Rare signed copy of Adolf Hitler’s autobiography sold for £17,000

This copy of Mein Kampf, with the Nazi dictator’s signature on the front fly leaf, is especially rare because Hitler was known to be reluctant to sign documents or souvenirs.

An extremely rare, signed copy of German dictator Adolf Hitler’s autobiography, Mein Kampf, has been sold for a whopping £17,000 (over Rs 14 lakh) at an auction in the UK.

The signed copy was presented to English writer Peter Cadogan on his visit to Munich in the late 1930s.

The signed copy was presented to English writer Peter Cadogan on his visit to Munich in the late 1930s. The swastika-embossed 1935 edition bears the Nazi dictator’s signature on the front fly leaf. This copy of the book is especially rare because Hitler was known to be reluctant to sign documents or souvenirs.

“Hitler didn’t sign books. He did it this time on the request of Unity Mitford (a member of Hitler’s inner circle of devotees),” James Thompson, auctioneer at Silverwoods in Clitheroe, told BBC News.

Thompson said he was ‘surprised’ by the interest in the book as most people ‘wouldn’t touch anything Nazi with a bargepole’. However, others believe the book should be preserved, despite Hitler’s appalling reign, he added.

“In a way, it’s a way to touch a monster,” he said.

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