E-Paper
Anne Frank's Diary placed alongside Hitler and Gandhi autobiographies at Delhi bookstore: ‘Only in India’
A Delhi bookstore sparked debate by shelving Anne Frank's Diary alongside Hitler's Mein Kampf and Gandhi's autobiography.
A Delhi bookstore has become the subject of heated online discussions after its peculiar shelving choice. At an Om Book Shop in the city, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank was spotted alongside Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and Mahatma Gandhi’s The Story of My Experiments with Truth. The unexpected arrangement left many questioning the rationale behind grouping these vastly different works.
(Also read: Albert Einstein's 1939 atomic bomb warning letter sold for ₹32.7 crore at auction)
The incident came to light when Himanish Ganjoo, a visitor to the store, shared an image on X (formerly Twitter), captioning it, “Only in India.” The photograph quickly went viral, igniting debates about the contrasting themes of resilience, peace, and hatred represented by the three titles.
Check out the post here:
Netizens react to unlikely juxtaposition
“At least they bothered putting "My Experiment with Truth" in the middle. I remember some dude putting Anne Frank and Mein Kampf side-by-side,” commented one user, expressing both surprise and frustration at the consistent shelving decision.
(Also read: This world leader stunned Indira Gandhi with a bear hug and introduced her to Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Another asked, “Can the stories of peace, resilience, and hatred coexist on the same shelf without challenging our understanding of history?”
A different user proposed a more philosophical take: “Maybe they’re meant to be read together for a clearer understanding of the era’s complexities.”
Others were less forgiving, accusing the store of being insensitive. “This shows a lack of understanding of history. It feels disrespectful,” one comment read, capturing the anger of those who found the shelving choice offensive.
Books of historical impact
Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl, written during her time in hiding from Nazi persecution, remains one of the most poignant memoirs of the Holocaust. Published in 1947 and translated into over 70 languages, the book has sold over 30 million copies globally.
Conversely, Hitler’s Mein Kampf has a far darker legacy. According to Foreign Policy magazine, the controversial manifesto sold approximately 12 million copies during the Nazi regime’s peak.
