'Hitler's horse sculptures' found in black market probe Published duration 20 May 2015

image copyright Reuters image caption The chancellery was badly damaged during World War Two and later destroyed

Two bronze horse statues that once stood in front of Adolf Hitler's chancellery are among several pieces of Nazi-era art found by German police.

Police said they recovered the pieces after staging a series of raids as part of a probe into black market art.

Eight people are being investigated.

The "Walking Horses", by Josef Thorak, were custom-made for the Berlin building, which was badly damaged in World War Two and later destroyed by Soviet forces.

Also discovered was a huge granite relief by Arno Breker, featuring muscled, shirtless fighters in what police called a "typical Nazi style''.

The works were last seen at a Soviet barracks near Berlin in 1989, shortly before the fall of the Berlin wall.

German newspaper Bild reported that up until their disappearance, the statues had been painted gold, damaged by bullets, and played on by children.