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A new edition of Mein Kampf, the anti-Semitic book written by German dictator Adolf Hitler, is set to hit the shelves, after the copyright law prohibiting its publication in Germany expired.
The new edition — with critical commentary by a publicly funded institute — will help fill a gap in knowledge of the area, historians argue, but Jewish groups are wary and authorities are making it clear the annotations are compulsory.
Under German law, copyright expires at the end of the year 70 years after the author’s death — in this case April 30, 1945 — and so Bavaria’s state finance ministry can no longer use it to prevent the book’s publication.
Hitler is not the only dictator through history to take up a pen as well as a sword, gun or spear — here are nine who have put their thoughts on paper.
1. Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler wrote Mein Kampf — or “My Struggle” — after being imprisoned for “political crimes” after his failed coup attempt in 1923.
In the book, he suggests Jews are part of a conspiracy to gain world leadership, and identifies them as racially and ideologically inferior, while “Aryans” and National Socialists were racially superior and politically progressive.
After he rose to power in 1933, the book became hugely popular, and by the end of the war millions of copies had been sold and distributed in Germany.
Although the government of Bavaria, in agreement with Germany, refused to allow copying or printing of the book in Germany after the war, it is legal in other countries including India, Canada, the US and Turkey.
2. Benito Mussolini
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Benito Mussolini’s book explored fascist philosophy. (AFP)
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini co-authored the Doctrine of Fascism with Italian philosopher Giovanni Gentile, and the essay was first published in 1932.
The essay is considered to be the articulation of Mussolini’s political views and an exploration of fascism, after he took power in 1922 when he ruled constitutionally, and in 1925 when he established a dictatorship.
Mussolini was arrested in 1943 and rescued from prison by German special forces, but was caught and executed by Italian forces.
His body was strung up in Milan, hanging upside down naked from its heels for public viewing as the war came to an end.
3. Julius Caesar
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Julius Caesar wrote about his Gallic campaigns. (Clara Grosch)
Julius Caesar wrote his first-hand account of his campaigns in Gaul when he was a superstar Roman general, describing the battles and intrigues that took place over the nine-year period.
His victories provoked the hostility of his enemies back in Rome, and so the Roman general wrote the accounts to help drum up public support.
Despite his success in Gaul, Caesar later fought a civil war, assumed power in Rome, and was named dictator for life before being assassinated by rebellious senators on March 15, 44 BC.
4. Saddam Hussein
Deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein concluded his fourth novel Begone, Demons the day before United States forces invaded his country in 2003, his daughter has claimed.
The 256-page book about the struggle between the Middle East and the US was controversially released by Japanese publishers in 2008, after having been banned in Jordan.
Hussein’s previous novels focussed on the Iraqi heroism, a love story (of sorts) about a cruel medieval leader and his oppressed commoner wife, and a largely autobiographical work on the formation of his ruling Baath Party.
Damned One, Get Out Of Here — about an Arab warrior who saves a town from a plot to overthrow its ruler — was released in Jordan in 2005 after his death with a foreword written by his daughter, praising him.
Hussein is also credited with writing several poems.
5. Joseph Stalin
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Joseph Stalin’s book was to be used “instead of the bible”. (Supplied)
Joseph Stalin wrote his propaganda booklet which a Bolshevik official said was to be used “instead of the Bible”.
Published 1938, the Soviet dictator gave his interpretation of the early years of the Communist Party and the booklet was reportedly the most disseminated book under Stalin’s rule, with more than 42 million copies printed in Russia alone.
He also wrote other books including works about and critiques of Leninism, socialist economics and linguistics. Compilations of his essays have also been compiled.
Stalin seized control following Lenin’s death in 1924, ruthlessly suppressed dissent, killed off rivals, purged the Red Army officer class and oversaw the deaths of millions of peasants under forced collectivisation policies and in Gulag labour prison camps before his death in 1953.
The Stalin-era practices were repudiated by Soviet leader Nikita Kruschev in the Secret Speech of 1956, which was the Soviet regime’s first official acknowledgement of Stalin’s crimes.
6. Mao Zedong
The founding father of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong, authored one of the most published books in history, often known as The Little Red Book.
Officially titled the Quotations From Chairman Mao Zedong, the 1964 book of political instruction comprises of selected statements and thoughts of the former Communist Party of China chief on 33 aspects of life under the party’s rule.
Traditionally, the book was bound in red and pocket-sized, hence the colloquial name The Little Red Book.
Mao was also a renown poet and released more extensive works about philosophy and war.
7. Enver Hoxha
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Enver Hoxha wrote about international affairs and political theory. (Supplied)
Enver Hoxha was the communist leader of Albania from 1944 to 1985, where his rule was characterised by the elimination of long prison terms for his political opposition, and prolific use of the death penalty.
He wrote nine pieces, including volumes of his speeches and conversations, reflections on China, and an analysis of Soviet-American relations.
In 1973 he suffered a heart attack, and after years of poor health, died in 1985 from ventricular fibrillation.
His death left Albania in economic stagnation, with the country one of the poorest in Europe throughout much of the Cold War period.
8. Kim Il-sung
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Kim Il-sung is credited with authoring almost 11,000 published works. (Supplied)
The supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was a versatile author.
The North Korean revolutionary who went on to take the perpetual helm of the Stalinist state published an estimated 10,800 works — including poems, plays and no less than eight autobiographies — between 1948 and his death in 1994.
Kim’s oeuvre centres on the propagation of the ideals of Juche — the governing tenet of the post-1946 North Korean society — with individual tomes focused on theses about rural socialism philosophy, questions raised by Iraqi journalists and his 10-point plan for reunification with the South.
The works, according to North Korea, have been translated into more than 60 languages and English versions can be found online.
His son and successor, Kim Jong-il, is said to have penned almost 900 works on Juche, socialism, his father’s legacy and cinema.
9. Moamar Gaddafi
The Libyan revolutionary and deposed politician who ruled the North African country for more than 40 years until 2011 took a leaf out of Mao’s book, releasing The Green Book in 1975.
As with the Chinese leader’s so-called The Little Red Book, Gaddafi’s version set out his political philosophy and was “required reading” for all Libyans.
The “memorable slogans” in the book denounce liberal democracy and capitalism and praise “freedom of expression”.
The book’s content was part of the school curriculum and excerpts were placed on billboards and read on television and radio.
Topics:
books-literature,
unrest-conflict-and-war,
germany
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