St
Paul, MN – Steven Lehman checked out a book on Holocaust
denial from the Wentworth Library in West St. Paul and found the words
“[Expletive] the Holocult” scrawled across the title page.
At
the librarian’s desk, Lehman learned this wasn’t the first time someone had defaced
a book about the Holocaust at the library in Dakota County.
“I was shocked and suddenly felt how close
these thoughts and feelings are around us,” Lehman said.
In
fact, the library has a recurring problem with offensive writing in
Holocaust-oriented books, said Murray Wilson, Wentworth Library’s branch
manager.
The
writing, which Wilson has seen five to 10 times over more than four years, is
always in black ink. Sometimes it’s just the word “Lies!” Other times, articles
have been pasted into the books, though Wilson said he doesn’t remember the
subjects.
“Sometimes books were so badly defaced they
had to be thrown away,” Wilson said.
“Whoever is doing it is quite persistent,”
Wilson said. “They’re trying to make a statement.”
