I love art.  I do.  HOWEVER, I think it's safe to say that a chill went through my whole body when I read that artwork --- watercolors, oil paintings and pencil sketches --- created by Adolf Hitler was up for auction and fetched shockingly high bids.

When all was said and done, the work raised almost $120,000.  In addition to the art, there were also historical documents and items "related to Hitler's time as the leader of Nazi Germany."

Rabbi Marvin Hier commented for the article and I would like to echo his sentiment that the purchase of the historical documents by institutions who intend to keep them to glean insight into a devastating part of history is understandable... but a part of me seriously wonders where some of those paintings will end up.

The Mullock's of Shropshire Auction House historical documents expert, Richard Westwood-Brookes, stated that anyone could have made the purchases and that throughout the world there were many people who collected World War Two "memorabilia."

"‘I don't take any moral position' on the sale of Hitler-related artifacts, he said. ‘You can't say this guy was a bad guy, so I won't sell his memorabilia, this guy was a good guy so I will sell his. If you do that, where do you stop?'"

I was disturbed by the statement and I couldn't decide if it was just because I knew that people were actually attaching worth to the possessions of Adolf Hitler.

Is it as cut and dry as the auctioneers claim it to be: it's just stuff --- stuff once owned by an infamous individual --- and therefore not a moral issue?

Yes, some of it can serve as educational material but what about the objects (or paintings) that people purchase just for the sake of having?  Is it really the same as owning something that once belonged to Gandhi or Churchill, as the auction house asserts?

I mean, what would be YOUR reaction if you walked into a dinner party and your host had an oil painting produced by Hitler himself in their living room?

Call me superstitious but there is a part of me that is convinced that even though they are just objects, something that someone owned --- and especially something that someone creates --- carries an essence of that person with it.  So I have this feeling that a painting produced by someone who destroyed the lives of millions of people would burn a hole in your wall in a way that a work by Gandhi never could.

[Photo: Part of Hitler's oil painting "Rural Houses and Trees"]