Hitler biography to be published

A secret biography of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler commissioned by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin is to be published this month, the book’s British publisher said Friday.

Stalin’s “Hitler Book” was presented to the Soviet dictator in December 1949, in a limited edition of one, and was put in his personal archive before being discovered by German historian Matthias Uhl in 2004.

“A second copy of the biography was made in 1965 and placed in a separate archive, which was used as corroborating evidence that the first book was authentic,” a spokeswoman for publisher John Murray said.

A statement said the book would be published by Lubbe in Germany in March, with a United Kingdom publication due in November.

Stalin commissioned the book because he wanted to understand the psychology of Hitler as well as being sure the Nazi dictator was dead, the publisher said.