1935: Nazi leader Adolf Hitler speaks in front of microphones and gestures with his hands. Original Publication: From the newsreel ‘The March of Time’. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Amazon has banned the sale of most editions of Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” and other Nazi propaganda books following decades-long pleas by Holocaust education organizations and Jewish groups.
Booksellers were informed in recent days that they would no longer be allowed to sell a number of Nazi-authored books on the website, including “Mein Kampf,” The Guardian reported Monday on its website, citing Amazon emails to sellers.
In one email seen by the Guardian, sellers of secondhand copies of Hitler’s Nazi manifesto were told that “they can no longer offer this book” since it breaks the Amazon website’s code of conduct.
Despite the campaigns for at least two decades for Amazon to stop selling copies of “Mein Kampf,” Amazon had cited free speech rights in continuing its sale. Last month, the Auschwitz Museum called out owner Jeff Bezos for making a profit on “vicious anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda.”
Dozens of inexpensive Kindle eBook editions of “Mein Kampf” also have been deleted from Amazon’s listings, as has Hitler’s Amazon author page, according to the Guardian.
Amazon did not comment to The Guardian on the reasons for the policy change, but a recent intervention to remove the books by the London-based Holocaust Educational Trust had received the backing of leading British politicians, the newspaper reported.
“As a bookseller, we provide customers with access to a variety of viewpoints, including titles that serve an important educational role in understanding and preventing antisemitism,” an Amazon spokesperson told The Guardian. “All retailers make decisions about what selection they choose to offer and we do not take selection decisions lightly.”
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