It became one of the most historically important books ever, but when Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf debuted, it was a flop.
While there was no authoritative book sales auditor in 1925 like today’s Nielsen BookScan, a rare document just revealed in a historical auction shows that the Nazi mad man, then fresh out of prison, was a financial disaster despite being a new author.
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Maryland-based Alexander Historical Auctions told Secrets on Thursday that in its upcoming auction is Hitler’s 1926 tax return. It showed little return from the book that at the time had sold fewer than 10,000 copies.
In his write-up about the relic, Alexander President Bill Panagopulos said, “A unique and important document, Hitler’s 1926 tax return listing his profession as ‘Writer’ and setting his income at 2,487 Reichsmarks, this being his income for the first year’s profits from the sale of ‘Mein Kampf.’”
He added, “It appears that Hitler paid 262 Rm total taxes on this income, of which 22 Rm were ‘church levies.’”
Hitler, of course, later went on to rule Germany, where the book was mandatory reading and sold millions.
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“Mein Kampf was required reading during Hitler’s reign as dictator. Even every newlywed couple was given a signed copy by their local mayor. By 1939, with promotion by the state, the hideous text was making Hitler $12 million a year,” Panagopulos told Secrets.
Alexander regularly holds sales of historical relics, often previewing them to Secrets because of our interest in history.
The current sale takes place from Jan. 25-27. The headliner is the original Apple Computer sign that hung outside the firm’s California headquarters for years.
