Seven paintings owned by Adolf Hitler uncovered in Czech Republic

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What was Adolf Hitler’s taste in art? Judging by a small stash of paintings he once owned and that was recently rediscovered in Europe, the dictator preferred paintings with a military theme that depicted the heroism of German soldiers. Surprised?

The collection of seven paintings was discovered by a historian at a convent in the Czech Republic. Britain’s Telegraph reports that Hitler may have ordered the paintings to be hidden in a monastery, but U.S. forces found them and took them to a central collection point for artifacts.

For reasons that remain unclear, the paintings ended up at a convent in Doksany, a town north of Prague.

Among the paintings in Hitler’s stash is a work titled ‘Memories of Stalingrad,’ a large-scale depiction of German soldiers under siege.

Jiri Kuchar, the scholar who made the discovery, told Agence France-Presse that the discovered artwork is part of Hitler’s larger collection of about 45 paintings, about 30 statues and more.

Hitler was an art student in his youth and was rejected by an art school in Vienna. As a young man, he created a number of paintings, some of which have hit the auction block in recent years.

The Daily Mail, which published photos of the Czech find, said the seven paintings could fetch more than $2.5 million at auction due to their historical value. But, the Telegraph reported that the convent has decided to keep them.

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-- David Ng