No takers for Hitler paintings at auction

Over fears they could be fakes

A picture taken on February 8, 2019 shows the watercolour entitled "Ortschaft an Vorgebirgssee", a scene of a village near a mountain lake, signed "A. Hitler", which is on display at the Weidler auction house in Nuremberg in the southern city of Nuremberg. - A German auction house scrapped the planned sale of 26 artworks attributed to Adolf Hitler, after doubts emerged about their authenticity just days before they were due to go under the hammer. Five paintings signed "A. Hitler", all of them watercolours, will be auctioned off on February 9, 2019 as scheduled, according to the Weidler auction house. (Photo by DANIEL KARMANN / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION

Five watercolours attributed to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler from his early days as a struggling artist have failed to sell at auction in the southern German city of Nuremberg, possibly over fears they could be fakes.

The Nuremberger Nachrichten newspaper reported on Sunday that no bids were received on the paintings, which had starting prices of between €19,000($ 21,500) and €45,000($50,900).

Three days before Saturday’s auction, prosecutors seized 63 other paintings attributed to Hitler from the auction house to investigate allegations they were fakes.

In Berlin last month, prosecutors seized three other Hitler watercolours over their authenticity.

As a young man, Hitler is thought to have painted some 2,000 pictures as he unsuccessfully struggled to succeed as an artist in Vienna before First World War I.