Rare 'Mein Kampf' copies signed by Hitler to be auctioned

Two rare copies of "Mein Kampf" signed by the young Nazi leader Adolf Hitler are to go under the hammer in Los Angeles, auctioneers said Tuesday.

The two-volume set -- a first edition and a second edition -- of the future German Fuehrer's political manifesto will be sold online to the highest bidder Thursday, according to Nate D. Sanders Auctions.

Both volumes are signed by Hitler and are dedicated to Josef Bauer, an early Nazi party member and a leader of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch bid to overthrow the Bavarian government.

Hitler likely gave them to Bauer as Christmas gifts in 1925 and 1926, expressing best wishes for the holiday season, the auctioneers said.

They called the books "an ominously signed set of books that futilely warned the world of Hitler's intentions," adding they were more scarce in being signed to a fellow Nazi leader.

The young Hitler wrote "Mein Kampf" ("My Struggle") in prison, setting out his political doctrine and blaming Germany's woes on an array of groups including Jews and Marxists.

After Hitler's rise to power in 1933, millions of copies were published. As of 1936, the Nazi state gave a copy to all newlyweds as a gift.