A rare book owned by Adolf Hitler, which is believed to detail the blueprint for a North American Holocaust, has been acquired by Canada’s national archive.Library and Archives Canada purchased the document last year for $4,500, and it was unveiled for the first time Wednesday, just days before International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Sunday.
The 137-page report — titled “Statistics, Media and Organizations of Jewry in the United States and Canada” — was compiled in 1944 by German linguist and researcher Heinz Kloss. He was responsible for conducting key research for the Nazi regime on issues such as nationality, with a particular focus on the United States. Kloss — who visited the United States in 1936-7 and maintained a network of Nazi sympathizers — used 1930s population data to produce a personalized census of the Jewish population in North America, along with information about Jewish organizations and newspapers.
Michael Kent, curator of the Jacob M. Lowy Collection, which is preserving the book, told CNN that the report would have likely played “an important role” in any implementation of the Final Solution — the term used by Nazi leaders to describe the extermination of the Jewish population — had the Third Reich successfully invaded the United States and Canada. Kent described the report as “quite shocking,” and noted that it included detailed analysis not only of cities with large Jewish populations such as Toronto and Winnipeg, Manitoba, but also of small urban areas.
While other Holocaust memorial organizations have opted not to acquire or display any Nazi memorabilia, Kent told CNN that it was important for the archive to do so due to the “rise in xenophobia, dwindling knowledge of the Holocaust, and rise of Holocaust denial.”
The book will go on public display Saturday before portions of it are made available online.