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WHSmith apologises for selling Hitler's Mein Kampf and Protocols of the Elders of Zion

The chain said the books had been 'immediately removed from sale' and 'apologise sincerely' for selling the antisemitic texts

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WHSmith has apologised and removed from its website the sale of Hitler’s Mein Kampf and the conspiratorial antisemitic pamphlet The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

WHSmith said it had “strict guidelines on the books it sells, and it is against our policy to stock books which incite hatred.

"These books have been immediately removed from sale, and we are investigating how this has occurred with our wholesaler. We apologise sincerely for any offence caused.” 

WHSmith had been selling editions of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, including unedited and uninterpreted editions.

These included one being sold as the “Official Nazi Translation” and another as the "1939" edition.   

The store had also been selling editions of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, including a recently published “Centenary Edition” with conspiracist imagery on its cover and another that shows a chess piece with a star of David having felled another piece. 

Mein Kampf outlines the manifesto and antisemitism of the Nazi Party's leader, while the Tsarist Russian The Protocols of the Elders of Zion purports to show plans for Jewish world domination

Both books are easy to download and read online.

Searches for Mein Kampf now delivers a ‘Page Not Found’ error message on WHSmith's website, however copies of The Protocols are still listed under the sub-category 'Ethnic Studies' and 'Conspiracy Theories'. 

Until Wednesday morning, various editions of Mein Kampf were selling for between £20 and £45, while one was selling with a 30 per cent discount. The Protocols was available for £22.45.

On Monday, Amazon banned the sale of most editions of Mein Kampf and other Nazi propaganda from its platform after pressure from Holocaust organisations.

Waterstones is still selling editions of both books. It had not responded to a request for comment as this article went live.

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