Adolph Hitler’s Mein Kampf is by no means an easy or lighthearted read, but it is an educational one and something many historians are interested in owning. The Mein Kampf was written by Hitler while he was in jail and contain two volumes. The first volume is an autobiography and the second is a anti-Semitic manifesto. The books were written to Rudolf Hess to raise money for his criminal defense.

Two Mein Kampf books that have been signed by Hitler were recently found and are believed to be worth several thousands of dollars. The books were given to a man named Josef Bauer who participated in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch in Munich. Each one has Hitler’s signature and a special message to Hess.

Although there are many copies of the Mein Kampf around, the two signed copies are very rare. The books were expected to go for as much as $20,000 but actually sold for $64,850. While many people do not believe it collecting Nazi artifacts, book collectors, historians and military people interested in military history do not feel the same.

“The same people who collect Adolf Hitler (items) collect George Washington, or World War II, or George Patton,” said Nate Sanders, owner of Nate D. Sanders Auctions in Los Angeles, who is Jewish. “You have the whole gamut. There’s white supremacist collectors of Hitler, and there’s Jewish collectors of Hitler” items.

Other Nazi items will also be auctioned off by Nate D. Sanders Auctions, including a trench coat worn by a government officer who had a part in the Holocaust.

Image via Wikimedia Commons