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| Blogs > OnDaFence > Bret's Blogisphere |
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War Trophy  A painting taken from the wall of Adolf Hitler’s headquarters in the Bavarian Alps by a U.S. soldier is up for auction in the U.K. tomorrow August 20th. The oil painting by Ernst Friedrich measures 18 inches by 13 inches, the artwork depicts Wawel castle and cathedral in Krakow, Poland. The painting, which has a pre-sale estimate of $7,777 to $12,962,  Taken from Hitler’s Berghof residence in May 1945 by Sgt. Herson Whitley of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. “He obtained it by taking it off a wall in Hitler's retreat in Berchtesgaden at the end of the war,” explained Whitley’s , in a letter that accompanies the painting. “Note there is a crack along the upper corner which my father said occurred during shipping it home from Europe.”  Whitley was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor and the French Croix de Guerre for his wartime service. In addition to the letter from Whitley’s , the “provenance package” accompanying the picture includes the soldier’s medals, Tags, patches and letters from his time serving in Europe.  |
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8/19/2016 7:40 pm |
FOUR
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8/19/2016 7:41 pm |
THREE
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8/19/2016 7:41 pm |
TWO
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8/19/2016 7:43 pm |
ONE... I looked through numerous old photos of the interior of the Berghof in order that I might find exactly which room it was taken from but could not find it's previous location.
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8/19/2016 11:12 pm |
I wouldn't mind having it myself.
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8/20/2016 8:24 am |
I just have many sources to draw on, coupled with a diverse field of interests. I do appreciate you dropping by and commenting.
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8/20/2016 8:28 am |
It's only looting if if is done by a Nazi and the property is only returned if it's previous owner was jewish. Russian Museums are full of German material looted after the war. Here in the USA I seen a spoon that had belonged to Hitler with his initials on it.
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8/20/2016 8:35 am |
The painting was most likely a gift from Frank the governor of Poland, a close friend of Hitler's from the research I did, though not conclusive, nor could I ascribe it to any particular room in the Berghof from official photos taken prior to the war. For all intents and purposes Sgt. Herson Whitley could have fabricated the story.
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8/20/2016 4:19 pm |
I don't always post a comment on your blog. but I enjoy everyone of them.
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