The online retail-giant Amazon has banned the sale of most editions of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and other Nazi propaganda books after being pushed to do so for decades by leading Holocaust-education charities and Jewish groups, The Guardian reported on Monday.
Amazon informed booksellers that they will no longer be permitted to sell a selection of Nazi-authored books on the website, including Hitler’s autobiography and children’s books that incite anti-Jewish sentiment. In one email sent by Amazon, those selling secondhand copies of Mein Kampf were told that “they can no longer offer this book” because it breaks the company’s code of conduct.
Dozens of Kindle eBook editions of the title have also been removed from the site, along with Hitler’s Amazon page, which displayed updates on authors and information on new releases.
Leading Holocaust-education charities and Jewish groups have campaigned since the late 1990s to stop Amazon from selling Mein Kampf. The retailer formerly defended itself by advocating for free speech and the need for students to understand Hitler’s thought process.
Amazon would not comment on what prompted it to change its decision, according to The Guardian, but an Amazon spokesperson said “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 anti-Semitism. All retailers make decisions about what selection they choose to offer, and we do not take selection decisions lightly.”
Some foreign-language academic editions of Mein Kampf remain available on Amazon’s U.K. bookstore.
