie Snyder and the stuff he sells? I have looked at a lot of his stuff on that site with horror! It is grossly over priced and I have heard he sells a lot of fakes too. I would like to hear some background info on him and how he gets away with selling that stuff for soo much money, and how he gets away with selling fakes.”

“Mark in Cleveland, Tn”, 19-08-2007: “Go to any militaria forum... type in his name... and see what kind of reviews this jerk has.... He is one of the biggest frauds since the beginning of mankind.”

“John G.”, 20-08-2007: “Charlie Snyder has been around for many years here in the states, he used to organize some of the "East Coast" Militaria shows back in the 60s - 80s. He, like most self-appointed demi-gods, unfortunately was seduced by the darkside, and profit & greed replaced any true love of the hobby.....but he's not alone in this......many "a big time dealer" has surcome to the dollar sign.”

Source: https://www.forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=125992

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Snyder and the Chapman Brothers

Probably Charles E. Snyder's biggest scam was the selling of at least twelve fake "Hitlers" to Jake and Dinos Chapman, also known as the Chapman Brothers, two British artists known for their "shock art".

The Chapman Brothers wanted to shock the art world by vandalizing authentic Hitler artworks. They stated that in taking their own paintbrushes to the work, they could "erase history"; that examining the work on its own was "very disturbing", but the act of defacing it "subordinated the metaphysical value of its evil".

In doing so, they didn't erase history; they merely financed and inspired the Hitler forgery industry with £115,000.

In 2020, the Chapman Brothers didn't answer our questions about their Hitler project.

Sources

Jake and Dinos Chapman Artworks. The Art Story, New York, [Seen 04-02-2021]
https://www.theartstory.org/artist/chapman-jake-and-dinos/artworks/

Jaap van den Born & Bart FM Droog. Knacks with fake Hitlers. Droog Magazine, Eenrum, 08-08-2020

https://www.droog-mag.nl/hitler/2008/knacks-with-fake-hitlers.pdf

Bart FM Droog. Kunstjes met valse Hitlers. Reporters Online, Haarlem, 09-08-2020
https://reportersonline.nl/kunstjes-met-valse-hitlers-shock-art-project-uit-2008-blijkt-gebouwd-op-bedrog/

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