--- description: Adolf Hitler's personal copy of Mein Kampf sold for $20,655 at an auction Friday. title: Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' Sells For More Than $20,000 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt63f78224f5dd420e/69888bab524fc06ba4df740c/mein-kampf-hitler-auction.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Hitler's Personal Copy of _Mein Kampf_ Sells for Over $20,000  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 18, 2016 6:56 PM CUT  A copy of Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler's, political manifesto Mein Kampf, discovered at his Munich apartment and signed by eleven American officers, is on display before auction at Alexander Historical Auctions in Chesapeake City, Md., on March 18, 2016. A copy of Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler's, political manifesto Mein Kampf, discovered at his Munich apartment and signed by eleven American officers, is on display before auction at Alexander Historical Auctions in Chesapeake City, Md., on March 18, 2016.Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 18, 2016 6:56 PM CUT Adolf Hitler’s personal copy of _Mein Kampf_ sold for $20,655 [at an auction Friday.](http://www.abc2news.com/news/state/hitlers-copy-of-mein-kampf-sells-for-20k-at-maryland-auction "undefined") The book was sold at Alexander Historical Auctions in Chesapeake City in an auction of more than a thousand other World War II items, [WMAR, an ABC affiliate, reports](http://www.abc2news.com/news/state/hitlers-copy-of-mein-kampf-sells-for-20k-at-maryland-auction "undefined"). There were more than 10 active bidders for the item, according to the network. The book, which was Hitler’s autobiography and blueprint for Nazi Germany, was found by American soldiers in 1945, [according to WMAR](http://www.abc2news.com/news/state/hitlers-personal-copy-of-mein-kampf-other-items-up-for-auction "undefined"). Eleven of them signed the book at the time to document its authenticity: “From Adolph Hitler’s apartment in Munich on May 2, 1945.” Since then it has been kept by a soldier’s daughter. Bill Panagopulos, owner and auctioneer of Alexander Historical Auctions, LLC, told ABC he understands the controversy around the item, but that’s not a reason to get rid of it. “Why is it important to preserve history?” he said. “The good and the bad, so that we don’t repeat the sins of the past. It’s important that we have them and keep them in front of us.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4264686/adolf-hitler-mein-kampf-sold/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4264686/adolf-hitler-mein-kampf-sold/"},"headline":"Hitler's Personal Copy of Mein Kampf Sells for Over $20,000","datePublished":"2016-03-18T18:56:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:02:19.398Z","description":"It was found in his apartment","url":"https://time.com/4264686/adolf-hitler-mein-kampf-sold/","keywords":["History","Books","adolf hitler"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt63f78224f5dd420e/69888bab524fc06ba4df740c/mein-kampf-hitler-auction.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt63f78224f5dd420e/69888bab524fc06ba4df740c/mein-kampf-hitler-auction.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A copy of Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler's, political manifesto Mein Kampf, discovered at his Munich apartment and signed by eleven American officers, is on display March 18, 2016 before auction at Alexander Historical Auctions in Chesapeake City, Maryland. /","caption":"A copy of Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler's, political manifesto Mein Kampf, discovered at his Munich apartment and signed by eleven American officers, is on display March 18, 2016 before auction at Alexander Historical Auctions in Chesapeake City, Maryland. /","creditText":"Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images","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/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4264686/adolf-hitler-mein-kampf-sold/","name":"Hitler's Personal Copy of Mein Kampf Sells for Over $20,000"}}]}] ```