April 20th was the anniversary, not much discussed, of the birth of one of the most abominable persons in history: Adolf Hitler. With the possible exception of his fellow tyrant Josef Stalin of the Soviet Union, he was arguably responsible for more death and misery than any human being who has ever lived, and his ignominious suicide in the wreckage of his burning capital ended a reign of war and terror unmatched in history. But for all that, Adolf Hitler is a fascinating individual. How did he become the barely believable monster we today know mainly from old newsreels and barely-noted history lessons?
One of the clues is the book Hitler wrote while in prison following his 1923 comic-opera attempt to overthrow the government of Germany, commonly known as the Beer Hall Putsch. During his imprisonment (which, in truth, was a very lenient one), Hitler outlined his political and social philosophies in the book titled Mein Kampf (My Struggle)...his originally-intended title was said to have been Four and a Half Years of Fighting Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice, but his editor/publisher talked him into shortening it to the title we know today.
Mein Kampf is a muddled collection of half-baked political theories, odd twists on history, and almost pornographic anti-Semitic rantings. I have tried to read it both in English and German, and found it virtually unreadable after less than fifty pages (out of nearly 700).
Despite its lack of any particular saving graces, the book was (as you might suspect) a best-seller in Nazi Germany, but cannot legally be printed and sold in modern-day Germany for fear that it will inspire neo-Nazis, skinheads, and other crackpots. You can buy copies of it in many languages around the world (under the title Jihad, it's a best-seller in much of the Arab world), but it is hard to find in Germany. This may, however, change.
According to a recent CNN report, a group of German historians want Mein Kampf to be republished in Germany, in an annotated edition placing it in historical context, before the copyright expires in 2015. Their contention is that republishing the book in an academic format which includes historical annotations and references to the sources of Hitler's demented ideas will help to diminish its appeal to those who still support his theories.
I think this is a good idea, and it's also supported by Stephan Kramer, the general secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, for the same reason: it's important to shed light on the ideas and philosophies that created a monster like Hitler. If more people knew and understood these influences, and were able to read Mein Kampf and see what a mess it really is, the dark appeal of Adolf Hitler ideas could be greatly diminished.
The government of the German state of Bavaria, which owns the copyright, has thus far resisted all attempts to republish Mein Kampf. I hope they change their minds. Shedding clear, bright academic light on Hitler's ideas will expose their utter banality and social, philosophical, and moral bankruptcy. The fear, though, is that there will always be those whose minds are so well-insulated against the truth that they will continue to believe this drivel.
We can only hope that they will be outnumbered and outthought by those who can think for themselves.
Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.
Bilbo
3 comments:
You'd be surprised at how many people still subscribe to that man's demented ideas. Such a sad part of the world's history.
I used to have nightmares as a child after finding out about Adolf Hitler. I can't imagine how people could believe so much in him......
Its the same with Mao Zedong I guess...another monster. But there must have been something in these men (and circumstances at the time) that made them the 'inspiring' leaders they were.
A double column version with the book in the left column and commentary in the right would be a good idea. But that would make it 1400 pages and would take years to read and understand what a crazy person was saying and what was wrong with his thoughts.
I hearby assign the job of shortening this soon to be work to a blog post to ..... BILBO!!!!!
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