What is Hitler's Mein Kampf? Distortions in the translation of Mein Kampf

(“Mein Kampf” - “My Struggle”), a book by Hitler in which he outlined his political program in detail. In Hitler's Germany, Mein Kampf was considered the bible of National Socialism; it gained fame even before its publication, and many Germans believed that the Nazi leader was able to bring to life everything that he outlined on the pages of his book. Hitler wrote the first part of “Mein Kampf” in Landsberg prison, where he was serving a sentence for an attempted coup (see “Beer Hall Putsch” 1923). Many of his associates, including Goebbels, Gottfried Feder and Alfred Rosenberg, had already published pamphlets or books, and Hitler was eager to prove that, despite his lack of education, he was also capable of making his contribution to political philosophy. Since the stay of almost 40 Nazis in prison was easy and comfortable, Hitler spent many hours dictating the first part of the book to Emile Maurice and Rudolf Hess. The second part was written by him in 1925-27, after the re-establishment of the Nazi party.

Hitler originally entitled his book "Four and a half years of struggle against lies, stupidity and cowardice." However, publisher Max Aman, not satisfied with such a long title, shortened it to “My Struggle.” Loud, raw, pompous in style, the first version of the book was oversaturated with length, verbosity, indigestible phrases, and constant repetitions, which clearly revealed Hitler as a half-educated man. The German writer Lion Feuchtwanger noted thousands of grammatical errors in the original edition. Although many stylistic corrections were made in subsequent editions, the overall picture remained the same. Nevertheless, the book was a huge success and turned out to be very profitable. By 1932, 5.2 million copies were sold; it has been translated into 11 languages. When registering their marriage, all newlyweds in Germany were forced to purchase one copy of Mein Kampf. Huge circulations made Hitler a millionaire.

The main theme of the book was Hitler's racial doctrine. The Germans, he wrote, must recognize the superiority of the Aryan race and maintain racial purity. Their duty is to increase the size of the nation in order to fulfill their destiny - to achieve world domination. Despite the defeat in World War I, it is necessary to regain strength. Only in this way will the German nation be able to take its place as leader of humanity in the future.

Hitler described the Weimar Republic as “the greatest mistake of the 20th century,” “a monstrosity of life.” He outlined three main ideas about government. First of all, these are those who understand the state as simply a more or less voluntary community of people with the government at its head. This idea comes from the largest group - the “crazy”, who personify “state power” (StaatsautoritIt) and force the people to serve them, instead of serving the people themselves. An example is the Bavarian People's Party. The second, not so numerous group recognizes state power subject to certain conditions, such as “freedom”, “independence” and other human rights. These people expect that such a state will be able to function in such a way that everyone's wallet will be filled to capacity. This group is replenished mainly from among the German bourgeoisie, from liberal democrats. The third, weakest group places its hopes on the unity of all people speaking the same language. They hope to achieve national unity through language. The position of this group, controlled by the Nationalist Party, is the most precarious due to the obvious false manipulation. Some peoples of Austria, for example, will never be Germanized. A Negro or a Chinese can never become a German just because he speaks German fluently. “Germanization can only happen on land, not in language.” Nationality and race, Hitler continued, are in the blood, not in the language. The mixing of blood in the German state can be stopped only by removing from it everything inferior. Nothing good happened in the eastern regions of Germany, where Polish elements, as a result of mixing, polluted German blood. Germany found itself in a stupid position when it became widely believed in America that immigrants from Germany were all Germans. In fact, it was a “Jewish fake of the Germans.” Title of the original edition of Hitler's book, submitted to the Eher publishing house under the title "Four and a half years of struggle against lies, stupidity and cowardice" Title of the original edition of Hitler's book, submitted to the Eher publishing house under the title "Four and a half years of struggle against lies, stupidity and cowardice"

All three of these views on government are fundamentally false, Hitler wrote. They do not recognize the key factor that artificially created state power is based ultimately on racial foundations. The primary duty of the state is to preserve and maintain its racial foundations. “The fundamental concept is that the State has no boundaries, but implies them. This is precisely the precondition for the development of higher Kultur, but not the reason for it.

The reason lies solely in the existence of a race capable of perfecting its own Kultur." Hitler formulated seven points of “duties of the state”: 1. The concept of “race” must be placed in the center of attention. 2. It is necessary to maintain racial purity. 3. Introduce the practice of modern birth control as a priority. Those who are sick or weak should be prohibited from having children. The German nation must be prepared for future leadership. 4. Youth should be encouraged to take up sports to unprecedented levels of fitness. 5. It is necessary to make army service the final and highest school. 6. Special emphasis should be placed on teaching race in schools. 7. It is necessary to awaken patriotism and national pride among citizens.

Hitler never tired of preaching his ideology of racial nationalism. Echoing Huston Chamberlain, he wrote that the Aryan or Indo-European race and, above all, the Germanic or Teutonic race, are exactly the “chosen people” that the Jews spoke about, and on which the very existence of man on the planet depends. “Everything that we admire on this earth, be it achievements in science or technology, is the creation of the hands of a few nations and, probably, most likely, of one single race. All the achievements of our Kultur are the merit of this nation.” In his opinion, this only race is the Aryan. “History shows with utmost clarity that any mixing of Aryan blood with the blood of lower races leads to the degradation of the Kultur bearer. North America, whose vast population is composed of Germanic elements, and which is only in a small degree mixed with the lower, colored races, represents a model of civilization and Kultur, in contrast to Central or South America, where the Roman immigrants were largely assimilated with the native population. Germanized North America, by contrast, managed to remain “racially pure and unmixed.” Some country boy who doesn't understand racial laws can get himself into trouble. Hitler encouraged Germans to join the victory parade (Siegeszug) of the “chosen races.” It is enough to destroy the Aryan race on earth, and humanity will plunge into yawning darkness comparable to the Middle Ages.

Hitler divided all of humanity into three categories: the creators of civilization (Kulturbegr?nder), the bearers of civilization (KulturtrIger) and the destroyers of civilization (Kulturzerstirer). To the first group he included the Aryan race, that is, the Germanic and North American civilizations, as being of paramount importance. The gradual worldwide spread of the Aryan civilization up to the Japanese and other “morally dependent races” led to the creation of the second category - the carriers of civilization. Hitler included mainly the peoples of the East in this group. Only in appearance do the Japanese and other carriers of civilization remain Asians; in their inner essence they are Aryans. Hitler included Jews in the third category of destroyers of civilization.

Hitler repeated again that as soon as geniuses appear in the world, humanity will immediately classify among them the “race of geniuses” - the Aryans. Genius is an innate quality, since “it originates in the brain of a child.” By coming into contact with lower races, the Aryan subjugates them to his will. However, instead of keeping his blood pure, he began to mingle with the natives until he began to take on the spiritual and physical qualities of the lower race. The continuation of this mixing of blood would mean the destruction of the old civilization and the loss of the will to resist (Widerstandskraft), which belongs exclusively to those of pure blood. The Aryan race occupied its high place in civilization because it was aware of its destiny; the Aryan was always ready to sacrifice his life for the sake of other people. This fact shows who is the crown of the future of humanity and what is the “essence of sacrifice.”

Many pages of the book are devoted to Hitler's contemptuous attitude towards the Jews. “The sharp opposite of the Aryan is the Jew. Hardly any nation on earth possessed the instinct of self-preservation to the extent to which it was developed by the so-called. "chosen people" The Jews never had their own Kultur, they always borrowed it from others and developed their intellect by coming into contact with other peoples. Unlike the Aryans, the Jewish desire for self-preservation does not go beyond the personal.” The Jewish sense of “belonging” (Zusammengehirigkeitsgef?hl) is based on “a very primitive herd instinct.” The Jewish race was "downright selfish" and possessed only an imaginary Kultur. You don't have to be an idealist to be convinced of this. The Jews were not even a race of nomads, because the nomads at least had an idea of ​​the word “labor.”

In addition to hatred of Jews, Hitler did not ignore Marxism. He blamed the Marxists for the ongoing decomposition of national blood and the loss of national ideals in Germany. Marxism will suppress German nationalism until he, Hitler, takes on the role of savior.

Hitler attributed the diabolical influence of Marxism to Jews who would like to uproot “the bearers of the national intellect and make them slaves in their own country.” The most gruesome example of such efforts is Russia, where, as Hitler wrote, “thirty millions were allowed to starve to death in terrible agony, while educated Jews and stock market swindlers achieved dominance over a great people.”

A racially pure people, Hitler wrote, could never be enslaved by Jews. Everything on earth can be corrected, any defeat can be turned into victory in the future. The revival of the German spirit will come if the blood of the German people is kept pure. Hitler explained the defeat of Germany in 1918 by racial reasons: 1914 was the last attempt of those interested in the national preservation of forces to resist the impending pacifist-Marxist deformation of the national state. What Germany needed was a “Teutonic state of the German nation.”

Hitler's economic theories set out in Mein Kampf completely repeat the doctrines of Gottfried Feder. National self-sufficiency and economic independence must replace international trade. The principle of autarky was based on the assumption that economic interests and the activities of economic leaders should be entirely subordinated to racial and national considerations. All countries of the world constantly raised tariff barriers to reduce imports to a minimum. Hitler recommended much more radical measures. Germany must cut itself off from the rest of Europe and achieve complete self-sufficiency. A sufficient amount of food for the existence of the Reich can be produced within its own borders or on the territory of the agricultural countries of Eastern Europe. Terrible economic upheaval would have occurred if Germany had not already been under extreme stress and had not become accustomed to it. The fight against international finance capital and loans became the main point of the program to achieve independence and freedom for Germany. The hard line of the National Socialists eliminated the need for forced labor (Zinsknechtschaft). Peasants, workers, bourgeoisie, large industrialists - the entire people were dependent on foreign capital. It is necessary to free the state and people from this dependence and create national state capitalism. The Reichsbank must be brought under government control. Money for all government programs such as hydropower development and road construction must be raised through the issuance of government interest-free bonds (Staatskassengutscheine). It is necessary to create construction companies and industrial banks that will provide interest-free loans. Any fortunes accumulated during the 1st World War should be considered acquired through criminal means. Profits received from military orders are subject to confiscation. Trade credits should be under government control. The entire system of industrial enterprises must be restructured in such a way as to ensure the participation of workers and employees in profits.

Old age pensions must be introduced. Large department stores such as Tietz, Karstadt and Wertheim should be converted into cooperatives and leased to small traders.

In general, the arguments presented in Mein Kampf were negative in nature and were aimed at all dissatisfied elements in Germany. Hitler's views were strongly nationalistic, openly socialist and anti-democratic. In addition, he preached ardent anti-Semitism and attacked parliamentarism, Catholicism and Marxism.

In 1935, the National-Zeitung newspaper published in Basel published a series of ten articles in which the author Tete Harens Tetens wrote in detail about Hitler's plans for world conquest, which he deduced from the book Mein Kampf" ("My Struggle"). However, Tetens found it surprising that the German population did not consider Hitler's actions to be the embodiment of his grand plan, which he clearly formulated in his book. Tetens discovered a “red thread” that ran through all of Hitler’s foreign policy actions. But in doing so, he fell into a very small minority - a minority of people who not only read Mein Kampf, but also took this book seriously and realized its poignancy.

It still cannot be said that it is something self-evident to expect from Hitler’s 800-page “creation” with descriptions of orgies of hatred and other “pearls” that it will be an easy but educational read. But anyone who agrees to read this book, who is ready to share Hitler’s thoughts at least for a while instead of immediately rejecting them, gets the opportunity to look at Hitler from a completely different perspective. The reader will see that this is said by a man who is firmly convinced that he is fulfilling a historical mission. He will understand that Hitler’s ideas (even if erroneous) add up to a whole worldview.

No fundamental concessions!

And he will also understand that all of Hitler's - in fact, extremely systematized - actions ultimately served only to bring his worldview to life. There is a great connection in Mein Kampf: the connection between the worldview itself, the connection between domestic and foreign policy, the connection between the worldview and the program. Anyone who has seriously studied and understood this book will no longer share the popular belief that Hitler was an unprincipled opportunist who was merely reacting to a specific situation without a clear plan of action. Hitler clearly articulated the belief that a man who strives to achieve any great goal must be flexible when it comes to matters of minor importance.

In matters of principle, concessions were out of the question for him! It was always necessary to clearly distinguish between goals and means to achieve these goals. Hitler always agreed to concessions and adjusted to circumstances when it seemed appropriate to him - in order to be able to move towards his main goal. He did not consider open recognition of the pursuit of this main goal to be opportunism, because otherwise he might have scared away small spirits to whom his goal might seem too great. However, what Hitler expressed in his book is funny, and in a double sense: the author wrote about what he wanted to remain silent about, but potential readers did not perceive it, although they should have understood it.

Context

End World War II

Bloomberg 04/19/2015

Hitler with notes

Financial Times 12/07/2015

Netanyahu: Hitler did not want to exterminate Jews

Haaretz 10/22/2015
What was Hitler's real goal? What was this great idea that he tried with all his might to realize? To understand what was the main driving force behind Hitler's actions, it is necessary to mention his diagnosis of modernity. In the mid-1920s, Hitler saw himself at the center of a world in decline. The Habsburg Empire fell apart and became mired in national strife. The culture, about which he, a German Austrian, said that it had the right to play a decisive role in the world, was ground into powder between two “millstones”: it was infringed on nationally - first of all, by the Slavic peoples, and socially, it was subjected to a most serious test of the strength of the new capitalist system.

Jewish conspiracy

And here, as Hitler believed, these two issues intersected: Marxist social democracy sets the socially declassed sections of society against their own fellow citizens, which further weakens the nation. Hitler concluded from this that the goal of the policy of National Socialism should be the systematization of social policy in order to once again unite the masses into a single nation.

Survive the fight

However, why for Hitler (see the title of the book) is struggle an integral part of human life? Struggle is a principle of nature, of which man is a part; it is in struggle that nature wins its right to the existence and development of the entire system. It is in struggle that order emerges—a prerequisite for survival. But struggle also influences progress because it makes those who struggle stronger and sorts out those who are unable to struggle.

A utopia like Marxism, which proclaims the end of all struggle and the onset of a peaceful and carefree life, according to Hitler, means the decline and decline of humanity. In fact, Hitler castigated everything that he considered Jewish - the entire process of modernization: democracy and socialism as phenomena of “equalization” and devaluation of the individual; capitalist economy, which turns everything into a subject of dirty machinations and is in no way tied to nationality; a hedonistic humility towards the world that no longer allows for high ideals and the capacity for self-sacrifice. Hitler opposed all this, presenting a worldview that put inequality in place of equality, idealism in place of materialism, and eternal struggle in place of eternal peace. He considered National Socialism as the main element of opposition to Marxism, in the eradication of which he saw his historical mission.

Domestic and foreign policy had to serve this purpose. Hitler's internal political plan of action assumed the gradual homogenization of the German people with the goal of their subsequent unity in the struggle and determination to take the final battle. This also included ideological education and training, political and social familiarization with the corresponding ideology, as well as racial “cleansing” of society.

The foreign policy plan of action provided for new (after the First World War) armament of Germany, the creation of various interstate associations and victory over the “eternal enemy” France, as well as the conquest of “living space” in the east - in Russia. If we compare the systematic nature of this plan of action with the systematic nature of its practical implementation, it is easy to see that they are strikingly identical.

Trouble starts with thinking

But why was the mass murder of Jews necessary? Why did Hitler fight the Jews differently than other peoples? Mein Kampf does not contain a direct answer to this question, but it can be speculated. Hitler believed that the thinking of the Jews was typical of the thinking of the ideologies he hated. They, in his opinion, despised the idea of ​​struggle, demoralized the fighters, because they dominated, but at the same time did not want to fight. First of all, Hitler sought to eradicate their thinking, considering it harmful to humanity. However, how can one eradicate a certain way of thinking throughout the world? His belief that this could be achieved by killing people who were supposed to be carriers of this thinking was definitely the most terrible option for dealing with thoughts.

Hitler managed to translate his thoughts into reality. Thus, we can safely say that every misfortune begins with thinking. However, it cannot be said that thinking can be destroyed by destroying people.

Barbara Zenpfennig teaches political theory and history of ideas at the University of Passau.

Exactly 90 years ago, on July 18, 1925, the first publication of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf took place. We offer some interesting facts about the “Nazi Bible”.

1) Hitler wanted to call his book “Four and a half years of struggle against lies, stupidity and cowardice,” but Max Amann, the practical director of the Nazi publishing house that was to publish it, objected to such a ponderous and unattractive title and cut it. The book was called "My Struggle" ("Mein Kampf").

2) With the exception of the Bible, no book sold in such quantities during the Nazi era, when few families felt safe not displaying a book in a place of honor in their home. It was considered almost obligatory - and, of course, reasonable - to give "Mein Kampf" to the bride and groom for their wedding, and to a schoolchild after graduating from any school. By 1940, a year after the outbreak of World War II, it was sold in Germany
6 million copies of this book.

3) According to one source, Hitler refused to pay him any remuneration for book sales in full. According to other sources, he made a fortune from the book.

4) In the USSR, a translation of Grigory Zinoviev’s book was published in 1933 in a limited edition for study by party workers.

5) About Russia, Hitler wrote the following: “Russia lived at the expense of the German core in its upper strata of the population. Now this core has been destroyed completely and completely. The place of the Germans has been taken by the Jews. But just as the Russians cannot throw off the yoke of the Jews on their own, so too Jews alone are not able to keep this huge state under their control for long."

6) Hitler wrote that the policy of conquering new lands by Germany was possible only with an alliance with England, Italy and Japan.

7) In some countries the sale of this book is prohibited (for example, in Germany and Russia), but in some countries Mein Kampf can be sold legally.

8) Who gets royalties from the sale of Mein Kampf? No - not at all to Hitler's relatives. The copyright for Mein Kampf belongs to Bavaria, namely its Ministry of Finance, which prohibits the sale of the book in Germany and is trying to do the same in other countries. Bavaria's rights to the book expire on January 1, 2016, 70 years after the author's death. The book will then become "public domain".

9) A few years ago, the British were shocked to find a Mein Kampf book on the “Best Gifts for Christmas” shelf in one of the country’s largest chain bookstores. Moreover, the book ended up there not by accident. The owners of the network were sued.

10) It is not at all necessary that every German who bought Mein Kampf read it. One could hear from many convinced Nazis that it was difficult for them to read this book, and not too few Germans admitted that they could not finish the bombastic opus of 782 pages. It can, in all likelihood, be argued that if more Germans who were not members of the Nazi Party had read this book before 1933, and if statesmen in different countries had carefully studied it before it was too late, then both Germany and the whole world would could have been saved from disaster.

Illustration copyright Getty

Adolf Hitler's book Mein Kampf (My Struggle) ceases to be subject to copyright in Germany on December 31, 2015. What happens after the authorities lose the ability to control the publication and distribution of this text? The correspondent tells how the authors of a new program on BBC radio analyzed the possible consequences.

“They wanted to replace the Bible,” rare books expert Stefan Kellner says in a whisper in the silence of the state library of the state of Bavaria. He tells how the Nazis turned a rambling and unreadable scribble - part memoir, part propaganda slogan - into the cornerstone of the ideology of the Third Reich.

As soon as Bavaria ceases to be the copyright holder of Mein Kampf, theoretically anyone will be able to publish their own book. The authors of the BBC Radio 4 program tried to answer the question of what the authorities in Bavaria and Germany can do to minimize the damage to society from the distribution of the most odious book in the world.

The producer of the program "Print or Burn?", which aired on January 14, says that "Mein Kampf" is still a dangerous text. “The whole story of Hitler is a story of underestimation, and people also underestimated his book,” says John Murphy, whose grandfather produced the first complete translation of the book into English in 1936.

"There is good reason to take it seriously because it leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Although Hitler wrote it in the 1920s, he accomplished much of what he said in it. If only people had paid attention to it in time, they would probably be able to recognize the threat lurking in her,” Murphy thinks.

Vaccination against the bacillus of Nazism will be more effective if it is done by directly confronting the younger generation with the words of Hitler himself Peter Ross Range, New York Times

(John Murphy told the almost detective story of his grandfather James Murphy's translation of the book into. My grandfather worked as a journalist in Germany since the late 1920s. Not being a supporter of Nazism, he considered it necessary to acquaint the English-speaking public with Hitler's ideology. James Murphy was no stranger to mercantile considerations. At one time, the translation project enjoyed the support of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, who later lost interest in it. The translation remained in Germany when James left for England. The Reich authorities did not allow him to return. His wife Mary went to Germany and managed to obtain a copy of the book, which was kept by one of her husband’s secretaries. Mein Kampf was printed in English in Britain until 1942, when the press was bombed by the Germans in an air raid.James Murphy's translation was edited by Greta Lohrke, who during the war worked with her husband Adam, later executed by the Nazis, in the underground organization Red Chapel. James Murphy competed in absentia with the Americans, who were preparing their own version of the translation of Hitler's book into English. It was the American translation that became canonical. – Ed.)

Wedding gift

Hitler began writing (biographers claim that he dictated it to his Nazi accomplices Emil Maurice and Rudolf Hess - ed.) in the Landsberg prison after the failure of the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. In it he outlined his racist and anti-Semitic views. Following Hitler's rise to power ten years later, his book became Nazi "holy scripture." Its total circulation in Germany was 12 million copies. The authorities gave it to newlyweds as a wedding gift, and luxurious editions with gold edges were kept in places of honor in the homes of Nazi bosses.

At the end of World War II, when American troops entered Munich, the Franz Eher-Verlag Publishing House, which owned the rights to Hitler's book, was in their hands. The rights to "Mein Kampf" and other heritage of the Fuhrer went to the Bavarian authorities. They ensured that the book was reprinted in Germany only under special circumstances. As the copyright expiration date approaches in December 2015, the debate over how to limit the ability of a book to be freely published to anyone at will is becoming increasingly fierce.

“The Bavarians used copyright to control reprints of Mein Kampf, but that control is coming to an end. So what happens then?” asks John Murphy. “The book is still dangerous. There are problems with neo-Nazis. And then there is the problem is that it is misinterpreted if not taken out of context.”

Self-teacher?

Some have expressed doubts that anyone would be willing to print it. As Sally McGrane, a journalist based in Berlin, wrote in her summer 2014 New Yorker article, “Defusing Mein Kampf,” “It is unlikely that most Germans would open the book. It is full of pompous speeches, the meaning of which is difficult to grasp, historical trifles, and muddy ideological intricacies. Neo-Nazis and serious historians alike shun it."

And at the same time, the book gained popularity in India among Hindu politicians with nationalistic inclinations. "It is considered a very significant self-help book," Atrayi Sen, who lectures on modern religious movements and conflicts at the University of Manchester in England, told the BBC. "If you take away the anti-Semitism from it, it becomes a book about the little man." , who, while in prison, dreamed of conquering the world, and then began to realize this dream."

Illustration copyright Getty Image caption Hitler's book is not strictly prohibited everywhere: in this photo it is being sold freely on one of the Cairo streets

What worries most those who oppose the book's republication is the prospect of it being taken out of its historical, political and ideological context. Ludwig Unger, a spokesman for the Bavarian Ministry of Education and Culture, said in the program “Print or Burn?”: “The result of the publication of this book was the murder of millions of people, millions were subjected to violence, war swept across vast territories. This must be remembered, and this is possible if "if certain passages are provided with appropriate critical comments from historians."

Demythologize the book

When the copyright expires, the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich plans to publish a new edition of Mein Kampf, in which the original text will be accompanied by sequential commentaries pointing out omissions and distortions of the truth. Some victims of Nazism oppose this approach. The Bavarian government withdrew its previously announced support for the project, having been criticized by Holocaust survivors.

(The institute’s website informs visitors about the progress of the public debate around Mein Kampf on a special page. The publication project has three main goals. Firstly, to demythologize the book, which is a historical document. Secondly, to carry out a scientific publication of the book with the involvement of experts in the field German studies, genetics, Judaic studies, Japanese studies, art history, economics and pedagogy. The third goal is, with the help of a scientific publication, to prevent any abuses, both ideological and propaganda, and commercial. - Ed.)

Silencing the book and its contents is not the best tactic, says New York Times columnist Peter Ross Range. “Inoculation against the bacillus of Nazism will be more effective if it is carried out by directly confronting the younger generation with the words of Hitler himself. [This is better] than continuing to vilify his treatise, shrouded in a veil of taboo,” he wrote in the summer of 2014 in a column entitled “Must Do Germans read Mein Kampf?

John Murphy admits that a global ban on the book is impossible. "It's more about the view of the Bavarian authorities than about the ability to control the process. They have to take a stand, even if in the modern world they cannot prevent people from accessing [the book]."

Host of the program "Print or Burn?" Chris Bowlby argues that symbolic gestures still have meaning. After the expiration of copyright, Bavarian state authorities intend to prosecute those who try to incite racial hatred. "From our point of view, Hitler's ideology falls under the definition of incitement to hatred," says Ludwig Unger. "This is a dangerous book in the wrong hands."

“They wanted to replace the Bible,” this muffled whisper sounds in one of the halls of the Bavarian State Library. Rare books expert Stefan Kellner describes how the Nazis turned the rambling, largely unreadable manuscript - part memoir, part propaganda - into a central part of the ideology of the Third Reich.

Why is the book dangerous?

According to the producer of the program Publish or Burn, which first appeared on screen in January 2015, this text remains quite dangerous. Hitler's story is proof that he was underestimated in his time. Now people underestimate his book.

There is good reason to take this book seriously because it is open to misinterpretation. Despite the fact that Hitler wrote it in the 20s of the 20th century, he fulfilled much of what it says. If more attention had been paid to him at that time, it is quite possible that they would have been able to consider the threat.

Hitler wrote Mein Kampf while in prison, where he was sent for treason after the failed Beer Hall Putsch. The book outlines his racist and anti-Semitic views. When he came to power 10 years later, the book became one of the key Nazi texts. It was even given to newlyweds by the state, and gilded editions were kept in the homes of senior officials.

Publication rights

At the end of World War II, when the US Army took over the Eher Verlag publishing house, the rights to publish the book were transferred to the Bavarian authorities. They ensured that the book could only be reprinted in Germany and under special circumstances. However, the expiration of copyright at the end of December last year has sparked fierce debate over whether publishing can be kept free for all.

The Bavarians used copyright to control the reprinting of Mein Kampf. But what happens next? This book is still dangerous. The problem with neo-Nazis has not gone away, and there is a danger that the book will be misrepresented if used in context.

The question arises whether anyone will want to publish it. Hitler's work is full of stilted sentences, historical minutiae, and confusing ideological threads that neo-Nazis and serious historians alike tend to avoid.

However, the book became very popular in India among politicians who have Hindu nationalist leanings. It is considered a very important book for self-development. If we miss the point of anti-Semitism, then it is about a little man who, while in prison, dreamed of conquering the world.

Will comments help?

The result of the first publication of this book was that millions of people were killed, millions were abused, and entire countries were engulfed in war. It is important to keep this in mind if you are reading brief passages with relevant critical historical commentary.

Since the copyright has expired, the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich is about to release a new edition, which will contain the original text and current comments pointing out omissions and distortions of the truth. Orders for 15 thousand copies have already been received, although the circulation was supposed to be only 4 thousand copies. A new publication exposes Hitler's false claims. Some Nazi victims oppose this approach, so the Bavarian government withdrew its support for the project after criticism from Holocaust survivors.

Is a publication ban necessary?

However, banning a book may not be the best tactic. The way to inoculate young people against the Nazi bacillus is to use open confrontation with Hitler's words, rather than trying to make the book illegal. Moreover, it is not only a historical source, but also a symbol that is important to dismantle.

In any case, a global ban on the book is impossible. Therefore, it is important to develop a position rather than try to control its spread. After all, in the modern world, nothing will prevent people from gaining access to it.

The state plans to prosecute and use the law against incitement to racial hatred. Hitler's ideology falls under the definition of incitement. This is definitely a dangerous book in the wrong hands.