Lostwithiel, England ? Watercolors and sketches attributed to Adolf Hitler sold for twice their estimated price at an auction Tuesday – but the sale in a tranquil English town was interrupted by a noisy protest by two self-styled “comedy terrorists.”

The works, reputed to have been created by Hitler as he served in the German military during World War I, sold for $220,000 after security staff removed the gatecrashers – one of whom dressed as the Nazi leader and shouted “Third Reich” after making a mock bid.

A second protester, Aaron Barschak, previously gained notoriety by dressing up as Osama bin Laden and crashing Prince William’s 21st birthday party in 2003.

The protest exposed sensitivities about the sale of Hitler’s artwork in Lostwithiel, a sleepy tourist town in Cornwall, a county in southwestern England.

Chris Walton, a spokesman for Jefferys Auctioneers, said the 21 watercolors and two sketches, most of them landscapes, sold individually for prices from $6,100 to $19,975. The highest price was for a painting titled “The Church of Preux-au-Bois.”

Auctioneer Ian Morris said most of the successful bidders did not want to reveal their identities or speak to journalists.

“There may be a stigma attached to buying Hitler art,” he said.

Auctioneer Ian Morris views some of the Adolf Hitler paintings up for auction at Jeffrey's Auctioneers in Lostwithiel, England. The 21 watercolors and two sketches, most of them landscapes, sold individually for prices from ,100 to 9,975. They were found in a farmhouse in Belgium, not far from where Hitler, then an aspiring artist, was stationed during World War I.

One bidder – who refused to give his name but said he was an Estonian acting on behalf of an Eastern European businessman – said he had successfully purchased an artwork.

“I think they are probably being bought for business – the paintings are not very good and it’s not nice to have a ‘Hitler’ on your living room wall,” he said.

Barschak’s wife, Tamara, said her husband and Peter Cunningham, who dressed as Hitler, had considered the sale offensive.

“It’s not a surprise that when they did decide to hold it they chose a quiet village in Cornwall,” she told reporters outside the sale.

“If it was in London, there would have been protests. Adolf Hitler was a mass murderer and to make money from that is wrong.”

About 50 military buffs and curious neighbors gathered to bid for the works, depicting scenes of cottages, churches and pastoral hillsides.

Historians claim Hitler, then a struggling artist, painted during breaks from the front while stationed in Belgium during World War I. The works were later found in a farmhouse there.

In many European countries, including Germany, it is illegal to buy, own or sell Nazi memorabilia. A German auction house in 2001 withdrew a Hitler painting following public protests.