Mein Kampf Flying Off the Shelves in Germany
Image by Getty Images
Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” — presented in a new critical edition clocking in at almost 2,000 pages — is proving to be a runaway success at the bookstore in Germany, selling more than 85,000 copies and going into its sixth print run a year after its publication.
The new edition, released by the Munich-based Institute for Contemporary History, came out after the Bavarian government’s copyright on the book recently lapsed. Germany had used that to prevent new editions of “Mein Kampf,” which it worried could spur neo-Nazis.
The Institute for Contemporary History brought together an impressive group of scholars to annotate the volume, adding in copious notes about Hitler’s mistakes and lies, in addition to other relevant historical detail.
Andreas Wirching, the director of the institute, told the Associated Press that the new edition had not encouraged modern-day haters, but rather illuminated Nazi ideas in an age of an ascendant far-right.
“On the contrary, the discussion about Hitler’s world view and how to deal with his propaganda offered the opportunity to look at the disastrous roots and consequences at a time when authoritarian political ideas and right-wing slogans are again gaining followers,” he said.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
