Angst as first Mein Kampf reprints hit stores

A copy of an annotated version of Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf is pictured prior to a press conference for its presentation in Munich on Friday. — AFP

New copies of Hitler’s Mein Kampf will hit bookstores in Germany on Friday for the first time since World War II, unsettling Jewish community leaders as the copyright of the anti-Semitic manifesto expires.

The southern German state of Bavaria was handed the copyright of the book in 1945, when the Allies gave it control of the main Nazi publishing house following Hitler’s defeat.

For 70 years, it refused to allow the inflammatory tract to be republished out of respect for victims of the Nazis and to prevent incitement of hatred.

But Mein Kampf — which means “My Struggle” — fell into the public domain on January 1.

Copies of an annotated version running to 2,000 pages prepared by German researchers were to go on sale on Friday, with the authors arguing that their version would serve to demystify the notorious rant, which in any case can be found just a few clicks away on the Internet.

The version by the Institute of Contemp-orary History of Munich has been in the works since 2009 and aims to “deconstruct and put into context Hitler’s writing”.

Retailing at 59 euros ($65), the book looks at key historical questions, the institute said, including: “How were his theses conceived What objectives did he have And most important: which counterarguments do we have, given our knowledge today of the countless claims, lies and assertions of Hitler ”