A collection of paintings once belonging to Adolf Hitler has been found in the Czech Republic.
The seven paintings were found by Czech historian, Jiri Kuchar, in the depository of a convent in the small town of Doskany, north of Prague. The collection includes a massive canvas entitled Memories of Stalingrad which depicts wounded German soldiers sheltering in a trench as battle rages around them. The painting is believed to be a personal favourite of Hitler.
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 has said that it intends to keep the paintings. It is estimated that the collection could reach €1.9 million in auction but historians say its historical value is worth a lot more. And there may be more as it is believed that the collection originally totalled 16 paintings.
