Book that belonged to Hitler discovered, maps out 'Final Solution in Canada'

[jimmy olsen]

Creepy as hell

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/hitler-book-library-and-archives-canada-1.4989961

Hitler book maps 'Final Solution in Canada,' Library and Archives Canada curator says

Book sheds light on Nazi plans for North American Jews, curators say

CBC News · Posted: Jan 23, 2019 4:58 PM ET | Last Updated: January 24

North America had the Second World War gone the other way — is now in the collection of Library and Archives Canada (LAC).

The book, entitled Statistik, Presse und Organisationen des Judentums in den Vereinigten Staaten und Kanada (Statistics, Press, and Organizations of Jewry in the United States and Canada), is a detailed census of Jewish populations and organizations in North American cities.

"This information would have been the building blocks to rolling out the Final Solution in Canada," said LAC curator Michael Kent.

Major urban centres including Montreal and Toronto are on the list, but so are smaller communities such as Trois-Rivières, Que., which at the time had a Jewish population of just 52, according to the book.


Video interview
Michael Kent, a curator at Library and Archives Canada, explains why the institution has added a book once owned by Hitler to its collection. 0:51

The 137-page book was commissioned by the Nazis and was written by Heinz Kloss, a researcher who worked for organizations that supported the Third Reich.

Kloss was a linguist who lived in the United States in 1936-37, just prior to the war. He likely compiled the information through his connections with Nazi sympathizers and other researchers in North America.

"[Kloss] had a very good network and relationship with researchers around the world," Kent said.

"He's probably compiling from a range of secondary sources that he's getting from his contacts in North America," Kent said.

The book was published in 1944 and was likely stored in Hitler's alpine retreat near Berchtesgaden, Germany, according to Kent.

Inside the front cover is a bookplate inscribed with the Latin phrase "Ex Libris Adolf Hitler," a clue to its owner.

"The bookplate is the main giveaway — that was a plate he put on all his books that were in his residences," Kent said.

It's estimated Hitler amassed somewhere in between 6,000 and 16,000 books during his life.

This book was likely taken by allied troops as a souvenir before making its way to a collector in the United States from whom LAC purchased it for roughly $6,000, Kent said.

A 'creepy item'

When the book appeared on LAC's radar, Kent said curators struggled with the moral implications of purchasing it. Other institutions including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum refuse to buy items owned by Nazis.

Ultimately, Kent said, LAC decided to purchase the book because of the prevalence of Holocaust denial and xenophobia.

"While this is certainly a creepy item, the decision to acquire it was simple," he said. "The chance to acquire an item like this reminds us of ... the role we play in ensuring the memory of the Holocaust is preserved."

The Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies is supporting LAC's purchase.

Rather than being in the hands of groups like neo-Nazis, it is better the book is somewhere where it can be studied, said president and CEO Avi Benlolo.

"We didn't know this piece of history and now we do because the library bought it."

The book also brings that dark period home for Canadians, Kent said.

"While we talk about the Holocaust as a European event ... I think what this item does is reminds us as Canadians that conflicts and human tragedies that seem far away can actually come to Canada."

LAC actually purchased the book in June, but only unveiled it Wednesday after months of careful restoration.

LAC will host a International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration on Sunday, where the book will be displayed.

[Richard Hakluyt]

*When the book appeared on LAC's radar, Kent said curators struggled with the moral implications of purchasing it. Other institutions including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum refuse to buy items owned by Nazis."

I really disagree with this attitude; especially with the item in question. It is an important historical document and worthy of preservation and study. As we usually say in war remembrance contexts.........."Lest we forget".

[crazy canuck]

*When the book appeared on LAC's radar, Kent said curators struggled with the moral implications of purchasing it. Other institutions including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum refuse to buy items owned by Nazis."

I really disagree with this attitude; especially with the item in question. It is an important historical document and worthy of preservation and study. As we usually say in war remembrance contexts.........."Lest we forget".

Agreed.  Harder for the deniers to deny when the documentary evidence is preserved.

[The Brain]

How did they know the collector in the United States was a Nazi?

[Grey Fox]

He wasn't.

The book belonged to Hitler himself.

[The Brain]

He wasn't.

Then the text doesn't make sense. And what would be the moral problem of buying stuff that once belonged to a Nazi?

[Maladict]

He wasn't.

Then the text doesn't make sense. And what would be the moral problem of buying stuff that once belonged to a Nazi?

Probably because it basically supports the Nazi memorabilia market, which is banned by a number of countries, as well as ebay and the like.

[The Brain]

He wasn't.

Then the text doesn't make sense. And what would be the moral problem of buying stuff that once belonged to a Nazi?

Probably because it basically supports the Nazi memorabilia market, which is banned by a number of countries, as well as ebay and the like.

And the Nazi memorabilia market is morally bad because...?

I guess the German real estate market is in deep moral trouble since people buy old Nazi owned stuff all the time. NOT.

[Maladict]

He wasn't.

Then the text doesn't make sense. And what would be the moral problem of buying stuff that once belonged to a Nazi?

Probably because it basically supports the Nazi memorabilia market, which is banned by a number of countries, as well as ebay and the like.

And the Nazi memorabilia market is morally bad because...?

I guess the German real estate market is in deep moral trouble since people buy old Nazi owned stuff all the time. NOT.

I suppose making a profit off the remains (often glorification) of such a hateful regime could be considered poor taste or unethical.

[Valmy]

If the seller is willing to sell it to the Holocaust Museum they probably are not interested in glorification.

[The Brain]

He wasn't.

Then the text doesn't make sense. And what would be the moral problem of buying stuff that once belonged to a Nazi?

Probably because it basically supports the Nazi memorabilia market, which is banned by a number of countries, as well as ebay and the like.

And the Nazi memorabilia market is morally bad because...?

I guess the German real estate market is in deep moral trouble since people buy old Nazi owned stuff all the time. NOT.

I suppose making a profit off the remains (often glorification) of such a hateful regime could be considered poor taste or unethical.

By a weirdo, sure.

[Admiral Yi]

I can understand not wanting to enrich either a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer.

[merithyn]

It sounds like the assumption is that an Allied soldier swiped it and kept it before it was sold to the LAC. The only Nazi who is actually known to have owned it appears to have been Hitler. As such, it's not really enriching a Nazi, but does do a lot to prove the Final Solution was truly a thing.

The article gives the impression that the above are all considerations by the LAC and the Holocaust Museum in DC when it comes to acquiring things for their collections, but this particular item meets the criteria to be an acceptable buy. Personally, I agree. I actually hope this book goes on tour to numerous museums to bring this to the forefront of minds again.

When better than now, really?

[Oexmelin]

It will probably not. It was produced cheaply, with highly acidic paper (it was 1944...) and remains very fragile.

That date also suggests that it was added to Hitler's collection institutionally (rather than being a deliberate acquisition).

[Valmy]

That date also suggests that it was added to Hitler's collection institutionally (rather than being a deliberate acquisition).

So Hitler himself probably never read or handled it? It was just in some storage unit someplace? Is that the distinction you are making?