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Amazon halts sale of books assailed as 'Nazi propaganda'
Amazon has stopped sales of some books on its platform following protests that the titles, including some for children, were Nazi-era "propaganda".
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The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Boves, France, on August 8, 2018. (REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol)
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mazon has stopped sales of some books on its platform following protests that the titles, including some for children, were Nazi-era "propaganda", a source familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
The move came days after the Auschwitz museum called on the US tech firm to remove Nazi-era anti-Semitic children's books from sale.
The Auschwitz Memorial tweeted Friday on its official account the books included "hateful, virulently antisemitic Nazi propaganda".
Among the books is an anti-Semitic children's book titled The Poisonous Mushroom authored by Nazi party member Julius Streicher and originally published in 1938.
Amazon declined to comment on specific items but said it does take action against some materials which may be offensive.
Read also: Auschwitz museum demands Amazon drop 'Nazi propaganda' books
"As a bookseller, we believe that providing access to the written word is important, including books that some may find objectionable," an Amazon spokesperson said.
"We take concerns seriously and are listening to feedback. Amazon has policies governing which books can be listed for sale; we invest significant time and resources to ensure our guidelines are followed, and remove products that do not."
According to the New York Times, Amazon has pulled several books by far-right authors including David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, and George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party, over the past 18 months.
Holocaust survivors returned last month to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp to mark 75 years since its liberation and to sound the alarm over a surge in anti-Semitic attacks on both sides of the Atlantic, some of them deadly.
