auctioned¹ off for a total of 42,000 euros ($60,000) in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg on Saturday." width="350" border="0" src="/upimg/090912/4_031535_1.jpg" />
A water-colour painting by Adolf Hitler. Three watercolours believed painted by a young Adolf Hitler were auctioned off for a total of 42,000 euros ($60,000) in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg on Saturday.

Three watercolours believed painted by a young Adolf Hitler were auctioned off for a total of 42,000 euros ($60,000) in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg on Saturday.

German auctioneer Herbert Weidler said the three paintings were sold to three different phone bidders³. Although the exact number of Hitler paintings is unknown, experts believe there are about 720, including sketches⁴, in existence.

"Various clients are interested in these paintings," Weidler said. "They're intellectuals, businessmen or just normal people who might have saved some money and wanted such a painting."

The paintings are dated from 1910 to 1911 and originate in Vienna, where Hitler was a struggling artist. He applied⁵ to art school in Vienna but was rejected.

There have been a number of other auctions⁶ in Germany and abroad for Hitler paintings in the past. The three watercolours auctioned on Saturday included depictions of cottages, mills and churches nestled in rural landscapes.

"Weissenkirchen in der Wachau" fetched 24,000 euros from a foreign bidder² while two other domestic bidders won "Zerschossene Muehle" for 11,000 euros and "Haus mit Bruecke am Fluss" for 7,000 euros.

"I would say it's the quality of a village school art teacher who has learned how to draw," Weidler said. "Others might think differently but we say they're of rather modest quality."

The authenticity⁷ of items associated with Hitler has long been a bone of contention⁸. In 1983, German magazine Stern published what it said were extracts from Hitler's diaries. They were later exposed as forgeries⁹.

三幅据说是阿道夫•希特勒年轻时所画的水彩画于上周六在（德国）巴伐利亚州城市纽伦堡被拍卖，总售价达4.2万欧元（合6万美元）。

德国拍卖师赫伯特•魏德勒说，这三幅画分别卖给了三个不同的电话出价人。尽管希特勒画作的具体数量无法确定，但专家们认为其现存的画作总数约为720幅，其中包括素描。

魏德勒说：“许多客户对这些画很感兴趣，这其中包括知识分子、商人，也有普通百姓，他们可能存了些钱，想买一幅这样的画。”

这些画创作于维也纳，创作年代为1910年至1911年，当时希特勒是一个落魄的画家。那时他申请了维也纳的美术学院，但被拒之门外。

之前，在德国和其他国家也举行过一些希特勒画作的拍卖活动。上周六被拍卖的三幅水彩画描绘的是德国乡间的村舍、磨坊和教堂。

《瓦豪的白色教堂》被一名外国竞拍者以2.4万欧元的价格拍得，另外两幅则被德国国内的两名竞拍人买走，其中《被击毁的磨坊》以1.1万欧元的价格售出，《河边的桥和房子》以7000欧元售出。

魏德勒说：“在我看来，这些画相当于一个学过怎么画画的乡村美术老师的水平。其他人可能有不同的看法，不过我们认为这些画作的水准比较有限。”

和希特勒有关的一些物品的真伪问题一直受到争论。1983年，德国《明星》杂志刊登了据说是希特勒日记的摘录，后来被曝出是伪造物。

Vocabulary:

nestle: to lie in a sheltered position 半隐半现地处于（a village nestling in the valley 掩映在山谷中的村庄）

fetch: to bring in as a price 售得，卖得（fetch a good price 卖得好价）

modest: not very large; moderate 不太高

a bone of contention:争论的原因

forgery:伪造物