The family of Adolf Hitler 's minister of propaganda Joseph Goebbels , pictured ( above ) in September 1934 , is suing a publisher for royalties over a biography that used extracts from his diaries . The family of Adolf Hitler 's minister of propaganda is suing a publisher for royalties over a biography that used extracts from his diaries . Cordula Schacht - whose own father Hjalmar Schacht was Hitler 's minister of economics - is representing Joseph Goebbels ' estate in the case against Random House Germany and its imprint Sidler . The dispute comes after Peter Longerich , a leading authority on the Holocaust and Nazi Germany , drew on the diaries for a biography called Goebbels , which was published in Germany in 2010 . Now the English edition of the biography , which includes the same entries , is due to be published by Penguin Random House UK and its imprint The Bodley Head on May 7 . Rainer Dresen , general counsel of Random House Germany , believes this case carries an important principal and that paying such money would be immoral . 'We are convinced that no money should go to a war criminal , ' he said . 'This war criminal did n't really commit acts by his hands , but by his words . 'These words prolonged the war… [ and ] should not bring any money… to [ his ] heirs . ' Mr Dresen was astonished when Schacht first demanded money after contacting the publisher as a representative of Goebbels ' heirs . ' I did not want to believe that anyone can claim royalties for Goebbels ' words , ' he added . Scroll down for video . Last September the district court of Munich ordered the publisher to disclose its earnings . It appealed on legal , copyright and moral grounds , and the case is due to be heard in Munich on April 23 . Mr Dresen has suggested to Schacht in court that royalties could be paid if she were to donate them subsequently to a Holocaust charity . Cordula Schacht , pictured ( left ) with her father and Hitler ’ s economist Hjalmar Schacht , is representing Goebbels ' estate in the case against Random House Germany and its imprint Sidler over Peter Longerich 's book ( right ) She rejected the idea on the grounds that money should go to Goebbels ' family , who are thought to include descendants of his siblings . Goebbels poisoned his six children before he and his wife took their own lives . His diaries – spanning the years 1924 to 1945 - remain in copyright until the end of 2015 . Copies are held in public libraries . Responsibility for the literary part of Goebbels ' estate was transferred to Schacht by François Genoud , a Swiss businessman with Nazi sympathies and a friend of Schacht 's father . Dr Goebbels with his wife . He poisoned their six children before he and his wife took their own lives . Mr Schacht was minister of economics in Hitler 's National Socialist government from 1934 to 1937 and was president of Germany 's leading financial institution , the Reichsbank . He was responsible for the unemployment and rearmament programmes . Mr Dresen said : ' [ He ] helped Hitler finance his preparation of war . ' Captured by the Allies he stood trial at the postwar International Military Tribunal at Nürnberg but was eventually acquitted . He died in 1970 . Mr Dresen believes that other publishers have paid for the use of Goebbels 's diaries in the past . He said : 'We 're the first publishing house who avoided that - and have been sued . ' Mr Longerich spoke of the censorship implications of this case : 'If you accept that Schacht controls the rights to Goebbels ' diaries , then – theoretically - you give this person the right to control research . ' He added : 'She could have asked to see the manuscript or [ told me ] that I should leave out certain passages . We can not allow such control from a private person , whatever their interests . 'This is an absolutely unacceptable situation . It 's a question not only of morality , but of professionalism for an historian . ' Part of Random House 's legal argument centres on the copyright ownership because the diaries were going to be published posthumously by Hitler 's own publisher . Although no publisher 's contract has survived , Mr Dresen points to evidence within one of diary entries of 1936 which confirms the publication plans . He believes that the Bavarian government should in fact own the copyright . Schacht declined to comment .
zu Schacht is representing the case against turkey House Germany . Her own father zu Schacht was turkey 's minister of economics . Dispute over publisher mark Longerich 's book Goebbels released in 2007 . Paying money would be ' immoral ' , Rainer Dresen of Random House magazine .