Publishing Hitler's Book
July 18, 2007
In an interview with Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Horst Möller, director of the Institute of Contemporary History, said that historians should be given a chance to publish an edition of Hitler's 1924 book.
"All kinds of Nazi incendiary writings have been published in a scientific format, except for 'Mein Kampf,'" said Möller, a history professor at Munich University. "In my opinion, it's not justifiable to prohibit this for a single document out of fear that it might have a negative, symbolic effect."
Copyright issues
Bavaria's finance ministry, which holds the copyright to "Mein Kampf," has so far refused to permit publication of the book. While it has been published abroad after 1945, it is only available for scientific research within Germany.
In the interview, Möller said that he had recently discussed the issue with Bavarian Finance Minister Kurt Falthauser, who had declined to give permission. Möller also said that officials at Germany's foreign ministry, where Möller's publicly funded institute also has an office, had advised against publication, saying that it could have a negative effect for Germany abroad.
But the copyright is running out in 2015 and Möller said he expected many to try and make a quick buck with a sensationalist publication of the book. His institute, on the other hand, has the resources and expertise to produce an edition that won't be easily abused by neo-Nazis for propaganda purposes, Möller said.
A need for disillusionment
"The book is badly written, it's put together from all kinds of different sources and consists of many incendiary tirades," Möller said, adding that the book still deserved scientific attention as a key document of the national-socialist regime. "As long as a carefully annotated edition of 'Mein Kampf' doesn't exist, the simple-minded speculations about the book's contents won't end."
Mein Kampf sets out Hitler's claim that "Aryans" were the founders of human culture and Jews its spoilers as well as his denunciation of "inferior races" and call to seize lebensraum or territory in eastern Europe.
Prohibiting publication beyond 2015
Bavarian finance ministry officials meanwhile said that publication of a sensationalist edition of "Mein Kampf" would still be illegal after the copyright expires as German law prohibits the distribution of national-socialist propaganda.
They also said that the Bavarian government feels a responsibility towards protecting Holocaust victims against a new publication of the book -- including an annotated version as suggested by Möller.
"Considering that Bavaria's strict stance...is welcomed and supported both domestically and abroad, permission to reprint 'Mein Kampf' still cannot be considered," reads a statement from the ministry.