WWII/Third Reich Captain John Hodge Archive: Captain Hodge w...

Estimate

£4,000 - £6,000

WWII/Third Reich Captain John Hodge Archive: Captain Hodge was a member of the Grenadier Guards in WW2 and was one of the first British Officers into Berlin at the end of the war. As a fluent German speaker one of his first tasks was to organise the clearance of debris in The Reich Chancellery in 1945. During this endeavour he removed various souvenirs including an important telephone book owned by a senior member of the Third Reich believed Adolf Hitler or Josef Goebbels that was sold in April 2017 for over £30000 and two paintings from 1936 and 1938 giving Hitler good wishes for his birthday. Hitler obviously valued these items by the very fact that they were retained and not disposed of. Captain Hodge moved to the war crimes investigation unit at the end of WW2 and was almost killed arresting SS guard Heinrich Hornetz at his home near Frankfurt in 1946. During the arrest, the Nazi's wife ran out of the house screaming 'English pigs', minutes later five armed Germans surrounded the property and opened fire. Capt Hodge was hit in the leg but managed to flee with his prisoner.
The lot being sold is one of the paintings given to Hitler, it is titled 'The Konigssee' a lake close to Hitler's mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden as with the second painting originally sold alongside it the varnish has bubbled showing exposure to heat, damage inflicted during the attack on the Chancellery during the Russians conquest of Berlin and the last stand of the Third Reich. The painting is by Hermann Schuppe, World War I veteran, with hand written notation ' My war comrade and Reich Kanzler for you as Reich Kanzler as the fourth present given in loyalty from Hermann Schuppe' on reverse 'Infantry Regiment 20, Hamburg 5, Baumeister Strasse 19. Captain Hodge recovered this painting from the Reich Chancellery at the same time at the telephone directory and represents a rare opportunity to acquire and item with peerless provenance to one of the most evil men in history, The sister painting to this piece bore a label "The Property of the Fuhrer No 473" 13ins x 9½ins. Sold with signed letter of provenance from Capt Hodges son together with scans of his original orders from the War Crimes Unit, press cuttings etc.
Ex Lot 149 Henry Aldridge and Son September 2017 and then Prior via direct descent from Capt Hodge.