Thursday, April 12, 2012

What should get into #Wikibooks or #Wikisource

When the number of copies in existence of an important book like  "Nazism and euthanasia of the mentally ill in Germany" or "Die Tötung Geisteskranker" written by Alice Ricciardi-von Platen is less then twenty, it is important that such a book is transcribed and becomes widely available.

This book is the first book written on the murder of the mentally ill in the "third reich". It is based on her personal experiences and more importantly from her observations at the Nuremberg Doktors' trial

Mrs Ricciardi died and one of her family members promised to seek approval for the book to be available under a free license. Sadly we are still waiting.

It is however books, sources like this that are of an importance that go beyond the abstract niceties of copy right. Mrs Ricciardi did not get rich because of this book, there is no monetary value of the copyright.

It is however important that our generation, later generations do not have the excuse that "they did not know". Wikibooks and Wikisource are in a great position to play a role. In the mean time, I will ask my friend if he has an update about the copyright of the book by Mrs Ricciardi.
Thanks,
      GerardM

1 comment:

Michael Everson said...

Copyright is not a "nicety".