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1960s research on Hitler book could prove valuable
1960s research on Hitler book could prove valuable
DE PERE --In the 1960s, West De Pere High School teacher Domenic Gentile made history come alive for students by encouraging them to collect and chronicle documents that could be historically significant.
After 40 years, two Illinois men think some documents the students gathered are not only historical but valuable.
[attachmentid=70]
Gentile's students had written the German government in researching whether a copy of "Mein Kampf" personally belonged to Hitler. The leatherbound book reportedly was taken as a souvenir when American troops advanced into Berchtesgaden, Germany, at the close of World War
II. A Wisconsin soldier from the 101st Airborne had loaned the book to Gentile's students.
Ron Janssen and Rick Applegate of Danville, Ill., are hunting for correspondence the students received from Germany that could authenticate the book as belonging to Hitler. But the whereabouts of the documents and their contents are a mystery.
Janssen possesses the book and now wants to sell it. The letters could help boost the book's value, he said.
"We're trying to get the documentation. What happened to it, we don't know," Janssen said.
The letters still could be in the area. Applegate asked that anyone with information contact him.
Nearly forgotten
The student project had been nearly forgotten.
Gentile, who later left teaching to become head trainer for the Green Bay Packers, died in 2000.
Applegate said he was aware of the students' work from a Green Bay Press-Gazette story Feb. 13, 19
66, describing how students in the school's History Society corresponded with government officials, politicians, astronauts and military leaders on current issues.
The Press
-Gazette's 1966 story said the students "spent weeks authenticating" the Hitler book including five months work and 50 letters to the German Embassy and reform party leader Willy Brandt. The story also said the society had no place to store or display their materials. Boxes are "jammed into nooks and crannies around the school," according to the story. The more valuable documents were tucked away at a bank for safekeeping and went on display for a time.
Gentile's widow, Peg, kept many of the items after her husband's death in 2000, though the "Mein Kampf" letters were not found among them. She doesn't know where they are.
"I'm sure they went back to the owner when the book was returned," she said.
Students and educators who were
contacted recently said they had no clue about the documents.
"It's been so long I'm not sure who we wrote to. I can't recall too many details," said Randy Hock, Class of 1966, who is retired and lives in De Pere.
Students in the History Society also wrote
astronauts asking for moon rocks or Apollo mission mementos.
The students received from the Hiroshima Peace Society items from the atomic bomb blast in 1945.
Peg Gentile has some of those mementos. She wants to get them a permanent home.
"Dom would have wanted the material to go to groups that would have used it. He didn't want it in storage," she said.
Lanny Tibaldo, current superintendent of the West De Pere School District, said he would look into displaying some items at the school in recognition of Gentile and his students. Social studies teachers may be able to use them, he said.
"History has to be fun. If we don't learn fro
m our mistakes, we may repeat them," Tibaldo said.
Notorious history
Janssen and Applegate said they'd like their "Mein Kampf" book placed in a museum. Their copy is 18 inches high, 5 inches thick and covered in leather with metal clasps on the side. It bears an eagle and Nazi swastika. Applegate said they were concerned the book could "fall in
to the wrong hands."
Michael Lukens, who teaches a Holocaust course at St. Norbert College in De Pere, said the anti-Semitism promoted in "Mein Kampf" was at the heart of the Nazi movement.
If the copy indeed belonged to Hitler, people would pay dearly for it.
"A lot of people specialize in such memorabilia. This area is hot. There is endless fascination with things tied to demonic personality," Lukens said.
The book, which is notorious for promoting hatred, is available in the West.
"It's a historical piece and is widely st
udied. Students are often asked to read certain sections of 'Mein Kampf' and make up their own mind," he said.
:Swastika2:
1960s research on Hitler book could prove valuable
DE PERE --In the 1960s, West De Pere High School teacher Domenic Gentile made history come alive for students by encouraging them to collect and chronicle documents that could be historically significant.
After 40 years, two Illinois men think some documents the students gathered are not only historical but valuable.
[attachmentid=70]
Gentile's students had written the German government in researching whether a copy of "Mein Kampf" personally belonged to Hitler. The leatherbound book reportedly was taken as a souvenir when American troops advanced into Berchtesgaden, Germany, at the close of World War
II. A Wisconsin soldier from the 101st Airborne had loaned the book to Gentile's students.
Ron Janssen and Rick Applegate of Danville, Ill., are hunting for correspondence the students received from Germany that could authenticate the book as belonging to Hitler. But the whereabouts of the documents and their contents are a mystery.
Janssen possesses the book and now wants to sell it. The letters could help boost the book's value, he said.
"We're trying to get the documentation. What happened to it, we don't know," Janssen said.
The letters still could be in the area. Applegate asked that anyone with information contact him.
Nearly forgotten
The student project had been nearly forgotten.
Gentile, who later left teaching to become head trainer for the Green Bay Packers, died in 2000.
Applegate said he was aware of the students' work from a Green Bay Press-Gazette story Feb. 13, 19
66, describing how students in the school's History Society corresponded with government officials, politicians, astronauts and military leaders on current issues.
The Press
-Gazette's 1966 story said the students "spent weeks authenticating" the Hitler book including five months work and 50 letters to the German Embassy and reform party leader Willy Brandt. The story also said the society had no place to store or display their materials. Boxes are "jammed into nooks and crannies around the school," according to the story. The more valuable documents were tucked away at a bank for safekeeping and went on display for a time.
Gentile's widow, Peg, kept many of the items after her husband's death in 2000, though the "Mein Kampf" letters were not found among them. She doesn't know where they are.
"I'm sure they went back to the owner when the book was returned," she said.
Students and educators who were
contacted recently said they had no clue about the documents.
"It's been so long I'm not sure who we wrote to. I can't recall too many details," said Randy Hock, Class of 1966, who is retired and lives in De Pere.
Students in the History Society also wrote
astronauts asking for moon rocks or Apollo mission mementos.
The students received from the Hiroshima Peace Society items from the atomic bomb blast in 1945.
Peg Gentile has some of those mementos. She wants to get them a permanent home.
"Dom would have wanted the material to go to groups that would have used it. He didn't want it in storage," she said.
Lanny Tibaldo, current superintendent of the West De Pere School District, said he would look into displaying some items at the school in recognition of Gentile and his students. Social studies teachers may be able to use them, he said.
"History has to be fun. If we don't learn fro
m our mistakes, we may repeat them," Tibaldo said.
Notorious history
Janssen and Applegate said they'd like their "Mein Kampf" book placed in a museum. Their copy is 18 inches high, 5 inches thick and covered in leather with metal clasps on the side. It bears an eagle and Nazi swastika. Applegate said they were concerned the book could "fall in
to the wrong hands."
Michael Lukens, who teaches a Holocaust course at St. Norbert College in De Pere, said the anti-Semitism promoted in "Mein Kampf" was at the heart of the Nazi movement.
If the copy indeed belonged to Hitler, people would pay dearly for it.
"A lot of people specialize in such memorabilia. This area is hot. There is endless fascination with things tied to demonic personality," Lukens said.
The book, which is notorious for promoting hatred, is available in the West.
"It's a historical piece and is widely st
udied. Students are often asked to read certain sections of 'Mein Kampf' and make up their own mind," he said.
:Swastika2: