Doha Virgin Megastore Put Hitler's Mein Kampf On 'Recommended Reading List'

Shop Puts Hitler's Mein Kampf On Recommended Reading List

Virgin Megastores has been embroiled in a controversy after one of its shops in the Middle East put Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf on its recommended reading list.

Charlie Gandelman posted a picture on Twitter showing the recommendation in a store in Doha, Qatar, after Virgin failed to respond to a complaint by his friend Anna Peregrini's

"My friend was very shocked and sent a very passionate email to Virgin but got no response," he told the National newspaper.

"I have seen this book on sale before but to have it in the recommended section of an international British brand associated with Richard Branson is surprising. After Anna got no response from the company I posted it on twitter to see where it would go."

The photo was taken in the Landmark Shopping Centre in Doha.

Peregrini also told the Abu Dhabi-based publication: "To start with I gave Richard Branson the benefit of the doubt, I'm sure this would not be something he would know about, but to write and then receive no response from the company is disappointing, which is why we tweeted it."

In a statement Virgin said: "Each Virgin Megastore in the Middle East is responsible for the merchandising of products within its respective store and is not merchandised via a planogram from headquarters.

"Recently, one of the region's Virgin Megastores included in its book section the Arabic translation of Mein Kampf, by Adolf Hitler, a title available worldwide in major bookstores and online.

"For one day, the book was included in the recommended section. The recommended tag was not an endorsement of the book's author or its content. In response to a customer, we removed the title from the display."

Several people have taken to Twitter to criticise Virgin for the display in the Qatari capital, including Labour MP Denis MacShane.

Politics aside the decision to put Hitler's 1925 tome on a recommended reading list should raise eyebrows, as it is also notorious for being badly written.

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