A Niagara politician resigned this week over allegedly owning Mein Kampf
In his resignation letter, Bob Gale said he is a “passionate historian with a broad collection of historical art and artifacts”
Hours after being accused of owning a signed copy of Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler’s 1925 autobiographical political manifesto, Niagara Regional Chair Bob Gale resigned this week. He had been appointed to the role by the province last December.
In a resignation letter addressed to Municipal Affairs Minister Rob Flack, Gale referred to Mein Kampf as “a historical book found in many libraries,” and blamed “a member of the communist party” for circulating what he said was a dated document identifying him as the owner.
The Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association and Justice 4 Black Lives Niagara said they received a tip that Gale owned the book, and issued a joint statement regarding the allegation.
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In his letter, Gale did not confirm or deny owning the book, but described himself as a “passionate historian with a broad collection of historical art and artifacts,” including letters by George Washington, Winston Churchill and anti-slavery advocate John Brown.
Documents reviewed by CTV News reportedly show that Gale allegedly purchased it in 2010 for $6,345. It was authenticated and appraised in 2018, at a value of $16,000.
St. Catharines councillor Laura Ip told CTV that there’s no justification for owning the former Nazi leader’s book.
“I think going out of your way to purchase, for thousands of dollars, an original signed copy of Hitler’s manifesto, and then going further out of your way to authenticate that Hitler’s signature is, in fact, Hitler’s signature, is a problem,” Ip said.
Gale had recently proposed forcing Niagara’s municipalities to amalgamate. After the idea received pushback from most Niagara mayors, Gale said he would explore other options for governance reform.
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
