Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' German bestseller: publisher
Mein Kampf outlines Adolf Hitler's ideology that formed the basis for Nazism.
Berlin, Dec 3: The first reprint of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" in Germany since World War II has proved to be a surprise bestseller, heading for its sixth print run, its publisher said on Tuesday.
The Institute of Contemporary History of Munich (IfZ) said around 85,000 copies of the new annotated version of the Nazi leader's anti-Semitic manifesto had flown off the shelves since its release last January. However, the respected institute said that far from promoting far-right ideology, the publication had enriched a debate on the renewed rise of "authoritarian political views" in contemporary Western society.
It
had
initially
planned
to
print
only
4,000
copies
but
boosted
production
immediately
based
on
intense
demand.
The
sixth
print
run
will
hit
bookstores
in
late
January.
The
two-volume
work
had
figured
on
the
non-fiction
bestseller
list
in
weekly
magazine
Der
Spiegel
over
much
of
the
last
year
and
even
topped
the
list
for
two
weeks
in
April.
The
institute
also
organised
a
successful
series
of
presentations
and
debates
around
"Mein
Kampf"
across
Germany
and
in
other
European
cities,
which
it
said
allowed
it
to
measure
the
impact
of
the
new
edition.
"It turned out that the fear the publication would promote Hitler's ideology or even make it socially acceptable and give neo-Nazis a new propaganda platform was totally unfounded," IfZ director Andreas Wirsching said in a statement. "To the contrary, the debate about Hitler's worldview and his approach to propaganda offered a chance to look at the causes and consequences of totalitarian ideologies, at a time in which authoritarian political views and rightwing slogans are gaining ground."
The institute said the data collected about buyers by regional bookstores showed that they tended to be "customers interested in politics and history as well as educators" and not "reactionaries or rightwing radicals". Nevertheless, the IfZ said it would maintain a restrictive policy on international rights.
For now, only English and French editions are planned despite strong interest from many countries. The institute released the annotated version of "Mein Kampf" last January, just days after the copyright of the manifesto expired.
Bavaria was handed the rights to the book in 1945 when the Allies gave it control of the main Nazi publishing house following Hitler's defeat. For 70 years, it refused to allow the inflammatory tract to be republished out of respect for victims of the Nazis and to prevent incitement of hatred. But "Mein Kampf" - which means "My Struggle" - fell into the public domain on January 1 and the institute said it feared a version without critical commentary could hit the market.
Partly autobiographical, "Mein Kampf" outlines Hitler's ideology that formed the basis for Nazism. He wrote it in 1924 while he was imprisoned in Bavaria for treason after his failed Beer Hall Putsch.
PTI