--- title: Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' Copy Will Be Auctioned Off description: American soldiers found the book in Hitler's apartment after his death in 1945. canonical: https://time.com/4249862/hitler-mein-kampf-auction/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-07T19:10:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:41:11.044Z article:section: History og:title: Hitler's Copy of 'Mein Kampf' Will Be Auctioned Off og:description: American soldiers found the book in Hitler's apartment after his death in 1945 og:url: https://time.com/4249862/hitler-mein-kampf-auction/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19e11cad95f6b154/69888085524fc09ebcdf70f9/mein-kampf-adolf-hitler.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Commentated edition of Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' published in Germany og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hitler's Copy of 'Mein Kampf' Will Be Auctioned Off twitter:description: American soldiers found the book in Hitler's apartment after his death in 1945 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19e11cad95f6b154/69888085524fc09ebcdf70f9/mein-kampf-adolf-hitler.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hitler's Copy of _Mein Kampf_ Will Be Auctioned Off  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Mar 7, 2016 7:10 PM CUT  An opened page of the original edition of Hitler's inflammatory pamphlet 'Mein Kampf' shows a portrait of national socialist dictator Adolf Hitler, in a bookshop in Frankfurt, Germany on Jan.7, 2016. An opened page of the original edition of Hitler's inflammatory pamphlet 'Mein Kampf' shows a portrait of national socialist dictator Adolf Hitler, in a bookshop in Frankfurt, Germany on Jan.7, 2016.Alexander Heinl—picture-alliance/dpa/AP  by [Julia Zorthian](/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Mar 7, 2016 7:10 PM CUT Nazi Dictator Adolf Hitler’s [own copy of ](http://auctions.alexautographs.com/auction-lot-detail/ADOLF-HITLER'S-COPY-OF-%22MEIN-KAMPF%22&salelot=58+++++++684+&refno=+++85040 "undefined")[_Mein Kampf_](http://auctions.alexautographs.com/auction-lot-detail/ADOLF-HITLER'S-COPY-OF-%22MEIN-KAMPF%22&salelot=58+++++++684+&refno=+++85040 "undefined")_,_ his memoir and political manifesto, will soon be [on the market](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/07/hitler-mein-kampf-auction "undefined"). [Alexander Historical Auctions](http://www.historyauctioneer.com/ "undefined") in Maryland will open bidding on the 1927 edition of Hitler’s book for March 17 and 18\. Soldiers in America’s 45th Infantry Division [found the book](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hitlers-copy-of-mein-kampf-to-be-auctioned-with-other-personal-items-300231611.html "undefined") in Hitler’s Munich apartment following his death in 1945, and it remained in the possession of one of those soldiers’ daughters until last year. Eleven of the officers inscribed their names on a front page in the book and wrote, “From Adolph Hitlers \[sic\] apartment in Munich on May 2 1945.” The copy is bound in red leather, and the auction house [estimates](http://auctions.alexautographs.com/auction-lot-detail/ADOLF-HITLER'S-COPY-OF-%22MEIN-KAMPF%22&salelot=58+++++++684+&refno=+++85040 "undefined") the book’s value to begin from $12,000 to $15,000. “Common trade edition copies of _Mein Kampf_ have been touted as being Hitler’s personal copy — this particular relic is of the best quality and with the most solid provenance,” the auction [listing states.](http://auctions.alexautographs.com/auction-lot-detail/ADOLF-HITLER'S-COPY-OF-%22MEIN-KAMPF%22&salelot=58+++++++684+&refno=+++85040 "undefined") Other items that belonged to Hitler are also up for sale in the World War I-themed auction. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4249862/hitler-mein-kampf-auction/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4249862/hitler-mein-kampf-auction/"},"headline":"Hitler's Copy of Mein Kampf Will Be Auctioned Off","datePublished":"2016-03-07T19:10:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:41:11.044Z","description":"American soldiers found the book in Hitler's apartment after his death in 1945.","url":"https://time.com/4249862/hitler-mein-kampf-auction/","keywords":["Military","Germany","World War II"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19e11cad95f6b154/69888085524fc09ebcdf70f9/mein-kampf-adolf-hitler.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19e11cad95f6b154/69888085524fc09ebcdf70f9/mein-kampf-adolf-hitler.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Commentated edition of Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' published in Germany","caption":"An opened page of the original edition of Hitler's inflammatory pamphlet 'Mein Kampf' shows a portrait of national socialist dictator Adolf Hitler, in a bookshop in Frankfurt, Germany on Jan.7, 2016.","creditText":"Alexander Heinl—picture-alliance/dpa/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4249862/hitler-mein-kampf-auction/","name":"Hitler's Copy of Mein Kampf Will Be Auctioned Off"}}]}] ```