Mein Kampf (My Struggle) is the autobiographical manifesto of King Nazi, Adolf Hitler. It is where he outlined his political ideology and future plans for Germany.
It was written following the failed Munich Putsch in November 1923 and first published in July 1925. The book offered here is a later edition published in 1932.
“It’s believed to be the only author-owned copy of the book known to exist” and if this auction is to be believed it is the biblio hi-spot in the Hitler cannon.
The book was part of a group of Hitler’s personal belongings taken from Hitler’s Munich apartment in 1945 by US Army 1st LT Joseph Ben Lieber.
The book is being auctioned by Craig “The History Hunter” Gottlieb, an antiques dealer who appears regularly on History Channel’s Pawn Stars.
“Obviously, Hitler probably had multiple editions of his own book, but this one was kept in the Munich apartment, and so was almost certainly read by Hitler at some point” states the auction description.
The description also tells us “that the opening bid is arbitrary and low, as it’s impossible to ascertain the true value of this artifact” while then rattling off recent auction prices for signed copies and also providing a past receipt for the sale of the book.
“This artifact is historically significant and I would love to see it go to a museum,” Gottlieb adds “However, market realities are such that it will probably find a home with a book collector who appreciates its historic significance.”
I just don’t know about this one, if there was enough evidence to prove this was indeed Hitler’s copy I can’t imagine a museum or special collection couldn’t either come up with the money or find a donor to buy it for them.
The auction runs through November 1, 2014
Adolf Hitler’s Personal Copy of Mein Kampf Offered for Sale | PR Newswire