Library and Archives Canada Acquires Rare Book Once Belonging to Adolf Hitler
Ottawa, Ontario—Library and Archives Canada announced the recent acquisition of a rare 1944 book previously owned by Adolf Hitler.
The 137-page German language report, Statistik, Presse und Organisationen des Judentums in den Vereinigten Staaten und Kanada (Statistics, Media, and Organizations of Jewry in the United States and Canada), was compiled in 1944 by Heinz Kloss.
The data contained within the book provides details on population statistics in certain cities as well as key organizations and presses of Canadian and American Jewish communities.
This work hints at the story of what might have happened in Canada had the allies lost World War II. It also demonstrates that the Holocaust was not a purely European event, but rather an operation that was stopped before it reached North America. The book adds a great deal of insights worthy of reflection for Canada about World War II, and is an important tool to fight Holocaust denial.
The bookplate bears a stylized eagle, swastika, and the words “EX LIBRIS ADOLF HITLER” indicating it came from Hitler’s personal library.
The acquisition of this book highlights our mandate to acquire material that reflects the published record of Canada as well as to preserve the memory of the Holocaust. It is also a way to let us reflect on what would have happened in Canada had the Second World War ended differently.
