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Toronto volunteers shocked to find 1933 edition of Hitler's manifesto, Mein Kampf, among donated books

| | Last Updated: Jan 25 9:22 AM ET
More from Peter Kuitenbrouwer | @pkuitenbrouwer

Indeed, an updated version of Godwin's law should apply to political and legislative discourse: No one should refer to the Second World War, the defeated Nazis or the victorious allies in any contemporary context.

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Volunteers sifting through myriad boxes of books donated for the Trinity College book sale came across a surprise. The book’s outer dust jacket read Die Heilige Schrift des Alten BundesThe Holy Scripture of the Old Testament. Hidden underneath: Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. It is the 22nd edition, published in 1933. Folded in Mein Kampf‘s first page was an article from an Austrian newspaper, dated 1938, with the headline Bismarck Und Hitler, plus a silk bookmark embroidered with Hitler’s portrait and signature.

“It was such a weird shock to see this book,” said Linda Corman, director of the John W. Graham Library, which houses the books of Trinity College. “Look how bright it is, and clean.”

It was such a weird shock to see this book

Elizabeth-Anne Jocz, a retired librarian and longtime volunteer, threw in, perhaps hopefully, “He may not have read it, whoever owned it.”

The book appeared with a small square cut out of its first page, possibly to remove the name of the owner.

“I wish I knew how it came up,” said Ms. Corman, handling the book like a grenade. She tucked it in a drawer below a locked glass cabinet displaying first editions of Dickens and other rareties. “Let’s keep it out of sight for opening night.”

Peter J. Thompson/National Post

All around her bustled legions of volunteers, curating more than 50,000 books. Downstairs waited Joe from Detroit, who arrived at midnight to be the first shopper in line. Behind him the line snaked through the august stone halls of Trinity. Donna Coopman from St. Catharines sat knitting slippers. Joe Sultana, 75, hoped to add to his collection of math puzzle books. The sale opened Thursday at 4 p.m.

Each fall for 38 years, hundreds of book lovers have packed grand, gothic Seeley Hall on Trinity’s second floor to sift through the treasures of this sale. Put simply, Trinity knows many people who give it good books.

The Friends of the Library dispatches volunteers to pick up books all over greater Toronto. Each week about 60 people sift through donations. The meticulous work of sorters, packers and pricers sets this fiesta of the printed word apart. The sale offers books in 75 categories, from Anthropology through World Religion. New this year: the category Militaria and Intelligence.

Peter J. Thompson/National Post

“I pack religion, erotica, the occult and science fiction,” says Lorna Reevely, a longtime volunteer. Another helper raises an eyebrow, but Ms. Reevely just shrugs. “After you’ve done 10 boxes of religious studies, a little erotica helps.”

Pricers ticket these books to move, at about 30% of the prices on used-book web sites. Even so, this is a huge money-maker: last year the sale raised $140,000 for the library.

The sheer volume of cardboard wine boxes filled with unsorted books that accumulates in the Trinity basement throughout the year explains why people here have no idea who donated Mein Kampf. For a book that wrought so much evil, it is comforting that at least this copy will do some good. It is priced at $150; the library uses proceeds to hire librarians and, you guessed it, buy books.

Trinity College book sale runs 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Monday, and Noon-8 p.m. Sunday, at 6 Hoskins Avenue.

Peter J. Thompson/National Post

National Post

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