Berlin (AFP) – The first reprint of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” in Germany since World War II has proved a surprise bestseller, heading for its sixth print run, its publisher said Tuesday. The Institute of Contemporary History of Munich (IfZ) said around 85,000 copies of the new annotated version of the Nazi leader’s anti-Semitic manifesto had flown off the shelves since its release last January.
Source: Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ becomes German bestseller
It seems not so good. And we are talking about a castrated “ordnung muss sein” Germany here, two generations of indoctrinated (instead of educated) people on the evils of Hitler and National Socialism.
To be fair, not everyone who reads ‘Mein Kampf’ is a National Socialist or sympathetic to Nazism. I’m a bisexual Jew, for crissakes, and I’ve read it a dozen times and even own my own copy…
It’s an important work of historical interest. Same as ‘Wealth of Nations,’ ‘The Communist Manifesto,’ ‘Common Sense,’ or the ‘Sayings of Chairman Mao.’
Learning how the man thought is one of the best ways to prevent someone like him from coming to power again. Evil men should be studied, just as much as good men.
Fully agreed, and I’d add “The Gulag Archipelago” as another important work folks should read.
As for me, I read “Mein Kampf” while sitting USAF nuclear alert back in the early ’90s. Being the pre-internet days, folks on alert did a bunch of reading, TV watching, and hobbies (such as building RC aircraft and wooden canoes) to while away the time. As someone who went to school for engineering, I felt I’d missed out on a good bit of education in certain areas and took it upon myself to expand my reading list. I’m glad I did.
What struck me the most about “Mein Kampf” was its timeless characterization of politicians. If I hadn’t known which work I was reading, it could have been a contemporary piece on US politicians.
Well that’s what happens when you tell people they can’t have something. I own and have read a copy of this book, not because I believe in Hitler’s twisted ideals, but as a reminder of what evil men are capable of.
As vile as this book is, I can think of one much more pernicious…the koran.
It is a death cult “how to” manual and cheer leading book for anti-Semitism, terrorism, world domination, and genocide.
It’s on Satan’s Top Ten List of books.
ISTR Mein Kampf is a huge hit in the Arab world.
I have to call bullshit. You don’t have to read the foul thing to know that it is foul. Don’t have it, or Marx, or Mao, or Koran. I don’t need them to know that they are evil.
Do you really need the finer points of psychotic raving to recognize a psychopath? Of course not. You are already quite aware of the works of these evil bastards. Blah!
If you don’t read them yourself, you’re at the mercy of the opinions of those who have.
I guess if you feel that you can trust them on this, go ahead.
Me, I’d rather read them myself and confirm they’re evil.
Sorry, but you must have overlooked my last line. “Know them by their works.” It’s not some analyst’s opinion, but well- documented history. These men are all evil mass murdering psychopaths. Why would you want to read anything written by a murdering, soulless psychopath? I certainly don’t.
(On another note, I like your blog, by the way.)
Because dismissing Hitler, Mao, Marx, et. al. as merely “psychopaths” is too simplistic. These are works that influenced millions of people and shaped world events. They are worthy of study.
The reason to read those works is simple:
If you want to be able to spot the ravings of Maoists, Marxists, National Socialists, and the followers of other evil philosophies, then you need to actually be familiar with those philosophies. You need to know their practitioners not merely by their names and uniforms, but by their ideas. You can’t do that if you haven’t fully read the books that lay out their political platforms.
In war, it is important to know your enemy better than he knows himself. You need to know not only what his goals are, but how he thinks, and how he is likely to try to achieve his goals. You need to be able to get inside their heads, and outthink them.