Faced with protests, Amazon has pulled anti-Semitic books from its online marketplace, Newsweek reported.
The protests came from the Auschwitz Memorial and the British-based Holocaust Educational Trust against books written by a Nazi, Julius Streicher, who wrote the children's book "The Poisonous Mushroom," among others, according to the report.
"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 adhere to these guidelines," an Amazon spokesperson told Newsweek.
The book, originally known as "Der Giftpilz," was used as evidence against Streicher in the Nuremberg trials and he was executed for crimes against humanity in 1946.
"This book brands the Jew as a persecutor of the labor class, as a race defiler, devil in human form, a poisonous mushroom, and a murderer," the trial stated, per the report. "This particular book instructed school children to recognize the Jew by caricature of his physical features . . . and that the Jewish Bible permits all crimes."
The book tried to teach children that Jews "abuse little boys and girls," Newsweek reported.
"This book is obscene," the Holocaust Educational Trust CEO Karen Pollock wrote in a statement. "It is worrying that distinguished publishers like Amazon would make available products that promote racist or hate speech of any kind, let alone those from the darkest period of European history."
Amazon had hesitated to remove the anti-Semitic books, citing fears of censorship.
"As a bookseller, we believe that providing access to the written word is important, including books that some may find objectionable," Amazon wrote in a Feb. 21 statement. "We take concerns seriously and are listening to feedback."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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