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Hitler heir doesn’t want royalties

A German historian said a distant relative of Adolf Hitler could sue the state of Bavaria for royalties from the Nazi dictator’s book Mein Kampf but the retired Austrian engineer said he wants no part of it.

Werner Maser told Bild am Sonntag that Peter Raubal, whose father Leo Raubal was a nephew of Hitler, would have a strong chance of winning the copyright from Bavaria, which was given the German rights to the book by the post-war occupying powers.

“Peter Raubal is the only heir of Hitler that I know of,” Maser said. “As the closest relative alive, he could claim royalties from Hitler’s book Mein Kampf. Raubal would have to sue Bavaria. I am quite certain he would win.”

Hitler died with no immediate heirs but Leo Raubal was one of his half-sister Angela Raubal’s children. Maser said Leo Raubal long considered such a lawsuit before his death in 1979. Bild am Sonntag said royalties could be worth millions of euros.

“Yes I know the whole story about Hitler’s inheritance,” Peter Raubal told Bild am Sonntag in what the paper said were his first public comments on the issue. “But I don’t want to have anything to do with it. I will not do anything about it. I only want to be left alone.”

In Germany, it is illegal to distribute Mein Kampf except in limited circumstances. Nazi symbols like the swastika and the stiff-armed Hitler salute are also banned. Mein Kampf is available online and in most countries, including Israel. reuters

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