Thread: Educators, retailers mull tackling 'Mein Kampf' once copyright expires

Munich (dpa) - The German Teachers' Association said Friday that it would incorporate a new edition of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf into its lesson plan after copyright on the work expires, while booksellers grappled with their approach to selling reprints.

The copyright for Hitler's infamous work - part autobiography, part political manifesto, part anti-Semitic diatribe - expires at the end of 2015, paving the way for the release of a 2,000-page, annotated edition authored by Munich's Institute for Contemporary History (IfZ).

"Professional treatment of text excerpts in class can be an important contributor to immunizing youth against political extremism," Josef Kraus, head of the teachers' association, told Handelsblatt daily.

Kraus has called on Germany's Culture Ministry to lay down a framework for teaching the new edition of Mein Kampf, or My Struggle, to students aged 16 and upwards.

He argued that it would be foolish to ignore the work in schools and that prohibition could lead to greater demand among youngsters for the text online.

Meanwhile, booksellers in Germany have been soul-searching ahead of the book's January release.

Online marketplace Amazon told dpa it has decided to donate all proceeds from sales of the IfZ publication to charitable causes.

Thalia, a chain of more than 200 book shops in Germany, will not display the book on its shelves, but customers will be allowed to order it when explicitly requested, the retailer told dpa in a survey of booksellers.

"No separate presentation of the book is planned," a Thalia spokeswoman said.

Competitors Hugendubel said: "In principle, our customers can obtain everything from us that is not in our index." Chief executive Nina Hugendubel did not specify whether the retailer would display the new Mein Kampf edition in its shops.

dpa news - Educators, retailers mull tackling Mein Kampf once copyright expires

The copyright of Hitler's "Mein Kampf" expires Friday, with plans by several publishers for annotated reprints sparking fierce debate over how one of the world's most controversial books should be treated seven decades after the defeat of the Nazis.

The southern German state of Bavaria was handed the copyright of the book in 1945, when the Allies gave it the control of the main Nazi publishing house.

For 70 years, it refused to allow the anti-Semitic manifesto to be republished out of respect for victims of the Nazis and to prevent incitement of hatred.

But "Mein Kampf" -- which means "My Struggle" -- falls into the public domain on January 1, meaning that the state of Bavaria can no longer challenge reproductions or translations of the inflammatory work.

For several European countries that were under Nazi occupation, including Austria and the Netherlands, the expiration of copyright will have little impact as reprints and sales of Hitler's diatribe remain banned there.

But in Germany, historians have readied an annotated version to hit the bookstores on January 8, while in neighbouring France, publisher Fayard will go ahead with a new French version, sparking chagrin in some quarters.

Some scholars argue in favour of the reprints, saying they will serve to demystify the notorious 800-page document, particularly given that the tract is freely available in many parts of the world, and just a few clicks away on the Internet.

In India and Brazil, the book is easily found, while in Japan even a manga version of the tract is available. In Turkey, more than 30,000 copies have been sold since 2004 and the book is not prohibited in the United States.

Nevertheless, opinion is split, particularly among Jewish groups, some of which want a ban maintained while others see reason in a scholarly version being made available for educational purposes.

- Deconstructing Hitler -

No country is as torn over the book as Germany, where all reprints have been halted since 1945 although the sale and possession of the book is not banned.

Partly autobiographical, "Mein Kampf" outlines Adolf 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.

The book set out two ideas that he put into practice as Germany's leader going into World War II: annexing neighbouring countries to gain "lebensraum", or "living space", for Germans; and his hatred of Jews, which led to the Holocaust.

Some 12.4 million copies were published in Germany until 1945, and copies can be found in academic libraries.

Germany's Jewish community leader Josef Schuster said "the despicable propaganda pamphlet 'Mein Kampf' should remain banned" although he did not oppose a scholarly version with explanations for educational and research purposes.

Such an annotated version is what historians at the Institute of Contemporary History of Munich (IFZ) have prepared.

The IFZ version, running to 2,000 pages in two volumes including the added commentary, has been in the works since 2009 and aims to "deconstruct and put into context Hitler's writing".

The book, to retail at 59 euros ($65) from January 8, will look at key historical questions, the institute said, including: "How were his theses conceived? What objectives did he have? And most important: which counterarguments do we have, given our knowledge today of the countless claims, lies and assertions of Hitler?"

Education Minister Johanna Wanka has argued that such a scholarly version should be introduced to all classrooms across Germany, saying it would serve to ensure that "Hitler's comments do not remain unchallenged".

"Pupils will have questions and it is only right that these can be addressed in classes," she said.

But Charlotte Knobloch, who is president of the Jewish community in Munich and Upper Bavaria, warned that even this version carries certain risks as it "contains the original text" and that it was also "in the interest of right wing militants and Islamists to spread these ideas."

- 'Bedside reading?' -

To these fears, Andreas Wirshing, the IFZ's director, argued that each passage of the original text is accompanied by a commentary, forcing readers "to notice the commentaries and take them into account".

"Any Hitler sympathisers who might be interested in the book are better off looking elsewhere," he said in an interview with Deutsche Welle.

In neighbouring France, the president of the council of Jewish institutions, Roger Cukierman, called the planned French reprints "a disaster".

"Such horror can already be found on the Internet. What would happen if 'Mein Kampf' also becomes bedside reading?" he said.

In Israel, where reprints have been banned, the expiration of copyright would not lift a deep-seated taboo against the anti-Semitic screed.

Murray Greenfield, founder of Gefen Publishing, which focuses on books about Judaism and its history, said he wouldn't publish it "even if they paid me".

Anguish as reprints of 'Mein Kampf' planned for new year

These ideas may be too moderate here,not sure LOS is ready for a racist elected low Gauleiter,dears eke wooden sir sign

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Munich (Germany) (AFP) - New copies of Hitler's "Mein Kampf" will hit bookstores in Germany Friday for the first time since World War II, unsettling Jewish community leaders as the copyright of the anti-Semitic manifesto expires.

The southern German state of Bavaria was handed the copyright of 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.

Copies of an annotated version running to 2,000 pages prepared by German researchers were to go on sale Friday, with the authors arguing that their version would serve to demystify the notorious rant, which in any case can be found just a few clicks away on the Internet.

The version by the Institute of Contemporary History of Munich (IFZ) has been in the works since 2009 and aims to "deconstruct and put into context Hitler's writing".

Retailing at 59 euros ($65), the book looks at key historical questions, the institute said, including: "How were his theses conceived? What objectives did he have? And most important: which counterarguments do we have, given our knowledge today of the countless claims, lies and assertions of Hitler?"

Education Minister Johanna Wanka has argued that such a version should be introduced to all classrooms across Germany, saying it would serve to ensure that "Hitler's comments do not remain unchallenged".

"Pupils will have questions and it is only right that these can be addressed in classes," she said.

But the Jewish community questioned whether it was necessary to propagate the incendiary text again.

- 'Poison cabinet of history' -

Partly autobiographical, "Mein Kampf" outlines Adolf 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.

The book set out two ideas that he put into practice as Germany's leader going into World War II: annexing neighbouring countries to gain "Lebensraum", or "living space", for Germans; and his hatred of Jews, which led to the Holocaust.

Some 12.4 million copies were published in Germany until 1945, some of which can be found in academic libraries.

Charlotte Knobloch, leader of the Jewish community in Munich, said she could not imagine seeing "Mein Kampf" in shop windows.

Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, told AFP that not only would "Holocaust survivors be offended by the sale of the anti-Semitic work in bookstores again", but that he also failed to see a need for a critical edition.

"Unlike other works that truly deserve to be republished as annotated editions, 'Mein Kampf' does not," he said, arguing that academics and historians already have easy access to the text.

And even though it should be studied and German students taught about the devastating impact it had, Lauder said "the idea that to do so requires an annotated edition with thousands of pages of text is nonsense."

"Now, it would be best to leave 'Mein Kampf' where it belongs: the poison cabinet of history."

Angst as first 'Mein Kampf' reprints hit German bookstores

Hitler’s Personal Copy of Mein Kampf Sells for Over $20,000

Adolf Hitler’s personal copy of Mein Kampf sold for $20,655 at an auction Friday.

The book was sold at Alexander Historical Auctions in Chesapeake City in an auction of more than a thousand other World War II items, WMAR, an ABC affiliate, reports. There were more than 10 active bidders for the item, according to the network.

The book, which was Hitler’s autobiography and blueprint for Nazi Germany, was found by American soldiers in 1945, according to WMAR. Eleven of them signed the book at the time to document its authenticity: “From Adolph Hitler’s apartment in Munich on May 2, 1945.” Since then it has been kept by a soldier’s daughter.

Bill Panagopulos, owner and auctioneer of Alexander Historical Auctions, LLC, told ABC he understands the controversy around the item, but that’s not a reason to get rid of it. “Why is it important to preserve history?” he said. “The good and the bad, so that we don’t repeat the sins of the past. It’s important that we have them and keep them in front of us.”

Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' Sells For More Than $20,000