Not many people know that although Hitler was the evilest person ever in history, he also holds the title of being the wealthiest author of all time.
The earnings received from Hitler’s best-selling book, Mein Kampf, played a primary role in funding the new Nazi party’s rise. The book not only put the party to power but helped Hitler in paying off bribes and gifts to the prominent German political figures to secure his future.
Till now, Mein Kampf has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. The royalties also provided Hitler with a vast fortune and a lavish lifestyle, which included a fleet of Mercedes and numerous luxurious mansions all over Germany.
Hitler made money from other prospects too, but the question at the moment is who is getting all the royalties earned from his book today?
Hitler’s bestseller becomes the property of State of Bavaria
In 1945, when Hitler ended his life by committing suicide, his nephew Leo Raubal would have been the legitimate claimant of the royalties, which could comprise millions of dollars, but he turned everything down by saying that he doesn’t have anything to do with the fees earned from Mein Kampf. That’s when the state of Bavaria became the property holder of Hitler’s bestseller.
The state of Bavaria restricted further publishing of the book after WWII. However, after seventy years from the death of Adolf Hitler in April 2015, Germany copyright law made it legal for anyone residing inside Germany, and having printing press could print and sell the book without paying a single Mark.
The public outcry in the United States
After WWII, Houghton Mifflin, an American publishing company, bought the rights to Mein Kampf from the government office of Alien Property for a lump sum of $37,000.
In just a few years, the company made more than $700,000 in the form of royalties, which were at the end donated to charity because of the public outcry and nationwide protests.
The response to the book in other countries
In the U.K., Mein Kampf saw a ban from 1945-1969 after which, all the royalties made from the book in the U.K were donated to charitable institutions. It was quite challenging to find a charity inside England that would accept the funds since every institution considered it to be blood money.
Publishing Mein Kampf was unrestricted in other countries; that is why there has been a recent surge in increasing sales of its copies. Mein Kampf has become the best seller in countries like Turkey, Sweden, and India. The royalties received from the book are begrudgingly accepted by the Bavarian state and are afterward distributed to charity.