Mein Kampf

Mein Kampf (German for "My Struggle") is a book written by Adolf Hitler, combining elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology of Nazism.

Current availability

Today, the copyright of all editions of Mein Kampf except the English and the Dutch (Dutch government seized copyright in the same way as Bavaria) is owned by the state of Bavaria. The copyright will end on December 31, 2015. 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. Raubal, an Austrian engineer, has stated he wants no part of the rights to the book, which could be worth millions of euros.

Related Topics:
Dutch - Bavaria - December 31 - 2015 - Peter Raubal - Leo Raubal

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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 generally illegal. Most German libraries carry heavily commented and excerpted versions of Mein Kampf.

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When Mein Kampf was republished in Sweden in 1992, the government of Bavaria tried to put a ban on the book. The case went all the way to the Swedish Supreme Court, where the case ended in 1998. The court ruled that, since Bavaria of today technically has nothing to do with the old state of Bavaria (all old kingdoms of the reich were terminated after WWII) but the name, the copyright could not be owned by the modern state of Bavaria. Since the publishing house that published Mein Kampf in the thirties had long gone out of business, Mein Kampf should be considered as being in a state of limbo (or even in the public domain). The case was won by the modern publisher, an outspoken anti-nazi.

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In the Netherlands, selling the book, even in the case of an old copy, is illegal as promoting hatred, but possession and lending is not. In 1997 the government explained to the parliament that selling a scientifically annotated version might escape prosecution.

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In 1999, the Simon Wiesenthal Center documented that major Internet booksellers like amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com sell Mein Kampf to Germany. After a public outcry, both companies agreed to stop those sales.

Related Topics:
1999 - Simon Wiesenthal Center - Amazon.com - Barnesandnoble.com

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An Arabic edition of Mein Kampf has been published by Bisan publishers in Lebanon.

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A new Turkish edition was reported to be a bestseller in Turkey in 2005.http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,6109,1447210,00.htmlhttp://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=4&article_id=13511

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Public-domain copies of Mein Kampf are available at various Internet sites with links to banned books; also, several Web sites provide copies of the book.

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