Hitler’s beloved art is fetching millions and making Germans mad

BERLIN, Germany — The exposure of a thriving underground market in Nazi-era art is forcing Germany to reconsider its dark past.

Many here are wondering how it can possibly be that some fellow Germans have been collecting sculptures, paintings and other art endorsed by Adolf Hitler.

"I have no idea what kind of person is prepared to spend money on these objects," said Birgit Maria Sturm, an art historian at the Federal Association of German Galleries and Fine Art Dealers in Berlin. "It’s beyond me."

Until recently, experts believed most Nazi-sponsored art had been destroyed in World War II. But that changed in January 2014, when Dutchman Arthur Brand received photos depicting two bronze horse statues that once stood outside Hitler’s chancellery.

Brand, who specializes in authenticating art, thought the photo was a fake.

Dutch historian Arthur Brand poses with photos of sculptures made for Adolf Hitler.

But further investigations proved Brand's inkling wrong, so he contacted German police. Then in May, a nationwide sting on 10 warehouses uncovered 100 tons of Nazi art, valued at millions of dollars.

The pieces aren’t illegal in Germany, but police say they belong to the German state and were stolen. The owners deny the allegations.

"We thought there had to be more than we originally anticipated, but what we ended up finding was completely unexpected," Brand said of the nine artworks recovered.

"The Warrior," a 10-foot bronze neoclassical nude by Nazi sculptor Arno Breker, was among the secretly stashed works. It’s a perfect example of the overblown Aryan masculinity idolized by the diminutive Fuehrer. Brand estimated its black market value at $9 million.

The value of the pieces suggests thousands of collectors have shelled out big sums for Nazi art in recent years, Brand added.  

Above-board art sales suggest he’s right. Fourteen paintings and drawings by Hitler himself recently fetched $448,000 at auction in Nuremberg. Anonymous buyers hailed from Brazil, China, France, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.

The issue is causing a ruckus somewhat similar to the one in the United States over the Confederate flag. Most concerning to some Germans is that anybody wants Nazi art at all.

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"I just can't imagine that anyone could have a serious aesthetic interest in these pieces," Sturm said. "Perhaps there’s a historical interest. But then I have to ask, 'Why would they want to buy the original? Why would they want to own this art?' I just find that strange."

Others disagree.

"It's the taboo that strengthens these black markets," said Robert Ketterer of Ketterer Kunst auction house in Munich. Ketterer has sold Breker sculptures. That doesn’t make him a Nazi, he said. He felt buyers could refute Nazism by finding new meanings in the art.

It’s an argument resembling those made by Confederate flag defenders who claim the Stars and Bars is a symbol of the South, not slavery.

"These objects should be exposed to break the taboo," he said. “You shouldn’t hide them anymore. Quite the opposite."