‘Fake’ Hitler paintings seized before going under hammer

BERLIN, Germany — German police seized three watercolors presented as works of Adolf Hitler before they were due for auction Thursday in Berlin, claiming they were fakes.

The Alpine and Rhenish landscapes were dated 1910 and 1911 and were signed A. Hitler. They were offered by auction house Kloss.

Berlin police tweeted they had opened an inquiry into “attempted fraud” and “falsification of documents.”

The starting price was 4,000 euros ($ 4,500) per painting, and each carried a seal of approval by an expert attesting their authenticity.

The Nazi dictator tried to enroll in the Vienna Academy of Arts as a young man but was rejected for lack of talent.

He continued painting, however, and copied landscapes from post cards which he sold to tourists.

A 2015 auction of Hitler watercolors fetched nearly 400,000 euros ($452,000).