Latvia Calls Halt to Sale of ‘Mein Kampf’
TALLINN, Estonia — Latvian authorities have halted the sale of a Latvian translation of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” fearing it could damage the former Soviet republic’s reputation abroad.
“All societies have to have some limits,” Linads Mucins, a Latvian Interior Ministry lawyer, said Friday. “You can’t sell all kinds of pornography and you shouldn’t be able to sell things like ‘Mein Kampf.’ ”
Police recently seized 2,000 copies from bookstores and want to confiscate 8,000 more still held by the small Latvian publishing house, Vizitkarte.
Vizitkarte’s director, Peteris Lauva, could face a two-year jail sentence under a law banning racist propaganda.
Lauva said last week that “Mein Kampf” was a historical document that should be read to show how evil Hitler really was.
The translation was published in Latvia six months ago, but first reached bookstores on May 5, days before Europe marked the 50th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat. Germany occupied Latvia from 1941-1944.
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