Italian Scholars Release Country’s First Critical Edition Of ‘Mein Kampf’

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By Daniel J. Solomon June 1, 2017

With the European far-right on the march, Italian scholars have released their country’s first annotated version of Adolf Hitler’s infamous manifesto, “Mein Kampf.”

“We decided to translate ‘Mein Kampf’ since we found the book to be the perfect example of how dangerous modern politics can be. Hitler can be considered the father of European populism,” Vincenzo Pinto, one of the historians behind the effort, told the Times of Israel. “Today we are living in a post-factual world and it seems a sort of posthumous victory for Hitler,” he added.

With the Italian title of “La Mia Battaglia,” the new edition of “Mein Kampf” includes copious introductory notes to each of Hitler’s chapters and pictures inserted throughout the text. Pinto co-edited the volume with his late wife Alessandra Cambatzu.

The book follows on the release of Germany’s first critical edition of “Mein Kampf” – which became a bestseller after being effectively banned from printing since the end of World War II.

_Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon_I

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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