The first reprint of Adolf Hitler's autobiography "Mein Kampf," the first since the end of World War II, has become a surprise bestseller in Germany after it was banned for seven decades.

The Institute of Contemporary History of Munich, the book's publisher, said recently that about 85,000 copies of the new annotated version of the Nazi leader's infamous anti-Semitic manifesto had been sold since its release in January last year. The book is now in its sixth print run.

Mein Kampf, which means "My Struggle" in English, was published in two volumes in 1925-1926. Written while Hitler was in prison, it features autobiographical information about his youth and explains his anti-Semitic and extremist views.

For 70 years, the hate-filled book was banned out of respect for victims of the Nazis and to prevent incitement of hatred.

But the book finally entered the public domain, as historians widely agree on the dangers of reducing that period of history to just one man, and the need to look at the causes and consequences of totalitarian ideologies.

"Hitler was important for National Socialism, but Hitler would have been a nobody in a different context. Hitler would be a nobody today. Hitler needed certain conditions in order to found his National Socialist movement," said Ardent Bauerkamper, a historian at the Free University of Berlin.

Bauerkamper said the new dual-volume version is very different from the old one, refuting the idea that it will fuel the rise of white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

"This is a critical edition. I mean, there are a lot of annotations, a lot of corrections, a lot of footnotes, remarks, critical commentaries. So I don't think this edited edition of Mein Kampf is really a danger, he said.

Explaining the book's popularity, readers said it has fostered debate on the renewed rise of authoritarian political views and right-wing slogans in contemporary Western society.

"I think there's value in that because you've got a resurgence of right-wing politics, especially like in the UK. And people don't seem to realize it," said a resident of Berlin.

"I think it's super important given that the fear propaganda is being used so much in America right now, which is very prominent. I think that if we really dissected some historical events, it would go a really long way," said another.
[ Ссылка ]

Subscribe us on Youtube: [ Ссылка ]
CCTV+ official website: [ Ссылка ]
LinkedIn: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть