10 bizarre artifacts in the U.S.

The capture of the German submarine U-505 was led by Chicago native Capt. Daniel Gallery in 1944. It now sits at the Museum of Science and Industry in his hometown.

Shortly after this authentic structure was disassembled and shipped to Iowa in 1976, a law was passed in Denmark to prevent the exportation of its windmills.

The deeply politically conservative city of Seattle is ... oh wait, how'd that statue of Vladimir Lenin get there? Actually, an American carpenter saved it from a scrapyard in then-Czechoslovakia and had it brought over to the United States.

What was once the fastest passenger ship in the Atlantic is now a unique attraction on the Pacific.

Developer Robert McCulloch was trying to interest people in property he owned in Arizona. When this London landmark (built in the 1820s and '30s) was put up for sale in 1967, he found his attraction.

During the 1847 Battle of Cerro Gordo, Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna stopped for lunch when advancing American troops surprised him. He got away but left his artificial leg behind.

If the infamous Tsavo lions at Chicago's Field Museum seem a little worse for wear, it might be because they spent 25 years as rugs after being hunted down in 1898.

• Pieces of world history can be found scattered across the United States


• An 11th-century Viking coin was unearthed in Maine


• A near-eight-ton statue of Vladimir Lenin sits in a Seattle Park


• You can find Mexican Gen. Santa Anna's wooden leg in Springfield, Illinois

(CNN) -- Wherever you go in the United States, you'll find monuments and reminders of America's history.

Whether it's the Statue of Liberty, Wright Flyer or early drawings of Mickey Mouse, there are objects that speak directly to the American experience.

But alongside all this Americana are items that made history elsewhere -- historical anomalies from around the world that have been captured, purchased, even nabbed along with lunch, with one thing in common -- they all found their way to the United States.

More: Most insane new U.S. roller coasters

German submarine (Chicago)

When you think about naval warfare in World War II, you typically don't associate it with the City of Big Shoulders.

But a 1944 operation that led to the capture of the German submarine U-505 -- the first open sea capture by the U.S. Navy of an enemy warship since the War of 1812 -- was led by Chicago native Capt. Daniel Gallery.

Years after the war, when the sub was going to be scrapped, Gallery stepped forward and helped facilitate a move to the Museum of Science and Industry in his hometown.

Since Chicago is absolutely devoid of oceanside property, it took five months for the U-505 to be towed from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1954.

The sub is now exhibited in an underground hall and also serves as a war memorial.

Museum of Science and Industry , 5700 S. Lakeshore Drive, Chicago; 773-684-1414

Viking coin (Maine)

In 1957, an unusual coin was found by amateur archaeologist Guy Mellgren during a dig of a Native American village site in Maine.

Two decades later, a coin dealer identified the small silver coin not as Native American, but as Norse.

Did the subjects of Norwegian King Olaf Kyrre visit Maine during the 11th century?

Probably not, but there may have been trade between eastern native tribes that brought the coin south.

Some consider the discovery a hoax, but at the Maine State Museum in Augusta, where the "Maine Penny" is in the collection, chief archaeologist Bruce Bourque says, "Several reliable lines of evidence suggest that it is an authentic find."

Maine State Museum , 230 State St., Augusta, Maine; 207-287-2301

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Adolph Hitler's telephone, typewriter, more

Closing in on Nazi Germany in 1944-45, American and allied forces came away with a number of personal items belonging to the German high command.

Taken from Adolph Hitler's personal library, the German leader's phone can now be found at the Army Signal Corps Museum at Fort Gordon, Georgia.

The phone isn't the only Hitler possession to have shown up in the United States.

The Bessemer Hall of History Museum in Alabama claims to have Hitler's typewriter (or, at least, a typewriter taken from Hitler's mountain Eagle's Nest) in its collection.

Eighty miles away, the Berman Museum of World History in Anniston, Alabama, features Hitler's silver tea service.

More: Rare Berlin Wall watchtower still standing tall

Danish windmill (Elk Horn, Iowa)

What goes around, comes around ... to the USA.

What once was rotten, or at least rotting, in Denmark, is now the pride of Elk Horn, Iowa.

In 1976, the town with strong Danish roots was looking for a way to celebrate America's bicentennial.

Funds were raised to acquire a disused windmill in Norre Snede, Denmark.

A carpenter disassembled the 60-foot windmill and built a matching 6-foot scale model.

The model was used as a guide for the 300 volunteers who helped reconstruct the full-size mill on American soil.

While it was a delight to many Iowans, the moving of the mill wasn't as popular in Denmark, where a law was passed to prevent the exportation of its windmills shortly afterward.

Danish Windmill , 4038 Main St., Elk Horn, Iowa; 712-764-7472

More: 10 things to know before visiting Copenhagen

Mechanical monk (Washington)

You don't find many mechanical wonders that are nearly five centuries old, but one found its way to the Smithsonian Institution.

Back in 1562, Don Carlos, the crown prince of Spain and son of King Philip II, suffered severe head trauma after falling down some stairs.

With the prince's survival in question, the king prayed for a miracle with the promise that he'd repay it with a wonder of his own.

When the prince recovered, the miracle was attributed to San Diego de Alcalá, a monk who'd died 99 years earlier.

The king employed a clock maker to fashion a 15-inch-tall mechanical version of the monk that moved, nodded its head, genuflected and more.

To put that in perspective, the 452-year-old automaton monk was created two years before the invention of the pencil.

Smithsonian Institution , 1000 Jefferson Drive SW, Washington; 202-633-1000

Vladimir Lenin statue (Seattle)

How did a near eight-ton symbol of Vladimir Lenin make it to Seattle?

Originally erected in Poprad, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), the statue had a short pedestal life.

It stood for only a year, before being taken down in 1989.

An American named Lewis Carpenter saw the bronze statue in a scrapyard and figured he could make money on it.

After Carpenter mortgaged his house to pay for it, the statue was cut into three pieces to facilitate travel.

Carpenter never profited -- he died soon afterward.

His family agreed to move the statue to Seattle's quirky Fremont neighborhood, where the former revolutionary now joins a troll sculpture, a chocolate factory and, during the Solstice Parade, naked bicyclists.

The statue is for sale.

As of 2006, the asking price was $250,000.

Lenin statue , 3526 Fremont Place N., Seattle

More: Seattle beyond the Space Needle

Queen Mary (Long Beach, California)

What was once the fastest passenger ship on one ocean is now a unique attraction on another.

From her maiden voyage in the 1930s, the RMS Queen Mary was one of the fastest ocean liners of the era, being the 14-year holder of the Blue Riband for the fastest liner on the Atlantic.

It was this speed, some 30-plus knots, that best served the ship during her time as a troop carrier in World War II.

The "Grey Ghost," as she was known, was too fast for German U-boats to catch.

At the conclusion of the Queen Mary's 1,000th Atlantic crossing, the ship was retired from service and moved to Long Beach, California, where she now houses a hotel, restaurants and an amateur radio station.

The Queen Mary , 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, California; 877-342-0738

London Bridge (Lake Havasu City, Arizona)

England over Arizona: London Bridge in Lake Havasu City.

Despite the warning implied by the nursery rhyme, London Bridge never fell down.

There's still a London Bridge over the River Thames.

But that bridge's predecessor, originally constructed in the 1820s and 1830s, moved to the United States.

Its stone exterior was disassembled piece by piece in 1967 and sold to Robert McCulloch, an Arizona developer.

McCulloch was trying to interest people in property he owned in Lake Havasu City, and when the London landmark was put up for sale, he found his attraction.

Reconstructed on a concrete skeleton over dry land, a canal was dug underneath it and flooded with water after completion.

London Bridge , London Bridge Road, Lake Havasu City, Arizona; 928-855-4115

More: 10 easy ways to experience Navajo America

Santa Anna's wooden leg (Springfield, Illinois)

Two years after leading the assault at the Battle of the Alamo, Mexican president and Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna lost his leg fighting against France in the Pastry War (started over unpaid reparations to a French baker in Mexico City).

Eight years later, during the Mexican-American War, Santa Anna lost his leg's replacement to the 4th Illinois Infantry.

As the story goes, during the Battle of Cerro Gordo in 1847, the general stopped for lunch when he was surprised by advancing American troops.

He got away, but he left a cooking chicken and his artificial leg behind.

The chicken was consumed, and the wood and cork leg can now be found at the Illinois State Military Museum.

Illinois State Military Museum , 1301 N. MacArthur Blvd., Springfield, Illinois; 217-761-3910

Man-eating lions (Chicago)

If the Tsavo lions at Chicago's Field Museum seem a little worse for wear, it might be because they spent 25 years as rugs.

Before becoming floor coverings, the two mane-less male lions were notorious man-eaters.

Over a nine-month period in 1898, the two lions were responsible for the deaths of 35 workers and laborers (though estimates at the time claimed 135) during the building of Kenya's Tsavo River railway bridge.

Finally, in December 1898, a British lieutenant colonel named John Henry Patterson hunted down both lions.

He brought them home and used them as rugs before selling them to the Field Museum for $5,000, where they were stuffed and displayed.

The Field Museum , 400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago; 312-922 9410

More: Opinion: Why I hate museums

Colors of Africa: Stunning photos

Entrants to IBM's The World Is Our Lab photo competition sent images highlighting Africa's biggest challenges and opportunities. Lawrence "Shabu" Mwangi won with an image he took of children playing with the plastic frame of an old TV in the Mukuru slum in Nairobi.

"Boda Boda" is a bicycle taxi. Many in Western Kenya rely on boda boda to get around. Photographer Frank Odwesso's winning image highlights how Kenyans use innovation to get around what would otherwise be a setback.

Imole "Tobbie" Balogun was another grand-prize winner. His photo highlights the overwhelming responsibility many of Nigeria's impoverished children face, either because they're forced to work or take over family duties at an early age.

This image shows day-to-day life in Makoko, one of Nigeria's biggest and best known slums. Most of Makoko rests on stilts above the Lagos Lagoon. It has an estimated 85,840 residents many of whom are fishermen.

In "Bible Study," Kevin Amunze shows a rural tribe using radio to learn. Because of its low cost and accessibility, radio is still the biggest media in Africa and in often plays a vital role in education.

"Survival" highlights issues of water storage and infrastructure in Africa, where 345 million people don't have easy access to this life-giving resource.

"Tracks" depicts the abandoned state of much of Africa's railway infrastructure. However, foreign investors are playing a key role in rail modernization programs such as Kenya's Chinese-financed line linking East Africa to South Sudan, DR Congo and Burundi.

This image highlights the extent of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, where half of the population lives on $1.25 a day and 90% of African women work in the informal sector.

This image of a mobile knife-sharpening business in Kenya -- one of the many micro-companies that make up the African economy -- highlights the continent's entrepreneurial spirit.

Passengers ride an overloaded commuter train at the Makadara station in Kenya's capital Nairobi. The larger-than-normal numbers were due to a strike by minibus drivers and conductors.

In "Creative Minds," five-year old Ken Kyalo wears a pair of glasses he fashioned from scrap wire during the laying of the foundation stone for a new building at the Heritage of Hope and Faith Children's Rehabilitation Center in Mlolongo, Kenya.

In this image, a young woman sits near the turbines in the Ngong region of Kenya. Renewable energy sources have huge potential in Africa as it seeks to address its electricity shortage.

"Face of Hope" shows a child in Mali, Africa's third largest gold producer.

Two-year old Doris Nyambura cries as she receives a dose of measles vaccination during the launching of a vaccination exercise in Rongai, Nairobi.

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• IBM photo competition looked at Africa's challenges and opportunities


• 1,200 submissions captured everyday Africa


• IBM will use Watson computer to help develop ideas to spur development in Africa

Every week, Inside Africa takes its viewers on a journey across Africa, exploring the true diversity and depth of different cultures, countries and regions.

(CNN) -- Can a photo competition change the world? Probably not, but when paired with the brainpower of IBM and the problem-solving capabilities of the world's most advanced artificially intelligent computer systems, it might just stand a chance.

Last November, IBM opened its 12th global research lab -- and first on the African continent -- in Nairobi, Kenya. Though the lab employs 25 PhDs from the world's best universities, as well as Watson -- the AI supercomputer that won Jeopardy against human competitors in 2011 -- the company recognized that in order to truly shape innovation in the continent, it had to first hear from the people who live there.

If we're going to solve the grand challenges of Africa it has to start here in Africa.

Erik Hersman, founder iHub

"If we're going to solve the grand challenges of Africa it has to start here in Africa with us identifying and underscoring what they are," says Erik Hersman, founder of Nairobi's iHub tech hub and CEO of BRCK, and one of the four photo contest judges.

To better understand what areas to invest in, IBM launched its The World is Our Lab photo competition, which invited anyone with a camera (or mobile phone) to contribute images that highlight the continent's grand challenges, city systems and examples of innovation. After three months (and 1,200 submissions), they chose a winner in each of those three categories.

The competition even succeeded in offering the judges a few surprises.

"I saw places in Nigeria I didn't even imagine existed," says Kenyan Mutua Matheka, official photographer for The World is Our Lab project and another judge in the competition.

"The winners each shared an Africa that most of us didn't know or didn't have access to."

'Standard of Living' captures a child performing a handstand in Nairobi's Kibera slum.

George Ogala, courtesy of IBM Research - Africa

Kenyan TV producer Frank Odwesso won in the City System category with his image of a woman on the back of a "boda boda," or bicycle taxi. The judges felt the picture demonstrated how locals in Western Kenya and Nyanza circumvent an unreliable public transport system to create a more efficient means of getting around. Mainly, though, it was the strength of the image that they were drawn to.

"It had the most vibrant colors, and it really summed up Africa to me," admits Matheka.

See the best photos from the competition here

Imole "Tobbie" Balogun won the Grand Challenges category with "Baby Sitting," which highlights the very adult responsibilities imposed on many of Nigeria's children -- either because poverty forces them into jumpstarting their working lives, or because they have to assume the role of caretaker for their siblings.

Visual artist Lawrence "Shabu" Mwangi won the Innovation category, and the competition overall, with "Digital Migration," a shot he took of children playing with scrap in Nairobi's Mukuru slum.

"We have these big dumping sites in Mukuru, and though we try to prevent the kids going to them, they find a way and use the scrap to play with," says Mwangi, who also grew up in the area.

'The Underground Economy' shows one of the continent's million-plus street hawkers

Seun Idowu, courtesy IBM Research - Africa

"These kids were playing a role in the television. None of them have a TV at home, but here they had a chance to be reporters -- they could be anything they wanted to be within that television. I just wanted to capture the happiness in that moment," he adds.

See more from Inside Africa

The competition is part of IBM's $100 million Project Lucy initiative, which will employ Watson and other cognitive computing technologies to advance development and create business opportunities in Africa over the next 10 years.

Matheka, a former architect and one of the continent's most respected photographers, says the competition has also shown him how photography has grown in Africa.

"I feel like a lot of African photographers have observed how those in Europe and the U.S. have photographed in Africa, and many us still use that as a template of how Africa should be captured. I think we're starting to get out of that now," he says.

"I think photography is starting to feel more approachable, to include the African public and focus on the textures and people of Africa. We're starting to tell stories for Africans. It's important, because our stories matter, and we need to hear them and to see our heroes so that we can know what is possible."

Read: Africa's hotshot photographers

Read: The African savannah, a bird's eye view

Read: Are these pictures of an alien landing site, or something else?

Read: 'Star Wars' film set being swallowed by the Sahara

Girl dies after apparent bullying attack

• Two of Cofreces' alleged attackers were her classmates, officials say


• The 17-year-old student went home after attack, was taken to hospital the next day


• A friend said one of the alleged attackers told the victim she had a snobby face

(CNN) -- Authorities are investigating whether it was an extreme case of bullying that led to the death of a 17-year-old student in Argentina, after she was attacked by two women and another girl last week.

Naira Cofreces died Sunday of multiple injuries, including bruising to the left side of her brain, officials said.

"First there was a verbal altercation and then she was kicked, punched and Naira's head was smashed against a wall," Judge Maria Laura Durante told Telam, the Argentine state news agency. The judge also said this is a case of "aggravated homicide because there might've been premeditation."

Officials say the teen was attacked last Wednesday at about 10 p.m., after leaving the night school she attended in the city of Junín, about 260 kilometers (161 miles) west of Buenos Aires. Her attackers, ages 17, 22 and 29, were waiting for her after school. The two younger ones were her classmates. All three have been arrested and charged with aggravated homicide, authorities said.

"There's no clear motive. We have testimony that suggests the motive could've been another girl or because they (the victim and her friends) acted as if they were more beautiful than the rest and dressed better than them," Durante told Telam.

A close friend of Cofreces told CNN affiliate Channel 9 the dispute started over differences that the victim and her alleged attackers had over looks and demeanor.

"She (one of the attackers) would tell her that she had a snobby face, an old woman's face, that she thought she was more beautiful than her and that she walked as if she were a model. That's how the whole problem started," said the friend, who was not identified because she's a minor.

Cofreces went home after the attack, but was taken to Agudos General Hospital the following morning. "She came the day after she was beaten up, we did a tomography and discovered a big hematoma on the left side of her brain, so we decided to operate," Dr. Carlos Garbe told Telam.

A new tomography revealed more bruising of the brain. leading to a second surgery. "After the second surgery, she continued to show complications which worsened until she died," Garbe said.

Cofreces was pronounced dead Sunday night, four days after the attack.

The incident has caused a public outcry in Argentina. Nestor Ribet, education undersecretary for the Buenos Aires Province, says he has sent counselors to Junín to work with students and their families at the school where the attack took place.

"We're talking about the death of a 17-year-old child. Nobody can explain why this happened," Ribet told Telam. "There is really nothing that can explain this."

Kerry's apartheid remark hits nerve

• Sec. Kerry takes heat for saying what some Israeli leaders have expressed


• Critics call Kerry's remarks "undiplomatic," "ill-advised"


• The backlash reflects U.S. election-year politics and the volatile Middle East conflict


• State Department: Kerry used the wrong word to make his point

Washington (CNN) -- John Kerry wasn't the first to use the A-word -- apartheid -- when talking about Israel, and he likely won't be the last.

Even some Israeli leaders have mentioned the word that basically means "separate" in describing the eventual result if a Jewish state had a Palestinian majority in some areas, such as currently exists in the West Bank.

However, the U.S. secretary of state touched a diplomatic live wire last week when he predicted an apartheid situation if Israel and the Palestinians fail to agree on a two-state solution for their decades-long conflict.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a tea party favorite and possible presidential candidate, called for Kerry's resignation, while pro-Israel groups accused America's top diplomat of inappropriate language and insensitivity.

Kerry warns of Mideast 'Apartheid'

Kerry warns of Mideast 'Apartheid'

The backlash reflected both the hyper-partisanship of a U.S. election year and the high stakes of Middle East peace talks pushed by Kerry that have effectively broken down in the latest episode of a dispute that seems to define the word intractable.

"Unwise, ill-timed and ill-advised"

"This was unwise, ill-timed and ill-advised for sure, but it's not going to make much of a difference frankly in the overall arc of the process that's promising only diminishing returns," said Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. negotiator on the Israel-Palestinian issue.

Kerry issued a statement on Monday acknowledging he used the wrong word in comments to a closed-door meeting of the Trilateral Commission of private sector leaders from North America, Europe and Asia.

At the same time, he vigorously defended his long-held support for Israel and commitment to finding a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

"I will not allow my commitment to Israel to be questioned by anyone, particularly for partisan, political purposes, so I want to be crystal clear about what I believe and what I don't believe," he said.

"I have been around long enough to also know the power of words to create a mis-impression, even when unintentional, and if I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word to describe my firm belief that the only way in the long term to have a Jewish state and two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and security is through a two-state solution," he added.

Apartheid was the reviled system of racial segregation implemented by the white-minority government in South Africa for decades before the country transitioned to a multiparty democracy that was first led by Nelson Mandela.

A series of laws determined where black South Africans could live, work and go to school, who they could marry, and even which beaches they could use. The intent was to maintain power for the white minority while stripping blacks of all rights of citizenship.

In the rhetoric of the Middle East dispute, Palestinian nationalists and others have accused Israel of apartheid-like policies, an accusation vehemently denied by Israeli authorities.

Palestinians with citizenship rights comprise a minority of Israel's population, but non-citizen Palestinians in the West Bank and other territories face severe security restrictions that limit their movement and other basic freedoms.

Palestinians in Israel

Some Israeli officials have acknowledged that failure to reach a peace agreement that creates a Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state would result in non-Israeli Palestinians living in Israel without the same rights as Israeli citizens, including the right to vote.

"As long as in this territory west of the Jordan River there is only one political entity called Israel, it is going to be either non-Jewish or non-democratic," former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said in 2010 when he was defense minister. "If this bloc of millions of Palestinians cannot vote, that will be an apartheid state."

Other Israelis who have warned about a future apartheid state include former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, the government's chief negotiator.

Kerry's statement cited such comments, saying that "in the long term, a unitary, binational state cannot be the democratic Jewish state that Israel deserves or the prosperous state with full rights that the Palestinian people deserve."

Like Kerry, Israeli officials also have warned of potential increased violence from a growing Palestinian independence movement without a two-state agreement, as well as possible increased international condemnation for the situation on the ground.

Tuesday was the nine-month deadline Kerry set last year for coming up with some form of agreement in the talks. Despite Kerry's repeated trips to the region to try to push the negotiations forward, the process hit a road block last week when the Palestinians announced they would combine rival movements Fatah and Hamas to form a unity government.

Israel's Security Cabinet subsequently announced the country won't hold talks with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas, which the United States considers a terrorist organization.

International pressure

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat issued a statement Tuesday that blamed Israel for the breakdown in the talks and said "we believe that the international community must now do what is needed, in order to make clear to Israel that choosing settlements and apartheid over peace has a political, legal and economic cost."

Kerry's controversial comments were reported Sunday by the Daily Beast, based on a secret recording of his remarks. Before his statement Monday that served as confirmation of the Daily Beast report, critics attacked.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee called the apartheid remark "deeply troubling," while Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, issued a statement calling reports that Kerry used such language "startling and deeply disappointing."

"Even if he used the repugnant language of Israel's adversaries and accusers to express concern for Israel's future, it was undiplomatic, unwise and unfair," Foxman said. "Such references are not seen as expressions of friendship and support."

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican who is the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress, said the word apartheid "has routinely been dismissed as both offensive and inaccurate, and Secretary Kerry's use of it makes peace even harder to achieve."

Cruz said Kerry should step down because "there is no place for this word in the context of the state of Israel."

On Tuesday, other Republicans also weighed in.

"The secretary of state of the United States -- his words or her words -- carry great weight," GOP Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming told MSNBC. "And I think what the secretary said was hurtful and harmful and he should have apologized."

U.S. politics at play

Some Democrats also criticized Kerry. Alaska Sen. Mark Begich chided him for improperly expressing his frustration over the foundering peace talks.

Begich faces a tough re-election race in November in his traditionally Republican state. Support for Israel is an essential policy for candidates seeking to win votes from the political right and center.

Meanwhile, some pro-Israel voices backed Kerry's analysis of the situation.

In a statement on its website, the U.S. group J Street said "Israel today is not an apartheid state, and that's not what Secretary of State Kerry said."

"For over a year now, Kerry has argued that, without a two-state solution, Israel is risking its future and its values as it moves toward permanent rule over millions of Palestinians without equal rights," said the J Street statement. "Former Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert have used the 'apartheid' term as well to describe this possible future. Instead of putting energy into attacking Secretary Kerry, those who are upset with the secretary's use of the term should put their energy into opposing and changing the policies that are leading Israel down this road."

At the State Department on Tuesday, spokeswoman Jen Psaki made a similar point when reporters grilled her about whether Kerry's statement the night before amounted to an apology.

"He still believes that, as many Israeli officials have stated, there would be challenges to a unitary state," Psaki said.

Former President Jimmy Carter came under similar criticism when he published a book on the Middle East conflict titled "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid" in 2006.

"Most of the criticisms of the book have been the one word in the title, 'apartheid,' " Carter said in 2007, adding that the "mandatory separation" inside the Palestinian territories and "terrible persecution and oppression of the Palestinians by the Israelis" was "a basic issue that has got to be corrected before Israel can have peace."

CNN's Laura Koran and Dana Davidsen contributed to this report.

Harper Lee OKs 'Mockingbird' e-book

Author Harper Lee, seen here at the 2007 Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony.

• Lee announced her decision on her 88th birthday


• The novel has sold more than 30 million copies

(CNN) -- Reclusive author Harper Lee has agreed to allow "To Kill a Mockingbird" to be released electronically, ending what had until now been a glaring holdout in the digital library of literary masterpieces.

Lee announced her decision Monday -- her 88th birthday -- in a statement released by her publisher HarperCollins.

Harper Lee, the author of the classic "To Kill a Mockingbird," has sued the Monroe County Heritage Museum for trademark infringement, saying it is illegally using her fame for its own gain. Her book was turned into a movie staring Gregory Peck, left, and Brock Peters as Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson.

Gregory Peck and Mary Badham as Atticus and Scout.

Jem and Dill push Scout in the tire.

Mary Badham as Scout Finch.

The children, having followed Atticus to the jail, help turn away an angry crowd.

Atticus Finch sits outside the jailhouse to protect Tom Robinson.

The courthouse in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama is packed.

Atticus Finch delivers his closing argument to the jury.

The character of Mayella Violet Ewell takes the stand, testifying that Tom Robinson raped and beat her.

Robert Duvall as Boo Radley on the porch swing with Scout.

The legacy of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

Scout gives a lynch mob a crisis of conscience

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch

Collin Wilcox as Mayella Violet Ewell

'To Kill a Mockingbird' at 50

"I'm still old-fashioned. I love dusty old books and libraries," Lee said. "This is Mockingbird for a new generation."

Nelle Harper Lee hasn't published a work in more than a half-century.

She's made headlines though in steadfastly fighting to keep the rights to her intellectual property protected.

'Digital natives' still use books

'The Dandy' goes digital

British Library to archive digital world

In 2013, the Alabama native sued her hometown of Monroe County Heritage Museum for trademark infringement, saying it was illegally using her fame for its own gain.

"Historical facts belong to the world," the suit argued "but fiction and trademarks are protected by law."

Lee also once sued a former literary agent for being "duped" into signing over the rights to her novel.

Inspiring millions

"To Kill a Mockingbird" is told through the eyes of Scout, the daughter of a lawyer in Maycomb, Alabama.

It deals with a local attorney's relationship with his children and his community as he defends an African-American man accused of raping a white woman in the 1930s Jim Crow era.

Its themes of racial injustice and waning innocence, grounded in characters possessing courage and tolerance, have inspired millions of readers.

The 1960 novel -- the only one Lee wrote -- won a Pulitzer Prize and was made into an Academy Award-winning movie.

According to HaperCollins, the novel has sold more than 30 million copies in English worldwide. It's been translated into more than 40 languages, and still sells more than 1 million copies every year.

Social buzz

If social media buzz is any indication, there's considerable excitement about this classic novel coming into the 21st century.

"Thank you Harper Lee! To Kill a Mockingbird coming to a kindle near you in July! A present for us on her birthday!" wrote Amy Feld in a Facebook post.

"Hot damn! Harper Lee okays an ebook of THE classic," wrote another, Kathy Whitlock.

The e-book and digital audio will be released on July 8, the date of the 54th anniversary of the book's original publication.

CNN's Bill Mears contributed to this report.