Adolf Hitler Paintings

Adolf Hitler Paintings, A COLLECTION of seven paintings that once belonged to Adolf Hitler have been unearthed in a convent in the Czech Republic.  Among the works of art is a massive painting entitled Memories of Stalingrad.

Depicting wounded German soldiers sheltering in a trench as battle rages around them, the work of art is believed to be one of Hitler’s favourites.

The long-lost Hitler collection was discovered by a Jiri Kuchar, a Czech historian, tucked away in the depository of the convent in the small town of Doskany, which lies north of Prague.

Among the works of art is a massive painting entitled Memories of Stalingrad. Depicting wounded German soldiers sheltering in a trench as battle rages around them, the work of art is believed to be one of Hitler’s favourites despite the catastrophic defeat inflicted on his armies at Stalingrad by Soviet forces.

As the war neared its end Hitler apparently ordered the paintings, which he had either bought or seized, to be hidden in a monastery in southern Bohemia. But American forces found them and took them to a central collection point for artefacts looted by the Nazis during the war, but then they disappeared and it remains unclear how they ended up in the convent.

In a statement the convent said it had no idea of the dark origins of the paintings, but added it intends to keep them.

Historians say the historical value of the collection far exceeds its artistic value although at auction it could fetch millions.

The discovery may also not be the end of the story.

Mr Kuchar explained that before it disappeared the collection in fact totalled 16 paintings, which means a further nine remain undiscovered but finding them could prove difficult owing to a desire to keep the past secret.

Hitler Paintings: Hitler & Art Discovery

Hitler Paintings: Hitler & Art Discovery, The art works, which Hitler bought in Germany during the Second World War, had been moved to Czechoslovakia after it was occupied by the Nazis to prevent them being damaged by Allied attacks.

On Monday, author Jiri Kuchar put seven of the paintings on display for reporters at the convent in Doksany in northern Czech Republic where he had identified them. Today, he said, they are probably worth about 50 million koruna ($2.7 million).

“Nobody believed me it could be true,” Kuchar said of his findings. The author, who calls himself “an amateur and enthusiast,” has written about his findings.

Kuchar said Hitler bought the 16 paintings – by German artists such as Franz Eichhorst, Paul Herrmann, Sepp Hilz, Friedrich W. Kalb, Oscar Oestreicher, Edmund Steppes and Armin Reumann – in 1942 and 1943 at the Great German art exhibitions that were held annually in Munich from 1937 to 1944.