NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Mein Kampf

Mein Kampf (English: My Struggle/My Battle) is a book by the Austrian-born leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's National Socialist political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and volume 2 in 1926.^[1] This work is copyrighted. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Cover of the first English edition of 1793 of Benjamin Franklins autobiography. ... Niccolò Machiavelli, ca 1500, became the key figure in realistic political theory, crucial to political science Political Science is the systematic study of the allocation and transfer of power in decision making. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Random House is a publishing division of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann based in New York City. ... is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... See also: 1918 in literature, other events of 1919, 1920 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Hardcover books A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth, heavy paper, or sometimes leather). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Cover of the first English edition of 1793 of Benjamin Franklins autobiography. ... Nazism in history Nazi ideology Nazism and race Outside Germany Related subjects Lists Politics Portal Nazism or National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), refers primarily to the ideology and practices of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party, German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) under Adolf Hitler. ... An ideology is a collection of ideas. ... See also: 1924 in literature, other events of 1925, 1926 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 1925 in literature, other events of 1926, 1927 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

Popularity and history during Hitler's lifetime

Following the failed Beer Hall Putsch, Adolf Hitler went into hiding. However, he was arrested on November 11, 1923, was remanded and, after a 24-day trial, found guilty of high treason and sentenced to five years imprisonment. Presiding Judge Neithhardt was convinced that Hitler and the other members of the Kampfbund had acted honorably, and Hitler was therefore eligible for parole in nine months and also to be given the privilege of Festungshaft (imprisonment without penal labor). This permitted Hitler a steady flow of visitors and a desk in his cell. The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed coup dÃ©tat that occurred between the evening of Thursday, November 8 and the early afternoon of Friday, November 9, 1923, when the Nazi partys leader Adolf Hitler, the popular World War I General Erich Ludendorff, and other leaders of the Kampfbund... is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... {{main|Treason}} High treason, broadly defined, is an action which is grossly disloyal to ones country or sovereign. ... The Kampfbund was a league of patriotic fighting societies and the German National Socialist party in Bavaria, Germany in the 1920s. ... It has been suggested that Medical parole be merged into this article or section. ...

Hitler was allocated Cell No. 9 of the Landsberg Prison fortress. A subsequent trial pertaining to the putsch saw Hitler's chauffeur Emil Maurice and close associate Rudolf Hess imprisoned for five years, though they too would be eligible for release in nine months. During this time in prison, Hitler underwent something of an epiphany with regards to his use of violence: from now on everything was to be ostensibly legal. Entrance of the Landsberg Prison Landsberg Prison is a penal facility located in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about 30 miles (45 km) west of Munich. ... Emil Maurice (January 19, 1897, Westermoor â€“ February 6, 1972,Munich ) was an early member of the Nazi Party. ... Not to be confused with Rudolf Hoess. ...

Having chosen this new move, Hitler felt that he needed to make sure that the public knew what he stood for, so began to dictate a book to Hess and Maurice, part autobiography but also a political treatise. While imprisoned, Hitler's first often overlooked contribution to the literary world was released, a small 24-page self-written booklet entitled "What Happened On November 8?" aimed at clearing up confusion and rumor amidst both the party ranks and presumably some members of the public.

A poster shows that Hitler originally wanted to call his forthcoming book "Viereinhalb Jahre [des Kampfes] gegen Lüge, Dummheit und Feigheit" (Four and a Half Years [of Fighting] Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice). Max Amman, Hitler's publisher, is said to have suggested^[2] the much shorter "Mein Kampf" (often translated as "My Struggle", or "My Campaign"; its meaning could also be conveyed as "My Fight").

Though Hitler had received many visitors earlier on, he soon devoted himself entirely to the writing (or rather the dictation) of the book. As Hitler continued, he realized that it would have to be a two-volume work, with the first volume scheduled for release in early 1925. The prison governor of Landsberg noted at the time that "he [Hitler] hopes the book will run into many editions, thus enabling him to fulfill his financial obligations and to defray the expenses incurred at the time of his trial".

Once released from prison on December 20, 1924, Hitler moved back to the picturesque mountainous climes of the Obersalzberg, to which he had been introduced by his mentor Dietrich Eckart, who had been at Landsberg with Hitler for a few weeks (imprisoned for eighteen months for his role in the putsch) before his health failed and he was released. By day, Hitler dictated his second volume of Mein Kampf to Eckart before sleeping, first at a room in the nearby Hotel Pension Moritz and later a rented cottage just a stone's throw away from Haus Wachenfeld, over which he would later construct his Berghof as chancellor of Germany. is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the rap album, see 1924 (album). ... Obersalzberg is a mountainside near Berchtesgaden in Bavaria, Germany. ... Dietrich Eckart Dietrich Eckart (March 23, 1868 - December 26, 1923) was one of the early key members of the National-Socialist German Workers Party and one of the participants in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. ... There is more than one thing called Berghof: The Berghof was Adolf Hitlers home, now demolished, in the mountains of Bavaria. ... The head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (German: Kanzler). ...

On July 15, 1925, Franz Eher Nachfolger, later to become the publishing house of the NSDAP, released Mein Kampf: Eine Abrechnung (A Retrospect) at a run of a mere 500 copies. Though by no means popular, people were said to have contacted Eher asking for a larger run, which resulted in the publication of a second edition of the first volume in mid-1926. The second volume, Die Nationalsozialistische Bewegung (The National Socialist Movement) was released in December 1926. is the 196th day of the year (197th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Franz Eher Nachfolger GmbH (usually referred to as the Eher-Verlag) was the central publishing house of the Nazi Party and one of the largest book and periodical firms during the Third Reich. ... The National Socialist German Workers Party, (German: , or NSDAP, commonly known as the Nazi Party), was a political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945. ...

While Hitler was in power (1933–1945), Mein Kampf came to be available in three common editions. The first, the Volksausgabe (People's Edition), featured the original cover on the dust jacket and was navy blue underneath with a gold swastika eagle embossed on the cover. The Hochzeitsausgabe (Wedding Edition), in a slipcase with the seal of the province embossed in gold onto a parchment-like cover was given free to marrying couples. In 1940, the Tornister-Ausgabe was released. This edition was a compact, but unabridged, version in a red cover and was released by the post office for parents and partners to send to loved ones at the front. These three editions contained both volumes one and two in the same book.

There was also a special edition published in 1939 in honor of Hitler's 50th birthday. This edition was known as the Jubiläumsausgabe (Anniversary Issue). It came in both dark blue and bright red boards with a gold sword on the cover. This work contained both volumes one and two. It was considered a deluxe version relative to the smaller and more common Volksausgabe.

The book could also be purchased as a two volume set during Hitler's time in power and was available in softcover and hardcover. The soft cover edition contained the original cover (as pictured at the top of this article). The hardcover edition had a leather spine with cloth covered boards. The cover and spine contained an image of three brown oak leaves.

For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ... â€œThe Great War â€ redirects here. ... The German Workers Party (German: Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, short DAP) was a briefly existing progenitor of the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers Party). ... For German colonial territories, see German Colonial Empire. ... The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: , or NSDAP, commonly, the Nazi Party), was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. ... 1932 KPD poster, End This System The Communist Party of Germany (German Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands â€“ KPD) was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period. ... The Stormtroopers were special military troops which were formed in the last year of World War I as the German army developed new methods of attacking enemy trenches, called infiltration tactics. Men trained in these methods were known as in German as Sturmmann (literally storm man or assault man but... For theological federalism, see Covenant Theology. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers...

Analysis

The book is heavily influenced by Gustave Le Bon's 1895 The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, which theorized propaganda as an adequate rational technique to control the seemingly irrational behaviour of crowds. (See also: Nazi Propaganda.) Particularly prominent is the violent anti-Semitism of Hitler and his associates, drawing, among other sources, on the fabricated Protocols of the Elders of Zion. For example, Hitler claimed that the international language Esperanto was part of a Jewish plot and makes arguments toward the old German nationalist ideas of "Drang nach Osten" and the necessity to gain Lebensraum ("living space") eastwards (especially in Russia). Gustave Le Bon (May 7, 1841 â€“ December 13, 1931) was a French social psychologist, sociologist, and amateur physicist. ... Year 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Propaganda (disambiguation). ... Nazism in history Nazi ideology Nazism and race Outside Germany Related subjects Lists Politics Portal Nazi propaganda is the term that describes the psychologically powerful propaganda within Nazi Germany, much of which was centered around Jews, consistently alleged to be the source of Germanys economic problems. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... 1992 Russian edition of the Protocols, adapting Eliphas Levis portrayal of Baphomet. ... This article is about the language. ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Nazism in history Nazi ideology Nazism and race Outside Germany Related subjects Lists Politics Portal (German for habitat or literally living space) was one of the major political ideas of Adolf Hitler, and an important component of Nazi ideology. ...

In Mein Kampf, Hitler uses the main thesis of "The Jewish peril", which speaks of an alleged Jewish conspiracy to gain world leadership. The narrative describes the process by which he became increasingly anti-Semitic and militaristic, especially during his years in Vienna, Austria. Yet the deeper origins of his anti-Semitic remain a mystery. He speaks of not having met a Jew until he arrived in Vienna, and that at first his attitude was liberal and tolerant. When he first encountered the anti-Semitic press, he says, he dismissed it as unworthy of serious consideration. A little later and quite suddenly, he accepted the same anti-Semitic views whole-heartedly, and they became crucial in his programme of national reconstruction. It was Zionism, which he calls a "great movement" in Mein Kampf, which he says settled his view (as theirs) that one cannot be both a German and a Jew. Militarism or militarist ideology is the doctrinal view of a society as being best served (or more efficient) when it is governed or guided by concepts embodied in the culture, doctrine, system, or people of the military. ... This article is about Zionism as a movement, not the History of Israel. ...

Mein Kampf has also been studied as a work on political theory. For example, Hitler announces his hatred of what he believed to be the world's twin evils: Communism and Judaism. The new territory that Germany needed to obtain would properly nurture the "historic destiny" of the German people; this goal explains why Hitler invaded Europe, both East and West, before he launched his attack against Russia. Laying Germany's chief ills on the parliament of the Weimar Republic, he announces that he wants to completely destroy that type of government. Niccolò Machiavelli, ca 1500, became the key figure in realistic political theory, crucial to political science Political Science is the systematic study of the allocation and transfer of power in decision making. ... This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Reichstag (German for Imperial Diet) was the parliament of the Holy Roman Empire, the North German Confederation, and of Germany until 1945. ... Anthem Das Lied der Deutschen Germany during the Weimar period, with the Free State of Prussia (in blue) as the largest state Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President - 1918-1925 Friedrich Ebert - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann(first) - 1933 Kurt von Schleicher (last) Legislature...

Mein Kampf has additionally been examined as a book on foreign policy. For example, Hitler predicts the stages of Germany's political emergence on the world scene: in the first stage, Germany would, through a program of massive re-armament, overthrow the shackles of the Treaty of Versailles and form alliances with the British Empire and Fascist Italy. The second stage would feature wars against France and her allies in Eastern Europe by the combined forces of Germany, Britain and Italy. The third and final stage would be a war to destroy what Hitler saw as the "Judeo-Bolshevik" regime in the Soviet Union that would give Germany the necessary Lebensraum. German historian Andreas Hillgruber labeled the plans contained in Mein Kampf as Hitler's "Stufenplan" ("stage-by-stage plan"). The term "Stufenplan" has been widely used by historians, though it must be noted that the term was Hillgruber's, not Hitler's. This article is about the Treaty of Versailles of June 28, 1919, which ended World War I. For other uses, see Treaty of Versailles (disambiguation) . Left to right, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando of Italy, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau of France... For a comprehensive list of the territories that formed the British Empire, see Evolution of the British Empire. ... Anthem Marcia Reale dOrdinanza (Royal March of Ordinance)Â¹ The Kingdom of Italy at the height of its power in 1940. ... Eastern Europe is a concept that lacks one precise definition. ... White Army propaganda poster depicting Leon Trotsky The term Jewish Bolshevism, was used by enemies of Bolsheviks alluding to the fact that some of the Bolshevik leaders were of Jewish ethnicity or ancestry, most notably Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev and Lenin who had a Jewish grandfather. ... Andreas Fritz Hillgruber (January 18, 1925-May 8, 1989) was a conservative West German historian. ...

Mein Kampf makes clear Hitler's racist worldview, in which humans are to be classified based on ancestry. Hitler asserts that German "Aryans" are at the top of the hierarchy while Jews and Gypsies are consigned to the bottom of the order. Hitler goes on to say that dominated peoples benefit by learning from the superior Aryans. Hitler further claimed that the Jews were conspiring to keep this "master race" from rightfully ruling the world by diluting its racial and cultural purity and by convincing the Aryans to believe in equality rather than superiority and inferiority. He described the struggle for world domination as an ongoing racial, cultural and political battle between Aryans and non-Aryans. Manifestations Slavery Racial profiling Lynching Hate speech Hate crime Genocide (examples) Ethnocide Ethnic cleansing Pogrom Race war Religious persecution Blood libel Paternalism Police brutality Movements Policies Discriminatory Race / Religion / Sex segregation Apartheid Redlining Internment Ethnocracy Anti-discriminatory Emancipation Civil rights Desegregation Integration Equal opportunity Counter-discriminatory Affirmative action Racial quota... A world view (or worldview) is a term calqued from the German word Weltanschauung ( ) Welt is the German word for world, and Anschauung is the German word for view or outlook. It is a concept fundamental to German philosophy and epistemology and refers to a wide world perception. ... The Aryan race is a concept in European culture that was influential in the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ... Languages Romani, languages of native region Religions Christianity, Islam Related ethnic groups South Asians (Desi) The Romani people (as a noun, singular Rom, plural Roma; sometimes Rrom, Rroma) or Romanies are an ethnic group living in many communities all over the world. ... Herrenvolk redirects here. ...

In 1928, Hitler went on to write a second book in which he expanded upon these ideas and suggested that around 1980, a final struggle would take place for world domination between the United States, the combined forces of "Greater Germany" and the British Empire (read more about this sequel below). Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Grossdeutschland (literally Greater Germany) is a term that has been used in two separate contexts over history. ...

English translation

Dugdale abridgment

The first English translation was an abridgment by Edgar Dugdale who started work on it in 1931, at the prompting of his wife Blanche. When he learned that the London publishing firm of Hurst & Blackett had secured the rights to publish an abridgment in the United Kingdom, he offered it gratis in April 1933. However, a local Nazi representative insisted that the translation be further abridged before publication, so it was held back from the public until October 13, 1933, although excerpts were allowed to run in The Times in late July. is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom (and the Kingdom of Great Britain before the United Kingdom existed) since 1788 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. ...

In America, Houghton Mifflin secured the rights to the Dugdale abridgment on July 29, 1933. The only differences between the American and British versions are that the title was translated My Struggle in the UK and My Battle in America; and that Dugdale is credited as translator in the U.S. edition, while the British version withheld his name. Both Dugdales were active in the Zionist movement; Blanche was the niece of Lord Balfour, and they wished to avoid publicity. Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... is the 210th day of the year (211th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about Zionism as a movement, not the History of Israel. ... The title of Earl of Balfour was created in 1922 in the Peerage of the United Kingdom for Arthur Balfour, the former Conservative prime minister. ...

Murphy translation

One of the first complete English translations of Mein Kampf was by James Murphy in 1939. The opening lines, It has turned out fortunate for me to-day that destiny appointed Braunau-on-the-Inn to be my birthplace, is characteristic of Hitler's sense of destiny that began to develop in the early 1920s. Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The two volumes of Mein Kampf are titled as follows:
Volume I : A Retrospect (contains 12 chapters)
Volume II: The Nationalist Socialist Movement (contains 15 chapters)

The last paragraph of the translation: The adherents of our Movements must always remember this, whenever they may have misgivings lest the greatness of the sacrifices demanded of them may not be justified by the possibilities of success.

Hurst & Blackett ceased publishing the Murphy translation in 1942 when the original plates were destroyed by German bombing.

Reynal and Hitchcock translation

Houghton and Mifflin licensed Reynal & Hitchcock the rights to publish a full unexpurgated translation in 1938. It was translated by a committee of men from the New School for Social Research and appeared on February 28, 1939. New School University is an institute of higher learning in New York City. ... is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Stackpole translation and controversy

The small Pennsylvania firm of Stackpole and Sons released its own unexpurgated translation by William Soskin on the same day as Houghton Mifflin, amid much legal wrangling. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Houghton Mifflin's favor that June and ordered Stackpole to stop selling their version, but litigation followed for a few more years until the case was finally resolved in September 1941. Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: District of Connecticut Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York District of Vermont The Second Circuit hears argument at the Thurgood Marshall U...

Among other things, Stackpole argued that Hitler could not have legally transferred his right to a copyright in the United States to Eher Verlag in 1925, because he was not a citizen of any country. Houghton Mifflin v. Stackpole was a minor landmark in American copyright law, definitively establishing that stateless persons have the same copyright status in the United States that any other foreigner would. The copyright symbol is used to give notice that a work is covered by copyright. ... A stateless person is someone with no state or nationality, usually because the state that gave their previous nationality has ceased to exist and there is no successor state. ...

In the three months that Stackpole's version was available it sold 12,000 copies.

Manheim translation

Houghton Mifflin brought out a translation by Ralph Manheim in 1943. They did this to avoid having to share their profits with Reynal & Hitchcock, and to increase sales by offering a more readable translation. The Manheim translation was first published in England by Hurst & Blackett in 1969 amid some controversy. Houghton Mifflin Company is a leading educational publisher in the United States. ... Ralph Manheim (1907 - 26 September 1992) was a translator of German and French literature. ...

Selections

In addition to the above translations and abridgments the following collections of excerpts were available in English before the start of the war.

The Palais Strousberg later to become the old British Embassy building The new British Embassy building The British embassy in Berlin (German:Britische Botschaft in Berlin) is an embassy of the United Kingdom in Germany. ... Dame Katharine Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl, DBE (6 November 1874 â€“ 21 October 1960) was a Scottish noblewoman and Unionist politician. ... Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 â€“ December 31, 2000) was a U.S. journalist and politician. ...

Sales and royalties

The first printing of the U.S. Dugdale edition, the Oct. 1933 with 7,603 copies, of which 290 were given away as complimentary gifts.

The royalty on the first printing in the US was 15% or $3,206.45 total. Curtis Brown, literary agent, took 20%, or $641.20 total, and the IRS took $384.75, leaving Eher Verlag $2,180.37 or RM 5668.

There were three separate printings from August 1938 to March 1939, totaling 14,000; sales totals by March 31, 1939 were 10,345. is the 90th day of the year (91st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Murphy and Houghton Mifflin translations were the only ones published by the authorized publishers while Hitler was still alive, and not at war with Britain and America.

There was some resistance from Eher Verlag to Hurst and Blackton's Murphy translation, as they had not been granted the rights to a full translation. However, they allowed it de facto permission by not lodging a formal protest, and on May 5, 1939, even inquired about royalties. The British publishers responded on the 12th that the information they requested was "not yet available" and the point would be moot within a few months, on September 3, 1939, when all royalties were halted due to the state of war existing between Britain and Germany. is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Royalties were likewise held up in the United States due to the litigation between Houghton Mifflin and Stackpole. Because the matter was only settled in September 1941, only a few months before a state of war existed between Germany and the U.S., all Eher Verlag ever got was a $2500 advance from Reynal and Hitchcock. It got none from the unauthorized Stackpole edition or the 1943 Manheim edition.

Popularity

From the royalties, Hitler was able to afford a Mercedes while still being imprisoned. Moreover, he accumulated a tax debt of 405,500 Reichsmark (8 million USD today, or £4m UK Pounds Sterling) from the sale of about 240,000 copies by the time he became chancellor in 1933 (at which time his debt was waived).^[3]^[4] Image File history File links Hitler_mein_kampf_reklame. ... Image File history File links Hitler_mein_kampf_reklame. ... Hitler redirects here. ... User(s) Germany Subunit 1/100 Reichspfennig Symbol RM Reichspfennig Rpf. ...

After Hitler's rise to power, the book gained enormous popularity and for all intents and purposes became the Nazi Bible. Despite rumors to the contrary, new evidence suggests that it was actually in high demand in libraries (topping the lending lists) and often reviewed and quoted in other publications. By the end of the war, about 10 million copies of the book had been sold or distributed in Germany (every newly-wed couple, as well as every front soldier, received a free copy), and Hitler had made about 1.2 m Reichsmarks from the income of his book in 1933 (when the average annual income of a teacher was about 4,800 Mark).^[3]^[4]

Some historians have speculated that a wider readership prior to Hitler's rise to power (or at least prior to the outbreak of World War II) might have alerted the world to the dangers Hitler would pose to peace in Europe and to the Holocaust that he would pursue. An abridged English translation was produced before World War II. However, the publisher removed some of the more anti-Semitic and militaristic statements. The publication of this version caused Alan Cranston, who was an American reporter for United Press International in Germany (and later a U.S. Senator from California), to publish his own abridged and annotated translation. Cranston believed this version to more accurately reflect the contents of the book. In 1939, Cranston was sued by Hitler's publisher for copyright infringement, and a Connecticut judge ruled in Hitler's favor. However, by the time the publication of Cranston's version was stopped, 500,000 copies had already been sold.^[5] â€œShoahâ€ redirects here. ... Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 â€“ December 31, 2000) was a U.S. journalist and politician. ... Front of UPI Headquarters, Washington, D.C. â€œUPIâ€ redirects here. ... Type Upper House President of the Senate Richard B. Cheney, R since January 20, 2001 President pro tempore Robert C. Byrd, D since January 4, 2007 Members 100 Political groups Democratic Party Republican Party Last elections November 7, 2006 Meeting place Senate Chamber United States Capitol Washington, DC United States... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Criticism

Mein Kampf, due to its racist content and the historical impact of Nazism upon Europe during the Second World War and the Holocaust, is considered a highly controversial book. However criticism has not only come from direct opponents of Nazism, as Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, himself experienced in writing and editing for newspapers, was critical of the book. Mussolini attempted to read the book, but was disappointed and claimed that Mein Kampf was "a boring tome that I have never been able to read" and remarked that Hitler's beliefs expressed in the book were "little more than commonplace clichés."^[6] Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation). ... Mussolini redirects here. ... A tome is a variety of large book, often a large volume of a multi-volume scholarly work. ...

Current availability

At the time of his death, Hitler's official place of residence was in Munich, which led to his entire estate, including all rights to Mein Kampf, changing to the ownership of the state of Bavaria. As per German copyright law the entire text is scheduled to enter the public domain on December 31, 2015, 70 years after the author's death. The copyright has been relinquished for the English, Dutch and Swedish editions. Historian Werner Maser, in an interview with Bild am Sonntag has stated that Peter Raubal, son of Hitler's nephew, Leo Raubal, would have a strong legal case for winning the copyright from Bavaria if he pursued it. Leo Raubal, an Austrian engineer, has stated he wants no part of the rights to the book, even though it could be worth millions of euros.^[7] The government of Bavaria, in agreement with the federal government of Germany, does not allow any copying or printing of the book in Germany and opposes it also in other countries but with less success. Owning and buying the book is legal. Trading in old copies is legal as well unless it is done in such a fashion as to "promote hatred or war", which is, under anti-revisionist laws, generally illegal. In particular, the unmodified edition is not covered by §86 StGB that forbids dissemination of means of propaganda of unconstitutional organizations, since it is a "pre-constitutional work" and as such cannot be opposed to the free and democratic basic order, according to a 1979 decision of the Federal Court of Justice of Germany.^[8] Most German libraries carry heavily commented and excerpted versions of Mein Kampf. For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Bavaria (disambiguation). ... Not to be confused with copywriting. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the video game developer, see 2015, Inc. ... The Bild-Zeitung (often abbreviated Bild, lit. ... The Greek name for the rainy, stormy southeast wind. ... Historical revisionism is the attempt to change commonly held ideas about the past. ... The Strafgesetzbuch is the German criminal code of justice. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... The Bundesgerichtshof or BGH (German for federal court) is the highest appeals court in Germany for cases of civil and criminal law. ...

For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... 1992 Russian edition of the Protocols, adapting Eliphas Levis portrayal of Baphomet. ... Indonesian or Bahasa Indonesia, based on the Riau version of Malay language, was declared the official language with the declaration of Indonesias independence in 1945, following the 1928 unifying language declaration in the Indonesian Youth Pledge. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... For an explanation of terms related to Macedonia, see Macedonia (terminology). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Location of the city of Skopje (green) in Macedonia Country Macedonia Municipality Government - Mayor Trifun Kostovski Area - Total 1,854 kmÂ² (715. ... Nickname: Location of Mexico City Coordinates: , Country Federal entity Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded c. ... â€œHÃ¶gsta domstolenâ€ redirects here. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Public Chamber (In Russian: ÐžÐ±Ñ‰ÐµÑÑ‚Ð²ÐµÐ½Ð½Ð°Ñ Ð¿Ð°Ð»Ð°Ñ‚Ð°) is a state institution with 126 members created in 2005 in Russia to analyze draft legislation and monitor the activities of the parliament, government and other government bodies of Russia and its Federal Subjects. ... The Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish organization that declares itself to be a human rights group dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust by fostering tolerance and understanding through community involvement, educational outreach and social action. ... Amazon. ... A typical Barnes & Noble bookstore. ... Many societies have banned certain books. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Im sorry, I dont really know how to use Wikipedia. ...

The sequel

After the party's poor showing in the 1928 elections, Hitler believed the reason for loss was that the public did not fully understand his ideas. He retired to Munich to dictate a sequel to Mein Kampf which focused on foreign policy, expanded on the ideas of Mein Kampf and suggested that around 1980, a final struggle would take place for world domination between the United States and the combined forces of Greater Germany and the British Empire. The Zweites Buch (Second Book and sometimes Secret Book) is an unedited transcript of Adolf Hitlers thoughts on a number of topics; it was written after Mein Kampf and was never published in his lifetime. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Grossdeutschland (literally Greater Germany) is a term that has been used in two separate contexts over history. ... For a comprehensive list of the territories that formed the British Empire, see Evolution of the British Empire. ...

Only two copies of the 200 page manuscript were originally made, and only one of these has ever been made public. Kept strictly secret under Hitler's orders, the document was placed in a safe in an air raid shelter in 1935 where it remained until its discovery by an American officer in 1945. The authenticity of the book has been verified by Josef Berg (former employee of the Nazi publishing house Eher Verlag) and Telford Taylor (former Brigadier General U.S.A.R. and Chief Counsel at the Nuremberg war-crimes trials). The book was neither edited nor published during the Nazi Germany era and remains known as Zweites Buch (Second Book). The Zweites Buch was first discovered in the Nazi archives being held in the United States by the Jewish American historian Gerhard Weinberg in 1958. Unable to find an American publisher, Weinberg turned to his mentor, Hans Rothfels, and his associate, Martin Broszat, at the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich, who published Zweites Buch in 1961. A pirated edition was published in English in New York, 1962. The first authoritative English edition was not published until 2003 (Hitler's Second Book: The Unpublished Sequel to Mein Kampf, ISBN 1-929631-16-2). Telford Taylor Telford Taylor (February 24, 1908 - May 23, 1998) was a U.S. lawyer best known for his role in the Counsel for the Prosecution at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II, his opposition against Senator McCarthy in the 1950s, and his outspoken criticism of the U.S... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... The Zweites Buch (Second Book and sometimes Secret Book) is an unedited transcript of Adolf Hitlers thoughts on a number of topics; it was written after Mein Kampf and was never published in his lifetime. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Gerhard L. Weinberg, January 2003 Gerhard Ludwig Weinberg (born January 1, 1928) is a German-born American diplomatic and military historian noted for his studies in the history of World War Two. ... Hans Rothfels (April 12, 1891-June 22, 1976) was a conservative German nationalist historian. ... Martin Broszat (August 14, 1926 â€“ October 14, 1989) was a left-wing West German historian. ... The Institut fÃ¼r Zeitgeschichte (IfZ) (Institute of Contemporary History) in Munich was founded in 1949 under the name â€žDeutsches Institut fÃ¼r Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Zeitâ€œ (German Institute for the History of the National Socialist Time) by the German state and the Free State of Bavaria, incited by the... For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ...

Globalists vs. continentists

One of the more important debates of the book concerns the battle between the Continentists, including Hugh Trevor-Roper and Eberhard Jäckel, who argue Hitler wished to conquer only Europe, and the Globalists, including Gerhard Weinberg, Milan Hauner, Gunter Moltmann, Meier Michaelis and Andreas Hillgruber, who maintain that Hitler wanted to conquer the entire world. The chief source of contention between the Continentists and Globalists is the Zweites Buch. Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton (January 15, 1914 - January 26, 2003) was a notable historian of early modern Britain and Nazi Germany. ... Eberhard JÃ¤ckel (June 29, 1929-) is a Social Democratic German historian, noted for his studies of Adolf Hitlers role in German history. ... Gerhard L. Weinberg, January 2003 Gerhard Ludwig Weinberg (born January 1, 1928) is a German-born American diplomatic and military historian noted for his studies in the history of World War Two. ... Andreas Fritz Hillgruber (January 18, 1925-May 8, 1989) was a conservative West German historian. ... The Zweites Buch (Second Book and sometimes Secret Book) is an unedited transcript of Adolf Hitlers thoughts on a number of topics; it was written after Mein Kampf and was never published in his lifetime. ...

The Globalists argue that Hitler's statement that after Germany defeated the United States, then Germany would rule the entire world clearly proves his intentions were global in reach. The Continentists argue that because Hitler predicts the war between the United States and Germany as beginning sometime ca. 1980 (Hitler was born in 1889), the task of winning this war in the 1980s would presumably have fallen to one of Hitler’s successors. The Continentists believe that Hitler for his own lifetime would have been content with ruling merely Europe.

Intentionalists vs. functionalists

Mein Kampf has assumed a key place in the functionalism versus intentionalism debate. Intentionalists insist that the passage stating that if only 12,000–15,000 Jews were gassed, then "the sacrifice of millions of soldiers would not have been in vain", proves quite clearly that Hitler had a master plan for the genocide of the Jewish people all along. Functionalists deny this assertion, noting that the passage does not call for the destruction of the entire Jewish people and note that although Mein Kampf is suffused with an extreme anti-Semitism, it is the only time in the entire book that Hitler ever explicitly refers to the murder of Jews. Given that Mein Kampf is 694 pages long, Functionalist historians have accused the Intentionalists of making too much out of one sentence. Functionalism versus intentionalism is a historiographical debate about the origins of the Holocaust as well as most aspects of the Third Reich, such as foreign policy. ... For other uses, see Genocide (disambiguation). ...

Functionalist historians have argued that the memorandum written by Heinrich Himmler to Hitler on May 25, 1940, regarding the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" (whose proposals Hitler accepted) proves that there was no master plan for genocide which stemmed all the way back to the 1920s. In the memorandum, Himmler rejects genocide under the grounds that one must reject "...the Bolshevik method of physical extermination of a people out of inner conviction as un-German and impossible". He goes on to argue that something similar to the "Madagascar Plan" be the preferred "territorial solution" to the "Jewish Question". Himmler redirects here. ... is the 145th day of the year (146th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... In a February 26, 1942 letter to German diplomat Martin Luther, Reinhard Heydrich follows up on the Wannsee Conference by asking Luther for administrative assistance in the implementation of the EndlÃ¶sung der Judenfrage (Final Solution of the Jewish Question). ... For other uses, see Genocide (disambiguation). ... The Madagascar Plan was a policy of the Third Reich government of Nazi Germany to forcibly relocate the entire Jewish population of Europe to the French island colony of Madagascar, off the coast of Africa. ... For other uses, see Jewish Question (disambiguation). ...

Additionally, Functionalist historians have noted that in Mein Kampf Hitler states the only anti-Semitic policies he will carry out are the 25 Point Platform of the Nazi Party (adopted in February 1920), which demands that only "Aryan" Germans be allowed to publish newspapers and own department stores, places a ban on Jewish immigration, expels all Ostjuden (Eastern Jews; i.e., Jews from Eastern Europe who had arrived in Germany since 1914) and strips all German Jews of their German citizenship. Although these demands do reflect a hateful anti-Semitism, they do not amount to a program for genocide, according to the Functionalist historians. Beyond that, some historians have claimed although Hitler was clearly obsessed with anti-Semitism, his degree of anti-Semitic hatred contained in Mein Kampf is no better or worse than that contained in the writings and speeches of earlier volkisch leaders such as Wilhelm Marr, Georg Ritter von Schönerer, Houston Stewart Chamberlain and Karl Lueger, all of whom routinely called Jews a "disease" and "vermin". Nevertheless, Hitler cites all of them as an inspiration in Mein Kampf. The vÃ¶lkisch movement is the German interpretation of the Populist movement, with a romantic focus on folklore and the organic. ... Wilhelm Marr (1819-1904) was a German agitator and theorist, who coined the term antisemitism as a euphemism for the German Judenhass, or Jew-hate. Marr was an unemployed journalist, who claimed that he had lost his job due to Jewish interference. ... Georg Ritter von SchÃ¶nerer Georg Ritter von SchÃ¶nerer (July 17, 1842-August 14, 1921) was an Austrian politician active in the late 1800s and early 1900s. ... Houston Stewart Chamberlain Houston Stewart Chamberlain (September 9, 1855 - January 9, 1927) was a British author noted for his works concerning the Aryan race. ... Karl Lueger Karl Lueger (IPA ) (October 24, 1844-March 10, 1910) was an Austrian politician and mayor of Vienna, known for his overtly anti-semitic and racist policies, as well as his skills as an administrator. ...

Contents

Popularity and history during Hitler's lifetime

Contents

Analysis

English translation

Dugdale abridgment

Murphy translation

Reynal and Hitchcock translation

Stackpole translation and controversy

Manheim translation

Selections

Sales and royalties

Popularity

Criticism

Current availability

The sequel

Globalists vs. continentists

Intentionalists vs. functionalists

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Online versions of Mein Kampf

English

Other languages

Contents

Popularity and history during Hitler's lifetime GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Contents

Analysis

English translation

Dugdale abridgment

Murphy translation

Reynal and Hitchcock translation

Stackpole translation and controversy

Manheim translation

Selections

Sales and royalties

Popularity

Criticism

Current availability

The sequel

Globalists vs. continentists

Intentionalists vs. functionalists

See also

References

Further reading

External links

Online versions of Mein Kampf

English

Other languages

Popularity and history during Hitler's lifetime