[REPERCUSSÃO DE NOTÍCIA] Germany's main Jewish organization approves publication of annotated 'Mein Kampf'

A Jewish group in Germany has given its approval to the publication of a version of Hitler's manifesto with scholarly annotations. The book is scheduled to be reprinted in its new edition in January.

The Central Council of Jews in Germany said it approves of a specially annotated version of Adolf Hitler's notorious autobiographical manifesto, a month before the book is set to become part of the public domain.

The two-volume "Mein Kampf" outlined Hitler's political philosophy and contained numerous anti-Semitic remarks about Jews that some historians argue foreshadow the Nazi leader's plans to eradicate the ethnic group.

Originally published in 1925 and 1926 respectively, the two volumes have not been published in Germany since the end of World War II. However, the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich said it plans to publish a critical, annotated version of "Mein Kampf" in January.

Monitoring 'necessary'

In an interview with the German daily newspaper "Handelsblatt," Josef Schuster, head of the Jewish organization, said the publication of "Mein Kampf" could prove valuable, but also that it needed to be monitored.

"Knowledge of 'Mein Kampf' is still important to explain National Socialism and the Holocaust," Schuster said, referring to the political ideology of the Nazi Party and the genocide that led to the deaths of some six million Jews.

He went on to say it was important that authorities prevented the spread of unannotated copies of the book.

People in Germany who publish unedited reprints of the book face charges of inciting racial hatred - a crime in the country that can carry up to five years in jail.

Fonte: Deutsche Welle.

[REPERCUSSÃO DE NOTÍCIA] How booksellers will deal with 'Mein Kampf'

An annotated edition of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" will be released in German in January. Amazon plans to donate its proceeds. Many bookstores seem uncomfortable with promoting the anti-Semitic work.

Hitler's manifesto has not been published in Germany since 1945. The government of the state of Bavaria controlled the rights of the Nazi work, but now, 70 years after the death of the dictator, the copyright expires.

The Institut für Zeitgeschichte (Institute of Contemporary History) in Munich has prepared an almost 2,000-page long scholarly edition of the controversial work, which will hit the bookstores in January.

Now major booksellers are reflecting on how they will deal with the long-forbidden militaristic screed.

Hitler prepared his lengthy autobiographical work during his time in prison, after he tried to grab power in Munich in 1923 through a failed putsch. Promoting his anti-Semitic ideas, the book became popular and helped him rise to power in 1933. The royalties from the sales created a small fortune for him.

Now retailers are trying to determine what they will do with the revenues generated by the new edition. Online retailer Amazon has announced that it will donate the proceeds to charity, according to a spokesperson.

The German bookstore chain Thalia said it is not planning to promote the book and will only order it "if a customer explicitly wishes a copy," said a company representative.

Competing chain Hugendubel declared: "Our customers can find everything in our store that is not prohibited," but manager Nina Hudendubel did not specify how and if the book will be on display in her stores.

The German Publishers and Booksellers Association did not provide any specific guidelines on how to market the new edition of "Mein Kampf," but expects "its members to deal with the commented edition of the work responsibly."

Fonte: Deutsche Welle.

[REPERCUSSÃO DE NOTÍCIA] 'Immunizing pupils against extremism' with Hitler's 'Mein Kampf'

Ahead of the release of an annotated version of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf," the president of the German Teachers' Association has suggested that schools should study the text. In an interview with DW, he explains why.

Hitler's two-volume manifesto "Mein Kampf" outlined the soon-to-be Nazi dictator's political philosophy and contained numerous anti-Semitic remarks that some historians argue foreshadowed his plans to eradicate the Jews.

Originally appearing in 1925 and 1926 , the two volumes have not been published in Germany since the end of World War II. The Institute of Contemporary History in Munich now plans, however, to publish a critical, annotated version of "Mein Kampf" in January 2016.

DW: What do you think can be achieved by school pupils studying Hitler's "Mein Kampf"?

Josef Kraus: I don't think that all of "Mein Kampf" should be read in schools. Instead, what I've proposed is that excerpts should be read in sixth forms in the hope that young people can become immunized and resistant to extremist notions. It would show them how an ideal or ideology can lead to a catastrophe such as the 12 years of mass murder seen in 12 years of German history.

At 16 to 18 years old, sixth-form pupils can still be very impressionable. Do you have any concerns that reading "Mein Kampf" could have the wrong effect?

That is a question of having professional and educated teachers. I trust our teachers, in particular those teaching history, politics, ethics and religion. Of course, the issue must be approached sensitively. National Socialism is a core topic of our history classes, and I would hope, for example, that every German pupil leaving school, after appropriate preparation and discussion, has visited a concentration camp.

One shouldn't overcomplicate the proposal to discuss extracts from "Mein Kampf." Just two or three passages could be studied over the period of a couple of hours when pupils are already learning about National Socialism.

President of the German Teachers' Association, Josef Kraus

Which extracts of "Mein Kampf" would you deem as "teachable"?

From what we've heard, about 4,000 copies of the book will initially be published at the price of 60 euros (about $65) each. I recommend that Germany's 16 culture ministers commission a smaller version of 50, 60, 80 pages that one can read alongside the comments and information sources. This would be extremely helpful for the school pupils. In particular, I'd like to see extracts that make the hate against Jews very clear and reveal that Hitler obviously had a huge war in mind.

With right-wing populism on the increase, and groups such as HoGeSa and PEGIDA marching the streets of Germany, is now the best time to be studying "Mein Kampf"?

What's much more dangerous is remaining silent or completely banning the book. Nowadays, with the power of the Internet, everyone has access to everything. So it's more important to me that something like this can be discussed in a differentiated and critical manner. One thing we know from the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons is that when young people are prohibited from accessing something like a banned text, their curiosity increases, and then we have no chance of influencing them at all.

Around 100,000 Jews live in Germany today. Would studying "Mein Kampf" be problematic for or disrespectful to the Jewish population?

I know many Jewish people, including the president of the Central Jewish Council, who could also imagine the approach to the texts I have described. The former president of the Central Jewish Council, Charlotte Knoblauch, has spoken out against it, but others agree with me. One can discuss the topic in many different ways. The question is how to implement it.

I think it's in the interest of our Jewish fellow citizens to deal with this part of German history authentically. It has nothing to do with propaganda, nothing to do with nostalgia or a return to the National Socialist period. Instead it's to do with our young people being immunized against extremist views. And, of course, I would hope that Jewish citizens would play a role in how this is approached in schools, and participate in these lessons.

Josef Kraus has been the president of the German Teachers' Association since 1987. Between 1993 and 1996 he was a member of Germany's Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (BPjM), a government agency responsible for indexing media works alleged to have a deleterious effect on young people.

Fonte: Deutsche Welle.