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Huntington Library gives Nazi papers to National Archives
A deluxe edition of Hitler's Mein Kampf was among the other artifacts seized by Patton's troops. In a handwritten inscription on the cover, Patton presents it to The Huntington.
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The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
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Adolf Hitler's signature on a document at the Huntington Library.
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Jessica Flores/KPCC
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On June 11, 1945, Gen. George S. Patton Jr. presented Huntington trustee Robert Millikan with an original typescript of the Nuremberg Laws signed by Hitler.
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The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
)
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Huntington Library gives Nazi papers to National Archives
Huntington Library gives Nazi papers to National Archives
The Huntington Library has long held documents signed by Adolf Hitler that mark one of the darkest eras of human history.
The original Nuremberg Laws put separation of the Jews into a legal framework.
Adolf Hitler signed the typewritten papers in 1935.
The Huntington is turning over those original documents to the U.S. National Archives.
David Ferriero runs the National Archives. He explains what the Nuremberg Laws were.
“The first law takes away citizenship," says Ferriero. "Jews are no longer citizens. The second law deals with cohabitation. Jews cannot live with non-Jews. And the third law creates the swastika flag."
Historians say the Nuremberg Laws were the groundwork for the eventual extermination of 6 million Jews.
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General George Patton got a hold of the original documents after World War II and turned them over to the Huntington in 1945. Patton’s family lived next door to the Huntington.
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