Hitler painting fetches $161,000 at German auction

He's history's murderous megalomaniac who just won't go away: The ghost of Adolf Hitler is back — this time with art in tow.

A watercolor painting titled "Standesamt und Altes Rathaus Muenchen" ("Civil Registry Office and Old Town Hall of Munich") was sold at auction in Nuremberg, Germany, on Saturday for 130,000 euros ($161,000) to an unnamed person from the Middle East. There were also inquiries from Asia and America.

The 100-year old painting was sold along with a signed letter from Hitler's adjutant Albert Bormann, the brother of Martin Bormann, a high-ranking member of the Nazi party and Hitler's private secretary, according to Reuters.

An employee puts away a watercolour of the old registry in Munich by former German dictator Adolf Hitler at Weidler auction house in Nuremberg Nov. 18, 2014.

Although the painting of Munich’s city hall is itself unremarkable, the high-priced sale of the work points to the ongoing morbid fascination some collectors hold for one of history's most-hated figures.

The painting is just one of many works Hitler created as a young man between 1905 and 1920, Reuters reported, decades before he turned his interests from art to world domination.

The original bill of sale for a watercolour of the old regisstry office in Munich by former German dictator Adolf Hitler is displayed at Weidler auction house in Nuremberg Nov. 18, 2014.

For those who take issue with the painting being sold, the Weidler auction house said complaints should be directed to the two unidentified 70-year-old German sisters who sold the work. They plan to donate 10% of the proceeds from the controversial sale to a charity for children with disabilities, the auction house added, according to Reuters.

Source: Reuters, AP