A New Jersey man has returned a library book about Hitler after 75 years.
Bob Jablonski of Jersey City, New Jersey checked out the book "Hitler" by Oden Rudolph from the James J. Ferris High School branch of the Jersey City Free Public Library in 1947 when he was 14-years-old, according to the Hudson Reporter.
Last week, the 89-year-old man returned the book 75 years after it was overdue to the same library.
He found the book while he was cleaning out his family home, he explained. The book was returned in perfect condition.
Its reference card was still folded inside the book, just as it had been in 1947 when he checked it out, according to the report.
Jablonski said he didn’t remember the details of visiting the library in 1947 but that library staff were curious to find out the condition of the book and the story of how he checked out the book and forgot to return it for decades.
Luckily for the senior citizen, there will be no late fees because the Jersey City Free Public Library stopped charging fines for overdue books in February 2021.
"The burdens of the fines placed on our patrons are significant, and we recognize overdue fines are a form of social inequity, which creates barriers to accessing library services, often for those who need it most," the library system’s director Jeffrey Trzeciak, said in a statement last year about the move to eliminate late fees, according to Fox News. "We hope that going fine-free will help bring more community members to the library."