Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' on the block

Hitler wrote the book while in prison in the early 1920s.

Signed copy of manifesto expected to fetch over $45,000

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A signed first edition of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" goes under the hammer later this month with a price guide of up to 25,000 pounds ($45,390), auction house Bloomsbury said on Thursday.

Hitler penned his autobiography and political manifesto when he was in Landsberg prison in the early 1920s.

He was jailed for five years for his part in the failed Munich putsch of 1923, an attempt to overthrow the government.

The work -- which translates as "My Struggle" -- became a must-read for German Nazis in the 1930s, especially after Hitler came to power in 1933.

Bloomsbury said the book, which is to be sold on behalf of a collector, comes as part of a lot with signed postcards, some of Hitler's personal thank-you cards and other stationery from high-ranking Nazis.

One of the signed postcards shows Hitler and [Neville] Chamberlain at Bad Godesberg in September 1938 on the eve of the countdown to World War II.

Interest in Hitler and Nazi memorabilia has remained strong 60 years years after he committed suicide in the ruins of Berlin.

"Der Untergang" ("The Downfall") a German film released in 2004 about Hitler's last days in the bunker was nominated for an Oscar.

The auction takes place on June 15 [2005].

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