The copyright on Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler’s manifesto first published in the 1920s, will expire in 2015, 70 years after the ruthless dictator committed suicide at the end of WWII, and despite a ban in Germany, the Institute for Contemporary History had vowed to publish an annotated version.
The copyright is currently held by the Bavarian Finance Ministry, who announced that it would allow the publication of an edition that has been annotated. In a statement, the Institute stressed that it considered the project an “important contribution towards historical-political education” and a “demystification” of the book itself.
On Tuesday, the Bavarian State government announced it would take legal measures to halt the publication, and the following day, it officially scrapped plans to reprint the annotated version.
“Many conversations with Holocaust victims and their families have shown us that any sort of reprint of the disgraceful writings would cause enormous pain,” said Bavarian science minister Ludwig Spaenle.
Spaenle added that anyone who would try to publish excerpts of the autobiography would face harsh legal action.
German’s Jewish community has praised the Bavarian government’s decision to scrap the republishing of an annotated version. “Hitler’s sorry effort is full of hatred and contempt for humanity,” said Charlotte Knobloch, a former leader of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
