Via the BBC: Mein Kampf: Bavaria plans first German publication since WWII
The German state of Bavaria is preparing to publish Hitler’s manifesto, Mein Kampf, in 2015, before the book’s copyright expires.
The book is not banned by law in Germany, but Bavaria has used ownership of the copyright to prevent publication of German editions since 1945.
Copyright restrictions stop at the end of 2015, 70 years after Hitler’s death.
The Bavarian government says it is preparing an edition for students which will include a critical commentary.
[…]
It has not appeared in German since the end of World War II but until 1945 around 10 million copies were sold. The book is available in translation and on the internet.
When I saw the headline the last thing that I thought was going on was that this was in response to an expiring copyright! I was thinking either neo-Nazis or, maybe, just that German society had moved beyond worrying about this aspect of their past.
In parting:
The BBC’s Stephen Evans in Berlin says that many readers, not least the Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, have found the book boring.
I have read excerpts. There isn’t much with which I am likely to agree with Mussolini, but on this point, I concur.
