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Hitler's Mein Kampf becomes best-seller in Germany

The first annotated version of Adolf Hitler's manifesto 'Mein Kampf' has topped book sales charts in Germany.

a copy of 'Hitler, Mein Kampf - eine kritische Edition'
An annotated version of Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' has topped book sales charts in Germany. (AAP)

An annotated edition of "Mein Kampf," Adolf Hitler's notorious manifesto, has become a non-fiction best-seller in Germany.

Some 85,000 copies of the book have been sold since it was first published a year ago.

The publisher reportedly spent years adding comments to Hitler's original text in an effort to highlight his propaganda and mistakes.

The bulky two-volume edition, titled "Hitler, Mein Kampf: A Critical Edition," was the first version to be published in Germany since the end of World War II.

Before the copyright on "Mein Kampf held by Bavaria's state finance ministry expired at the end of 2015, the ministry had used it to prevent the publication of new editions in the country.

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Despite its incendiary and anti-Semitic content, the book wasn't actually banned in Germany and could be found online, in second-hand bookshops and in libraries.

The Institute for Contemporary History said fears that the new publication might help make Hitler's ideology socially acceptable had proven unfounded.

"On the contrary, the discussion about Hitler's world view and how to deal with his propaganda offered the opportunity to look at the disastrous roots and consequences at a time when authoritarian political ideas and right-wing slogans are again gaining followers," Andreas Wirsching, the institute's director, said.

German authorities have made clear they won't tolerate new versions without annotations.

A far-right publisher announced last year that it planned to produce an edition "without annoying commentary," prompting an investigation of suspected incitement.

Prosecutors say there's no indication that the book actually went on sale.


2 min read

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Source: AAP



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