"Mein Kampf" ban lifted, now the best-seller in Germany
Reprinting Hitler's autobiography "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle) was long prohibited in Germany — a country that considered the book too dangerous to be read.
Now, it's a German best-seller.
An annotated version currently ranks second in nonfiction on the German weekly Der Spiegel's bestseller list, which is considered an authority in German literature circles.
It's almost certainly not because of anything German bookstores are doing: In fact, most had virtually hidden the book from customers, according to a BBC report in January. Some had refrained from advertising it, while others ordered only a single copy. But online sales picked up, and in-store sales soon followed.
The German copyright for "Mein Kampf" was held by the state of Bavaria, which upheld a ban on reprinting the book for 70 years. Bookstores as well as federal regulators and historians were worried that Hitler's autobiography could be used for right-wing propaganda.
“This book is too dangerous for the general public,” library historian Florian Sepp told The Washington Post last year.
German authorities kept official copies of the book like a state secret. Access was granted only to professionals who formally requested it. Critics had claimed that banning the book from being reprinted added to the mystery surrounding it and did more harm than good.
The secrecy ended when the copyright expired in December.
Source & more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/23/hitlers-mein-kampf-is-now-a-best-seller-in-germany/
Reprinting Hitler's autobiography "Mein Kampf" (My Struggle) was long prohibited in Germany — a country that considered the book too dangerous to be read.
Now, it's a German best-seller.
An annotated version currently ranks second in nonfiction on the German weekly Der Spiegel's bestseller list, which is considered an authority in German literature circles.
It's almost certainly not because of anything German bookstores are doing: In fact, most had virtually hidden the book from customers, according to a BBC report in January. Some had refrained from advertising it, while others ordered only a single copy. But online sales picked up, and in-store sales soon followed.
The German copyright for "Mein Kampf" was held by the state of Bavaria, which upheld a ban on reprinting the book for 70 years. Bookstores as well as federal regulators and historians were worried that Hitler's autobiography could be used for right-wing propaganda.
“This book is too dangerous for the general public,” library historian Florian Sepp told The Washington Post last year.
German authorities kept official copies of the book like a state secret. Access was granted only to professionals who formally requested it. Critics had claimed that banning the book from being reprinted added to the mystery surrounding it and did more harm than good.
The secrecy ended when the copyright expired in December.
Source & more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/02/23/hitlers-mein-kampf-is-now-a-best-seller-in-germany/
