The web page where ‘Great Leaders’ can be bought. Photo: Screenshot.

A prominent US-based Jewish human rights organization condemned on Thursday an Indian publishing company for selling a children’s book that includes Adolf Hitler among a group of world leaders who “dedicated their lives to the betterment of their countries and the people living in them.”

In a statement, Rabbi Abraham Cooper — associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) — slammed the B. Jain Publishing Group’s Pegasus line over the 48-page book, titled Great Leaders.

“Dedicated to the betterment of countries and people? Adolf Hitler? This description would bring tears of joy to the Nazis and their racist neo-Nazi heirs,” Cooper exclaimed. “Adolf Hitler was a visionary — his vision almost destroyed our planet; started WWII — which left tens of millions dead and mass murdered 6 million Jews during the Nazi Holocaust.”

“Placing Hitler alongside truly great political and humanitarian leaders is an abomination that is made worse as it targets young people with little or no knowledge of world history and ethics,” Cooper continued. “The Wiesenthal Center demands that Pegasus Books remove Great Leaders from circulation and its online store.”

The cover of the book — a copy of which was obtained by the SWC at the Krithi International Book Fair in Kochi — features pictures of Hitler, Mahatma Gandhi, Narendra Modi, Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, and Aung San Suu Kyi.

The blurb on the back of the book says, “Our world faces many challenges, which need to be dealt with skillfully. Some men and women, through their vision and understanding of these challenges, have the ability to solve any untoward situation. The book lays focus on some of these powerful world leaders who have dedicated their lives to the betterment of their countries and the people living in them — who have not just governed nations during peace times but also during times of crisis.”