Children’s book that included Hitler among great leaders removed from publisher’s website

The inclusion of German dictator Adolf Hitler in a book, titled Great Leaders, published by an Indian publisher and available on its online store, had led to protests and demands that it be withdrawn.

Great Leaders, which had drawn flak for featuring German dictator and mass murderer Adolf Hitler among 11 inspiring world leaders, has been removed by the publisher from its website. It is not clear, though, when the book was removed. Neither has the publisher issued a statement or apology.

Defendants in the Beer Hall Putsch trial. Adolf Hitler is second from right. (Wikimedia Commons)

Published by B Jain Publishing Group’s Pegasus division, Great Leaders puts Hitler in the league of Mahatma Gandhi, Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela, among others, as leaders who had “devoted their lives for the betterment of their country and people”.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international human rights organisation, had criticised the book earlier this month, and demanded that the publisher remove it from circulation and its online store, reports The New York Times.

In a statement issued on March 26, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, director of Global Social Action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, welcomed the book’s removal from the publisher’s online store.

When the controversy erupted, the publisher had defended Hitler’s inclusion on the grounds that “his leadership skills and speeches influenced masses,” according to The NYT.

The 48-pages short book carries no author name and was originally published in 2016.

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