Copy of Mein Kampf signed by Adolf Hitler expected to fetch $25,000 at auction

Nazi text being sold as a 'memento'

Hitler gave the text to an SS officer as a Christmas gift (AFP/Getty)

A rare copy of Mein Kampf autographed by Adolf Hitler is up for sale in LA, with the auctioneer describing it as "very heinous, but a piece of history."

The two-volume work, which sees the Nazi leader set out plans for a German revival after World War I and is filled with anti-Semitism, goes under the hammer on Thursday.

Mein Kampf 'follows same trend' as 50 Shades of Grey

The lot is inscribed by Hitler with a message to SS officer Josef Bauer, whom he gave the book as a Christmas present.

Bidding will start at $20,000 (£12,000) and is expected to reach $25,000 when the auction ends at 10pm eastern standard time.

Nate D Sanders, a Jewish man who owns the auction house selling the item, said he does not shy away from selling the memorabilia of reviled historic figures in spite of their evils.

"I think it's very heinous," Sanders said, "but it is an auction item, it is a memento, it's a piece of memorabilia, and a piece of history."

The German copyright for Mein Kampf has been owned by Bavaria since the end of World War II, which has prohibited its printing and sale in the country.