My grandfather, who was a Jewish-Hungarian ex-patriot, read Mein Kampf in German when it was first published in the U.S. His object was to find out first hand what Hitler, and his ideas, were all about. When Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 my grandfather declared to all his friends an relations his belief that the United States would end up at war with Germany, and from that day on he refused to speak German to anyone again. In 1933 everybody thought he was crazy. Needless to say, history bore him out. How can anyone make an educated decision about any issue without informing themselves about it?

Klaatu, Tappan, New York, U.S.A.

Many years ago I was the guest of a wealthy professional family in Paarl in the Western Province, South Africa. I noticed in the bookshelf a copy of of Mein Kampf, which the front plate informed me had been awarded to the son of the family for academic excellence by Paarl Gym, the leading Afrikaans boys high school. It seems, in the absence of irony and in the context of apartheid, that this awful diatrabe was accepted by the Afrikaaner elite as a valid source of idealogical inspiration.

Arnold Ward, Weybridge, Surrey, UK

Banning Mein Kampf would be exactly the same as what Hitler was doing when he was in power: Censoring all writing that didn't agree with what he thought.

It is also an important historical document that explains a lot of the reasoning behind the Holocaust. For this reason it should be kept.

Chris, Epsom,

I'm sure Mein Kampf is a load of rambling rubbish but the fact that you argue for blanket publication with 'a commentary comprehensively debunking it' simply shows that you, like many, have not the stomach for free speech. So please don't pretend that you have. Free speech has consequences and you are clearly not prepared to suffer them if they disagree with what you think.

Derek S, Dundee,

I haven't noticed any imminent threat to my liberties from Nazis. I've noticed a great deal of interference from people accustomed to scream 'Nazi' at their opponents. The same people used to scream about 'censorship'; curiously, they don't seem to worry if *they* do it. If people want to read Mein Kampf, let them.

Roger Pearse, Ipswich, Suffolk

Banning speech, no matter how vile and repugnant, is a far more dangerous and greater injury to mankind and civil freedom than the whatever acts of depravity the speech could ever incite. Even mass murder.

Is Hitler's written legacy to be given so much legitimacy as to be proscribed by Law, that he himself should be raised to a stature worthy of condemnation by a legislative body, or should not his work be open for inspection, ridicule and dismissal by all? Would one not open an abcess to drain it rather than cover it up hoping it would go away?!

Those who forget, or hide from, the past are condemned to repeat it. Especially if they are not able to recognize its symptoms the next time. Therefore Hitler's work should be studied and explicitly rejected on its points, not hidden and somehow hopefully forgotten.

Making something illegal only adds to its mystique and feeds the craving of those poor souls addicted to it - the unintended consequence of a seemingly good intention.

Thomas, Atlanta, GA, USA

The next time tyranny takes over, it won't be the neo-Nazis; there are probably 300 neo-Nazis on the entire planet, and 150 of them are intelligence agents. People always expect the next tyrant to look like the last tyrant. The Germans didn't catch Hitler because they were expecting a Napoleon. When the next form of high-tech tyranny is upon us, will we recognize it, and can we expect equally sanctimonious, self-righteous, outraged articles as this one? I suspect that we will, but they will be arguing for the tyrant, not against him. For every person with foresight, there are one hundred with only hindsight.

Ryan Schmitt, Harleysville, United States

I don't agree that this pernicious book should be resurrected. Once was enough. There is quite enough hate material in the world already. Leave this one permanently in the dustbin of history.

Nicholas Lee, Windsor, UK

I don't know why people should read Mein Kampf once, not everything written is worth reading and the ravings of a mad man are certainly not necessary reading. After all Hitler didn't give the world anything to be proued of, I think it is a waste of time and I would suggest to read War and Peace instead.

Renate Baramy, Ramat Hasharon, Israel

Why are you - Ben McIntrye, giving this book the oxygen of publicity?

P.S, Chexbres, Switzerland

Whoever has the occasion to study the atrocities of the Khmer rouge in Cambodia, the 'ethnic cleansing' in Rwanda and the Balkans does not really have to read Mein Kampf anymore since the documentation on the mentioned cases is identical and more recently.
So better worry about the actual genocides and leave Mein Kampf for the monster gallery in the history museum.

meynen guy, Hasselt 3500, Belgium

I am glad that the interpretation put upon this book has been questioned. It is far too easy to take anything to do with Hitler and to say "there, that led to this". Hindsight is wonderful. To say now that reading it in the between war period ought to have enabled an accurate prediction of the events that followed is preposterous. Actual events in Germany were perhaps pointing in a certain direction, as seen by Winston Churchill and denied by many, but the content of this book? I think not.

I read it some years ago, in the knowledge of what happened and expecting it to say "go and kill Jews" .Obviously these words are not there in quite so blatant a fashion, but neither did I find much to lead that way. It is more a call to Germans to re-assert their nationhood after the bad decisions taken at Versailles in 1918. To that extent it is valid enough. It also paints a picture of a "folksy" peasantry working on the land as the backbone of an unrealistic ideal society .

D.L. Stephens, York, England

"Wolfowitz Doctrine" is the new "Mein Kampf"
Just replace 'Jews' with "Arabs"

A sample quote from it:

"In the Middle East and Southwest Asia, our overall objective is to remain the predominant outside power in the region and preserve U.S. and Western access to the region's oil."

Hence the Iraq/Afghanistan wars and killing of hundreds of thousands of Muslims.

Mohammed, London, UK

i've read mein kampf and as ben mcintyre says it's something you _should_ read--once. taking frequent breaks what's more! it is repulsive and ranting, lurching from self-pity to self-aggrandisement like when he raves on that he knew more than his teachers at school. as another commentator says the anti semitic stuff is obscene and shows he was obsessed by jews seducing christians.. it also has moments of savage humour, such as a description of a poltical meeting of poor social democrats broken up by the nazis and the communists..
the other thing about mein kampf is this is the REAL thing, the wolf in wolf's clothing--unlike say lenin's or stalin's obscurantist tomes--the wolf in sheep's clothing--he telegraphed all his intentions very clearly. how anyone then could say they didn't know what hitler was up to, what he was really like, after the publication of this book, beats me. perhaps they said oh he didn't REALLY mean all that?

Sophie Masson, Armidale, Australia

talking about history, why the english don`t like to talk about the aparthied in SA, it was one of the worst crime committed by the english but no one like to uncover the truth.

Histin, SA,

It is stupid to make a comparison between Karl Marx's book and Mein Kampf : "Das Kapital" was a well-documented, highly theoritical economic book which did not call for supposed "inferior races" to be exterminated. Certainly authoritarian communist régimes used it as a tool for their malevolent intentions, but The Capital in itself was not the putrid, hatred-driven and prejudiced book Mein Kampf was. I am no Communist, but even though highly controversial, one must admit that Das Kapital is a keystone of economic thought, even today.

Michel, Paris, France

Hitler's ghost/soul, wherever it is, must surely relish the irony that Germany and Austria ban his book and make any questioning of the official story of the Holocaust an imprisonable offence. So much for their confidence in their belief in post-Nazi democracy that they have to stifle open debate and resort to such a tyrannical censorship of free speech.

Gervas Douglas, Andorra la Vella,

The thing which I find very strange about all of this is that so much of the history of Hitler is treated almost as fanatically as Hitler treated his enemies.

The idea that the Holocaust and World War II were the result of a single and rabidly anti-Setimitic madman and his book, is one of the most preposterous and unedifying interpretations of history ever.

I wish that historians would tell the truth by openly examining and discussing the political, social, economic, historical and geopolitical issues that caused a large number of Germans to coalesce around Hitler's barbarism.

Anyone with common sense should realise that one man could not have engineered such damning atrocities all on his own - millions of his fellow Germans, and Austrians amongst others, were all too eager to help him.

Get real. Otherwise stop telling lies and half truths that merely serve to cover up the true history of what took place.

Jonathan Ledwidge, London, UK

Yeah, I agree 100% everyone should read mein kampf at least once so they can better understand that the same exact plan is being hoisted on American society complete with 800 FEMA detention camps fully staffed! WAKE UP!

Anthony, phoenix, Arizona

I think Hiltler has yet to be explained. Murder is evil and that is for sure.

We all must face God one day and not just people like Hitler.

David, Pyrenees, France

Wtat you say is true but what you fail to do is make a comarison to "Das Kapital" which led to the horrendously more effective mass murderers Stalin and Mao Tse Dung. Correctlly spelt with a u.

Denver Watt, Osaka, Japan

As German, born in 1942, Mein Kampf is nothing particular, it is a relict and as such of historical interest to reflect the confused ideas of a psychopath.
During nazi-times every couple while marrying got the book donated by state officials. Almost nobody, however, read it, since it was "unreadable". Kept in the home-bookshelves, many Mein Kampf survived the war and are still available in many households, not to be read but as dust deposits.
It is my understanding that in todays Germany a new edition of Mein Kampf would be commented in the media. It surely will not be a bestseller since it would be of no interest to the vast majority of the people. Those who want to read Mein Kampf are able to do so anyhow.
A new edition will not be the starter for nazi-ideas-revival, it will hardly be noticed and will not launch a discussion on the the content. More important, however, it will not infect the brains of the younger people.

Zimmermann, Kiel, Germany

According to the international 2000 PISA survey, German school students already ended up in the lower third. There is no need to aggravate the situation of university and school education in Germany.
It appears to be a typically left-wing policy to try to 'legalise' every problem (prostitution, alcoholism, drug abuse etc.) and add a 'warning label' to it. See where it ends...

A. Schelberg, Germany,

"Why are the communists' crimes hidden and suppressed, and absent from most media ? is there something to hide ?

Paul Medhurst, Vienna, Austria"

The difference between Nazis and Communists is that the Communists killed a lot of people but without discrimination. People were simply killed to facilitate the state. Whereas the Nazis specifically targetted racial groups out of hatred not out of a need to maintain power.

Pete, York, UK

I would like to contradict Ben Macintyre's view on today's Germany and to suggest to leave that book in the poison cabinet forever.

A. Schelberg, Germany,

As a German who has spent his childhood in the Nazi era, I whole-heartedly agree with Ben MacIntyre. Only by being confronted with evil can you recognise and ultimately resist it. To suppress "Mein Kampf" would be tantamount to keeping its vile ideology alive, albeit in a hidden way.

Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto, Gurat, France

Churchill and Hitler had things in common:

This movement among the Jews is not new. From the days of Spartacus-Weishaupt to those of Karl Marx, and down to Trotsky (Russia), Bela Kun (Hungary), Rosa Luxembourg (Germany), and Emma Goldman (United States)... this worldwide conspiracy for the overthrow of civilisation and for the reconstitution of society on the basis of arrested development, of envious malevolence, and impossible equality, has been steadily growing. It has been the mainspring of every subversive movement during the 19th century; and now at last this band of extraordinary personalities from the underworld of the great cities of Europe and America have gripped the Russian people by the hair of their heads and have become practically the undisputed masters of that enormous empire."
Churchill writing on 'Zionism versus Bolshevism' in the Illustrated Sunday Herald, February 1920

Will, Glasgow,

I agree wholeheartedly with Ben Macintyre - banning books is not the answer. I can recall seeing Mein Kampf for sale in South Africa in the 1960s when I was a student there. We didn't ask for it to be banned. What those of us of a 'liberal' disposition asked for was that the Communist Party Manifesto be made available (banned by the National Party). Hitler exploited the circumstances in Germany to wrench power. How many people who voted for him actually read Mein Kampf ? Probably very few. There were other reasons why he gained popularity in Germany - reading his book though was probably a very minor one.

Ian Burgess, Bristol,

It must be pointed out that Hitler admired the Islamic doctrine of offensive jihad and it had a great influence on his writing of Mein Kampf. Indeed, as Churchill wrote in 1948, "Here was the new Koran of faith and war: turgid, verbose, shapeless, but pregnant with its message".

At the time of writing, the influence of the book was vastly underestimated by the Allied Powers - with subsequent terrible consequences. Have we not learned the lesson?

Scalpelblade, Edinburgh,

How peculiar. The Communists murdered six times more people than the Nazis. But not a peep about them - no Nuremburg trials for them, nor a de-communisation programme either....nor payment of billions each and every year in compensation to their victims' families.

Why are the communists' crimes hidden and suppressed, and absent from most media ? is there something to hide ?

Paul Medhurst, Vienna, Austria

In his call for "moral courage", and "a demonstration that Germany has come to terms with its past", Ben Macintyre ignores the fact that Germany imprisons those who disagree with the orthodox version of its history.

68 year old Ernst Zundel is currently serving a five year prison sentence for publishing material which questioned the widely accepted story of the wartime Holocaust.

Peter Rushmore, Stockport,

I have a copy of what must have been the last English edition of 'Mein Kampf' published before WW2 began. Picked it up in a jumble sale, in Manchester, c.1975. The idea of a 'scholarly edition' is a non-starter. It's not ALL the rantings of a loony but a fair amount IS. The only scholar who might make relevant comment would be a psychiatrist.

However, and perhaps for that reason, it WOULD be recommendable reading for jihadists, 'bawn agins' , 'one true' religionists and other 'enthusiasts' (as well as dirty old men in grubby macs).

Though there are relatively coherent sections, in which e.g. Hitler expresses his admiration for the British and their empire, any appearance of 'The Jew' (invariably also a bolshevik) is followed by an invective which shows that Hitler's loathing was of a physical, sexual nature. The section where he describes the lust-filled Jew spying on a pure Aryan maiden, with obvious intent, is so implictely salacious as to be comical.

L.W., Montevideo, Uruguay

Have you considered what a publishing of this book would do to Germany? Holocaust denial isn't just banned because it's offensive, it's banned because it's a infectious meme, along with all that 'Mein Kampf' stands for.

You and I can see what rubbish is in there, but sadly, the very people who will be infected by this stupidity cannot. People still get beaten up or killed by the believers, of this stuff, and arguing with a deluded chav is simply impossible, they don't do 'reason' or 'logic'. But they are good at bottling people they figure are 'the enemy'.

Germany is still not fully healed from the fasicst madness, and will not be whole until the last Nazi (neo or originial) is buried for at least 100 years. Things like that cannot be rushed,-- especially given the specific problems with Turkish Nazis (Grey Wolf) who read 'Mein Kampf' in Turkish and hang on every word in there.

Imli, London,

I first came across an unexpurgated edition of 'Mein Kampf' at Ealing public library in 1956 at the age of 17. I booked it out and enjoyed the read. I do not recognise as valid the stylistic criticisms levelled at the book by BM . It was never a Shakespearian work, but it was readable and reflected the style of the writer, rather than the dictator. BM's criticisms are lacking in objectivity, and resemble Goebels' propaganda. The book is an important historical document in that, with hindsight, it exposes:

1. the fallacy of blaming sections of the community for a nation's ills.
2. the provocations of a Treaty (Versailles) designed to humiliate the Germans following WW1.
3. the claims of those in power among the allies (and Germany) that they were unaware of Hitler's genocidal activities.

In short, readers would recognise the early symptoms of fascism.

Much to their infinite credit the allies avoided repeating the mistakes of the infamous Versailles Treaty after WW2.

Edward Willhoft, Epsom, UK

It is also available in bookstores in Canada. I agree with Mr. MacIntyre's thoughts, reading hate speech, being aware of it, allows us to be able to recognize it.

A properly annotated version, certainly, why not. It is a piece of history and should certainly be regarded as such. If Hitler wrote mistakes, misquotes, falsehoods to promote his cause, let's ensure that the annotations are fact based unlike his writings. Kind of reminds us of many even today who sway public opinions based on something worse then flat out lies ... half truths.

Patrice Falardeau, Ottawa, Canada

I have never read Mein Kampf and yet I accept Ben MacIntyre's assertion that it is evil. Many would agree with him nowdays, as I am sure many would have when The Times serialised it.

I also accept that publishing it has the power to indoctrinate those that read it. The influence of such a book is unpredicatable.

Churchill, a Times reader (and contributer), with his love of the English sentence, probably found it as vile, chilling and alarming as your columnist. Whatever he read into it then, we now know that by the 1930's, he yeilded a response of deeply held repulsion and obstinate resistance to Hitlers will, ideas and eventual actions.

Churchill probably would also point out we need courage first, so that we may guarantee all our other human qualities.

So, as did The Times of 1933, now so should we , take courage and publish!

NickFitz, London, UK

Spot on once again, Mr Macintyre. The one problem I see (I once started reading Mein Kampf, which was in the public library in Orlando, FL) is that attempting to read the book induces an effect rather like being beaten around the head with rotten fish while suffering a sever hangover, so there may be relatively few people who get to find out the essential vile ness of national socialist ideology. That said, the sight of the book on open display will remove at a stroke its subversive glamour for the hard of thinking.

Simon Richards, Brussels, Belgium

The worst book ever written naturally includes... The Englishman's Daughter
I think Adolf would rather have done a landscape...unlike YOU he never got the chance...

Hugh, London, Blighty

It is a pleasure to see a robust and correct view so beatifully and succinctly presented. I wish I could write as well as this. I apologize for the sycophancy but the praise is sincere.

James , Canberra, Australia.

The Germans and Poles have been anti-Semites for centuries.
Hitler didn't murder 6 million Jews without acive help and inactive complacency from the neighbouring countries. The next generation of Austrians voted for Kurt Waldheim in 1986 inspite of a Nazi role involving deportation and massacre of Greek and Yugoslav Jews.
I am not convinced that hatred, racism and scapegoating of Jews is still not an accepted practise in many homes in that part of the wold.
The un-educated and the under-achieving will always need to point the finger at some one to absolve them of the need to take responsability for their own situations.
I believe Mein Kampf will help them target their scapegoat.

Sharon Kuper, Melbourne, Australia

'When books burn, bodies follow'

The book is just part of the past, no harm to us now.

Bill Bird, Wallasey, Wirral

The commentator is correct: Germans have built a good and cosmopollitain society. Its citizens are educated regarding the sins of the past, its youth openly question their elders. Indeed, when contrasted with Japan, which views itself as a victim of WWII, Germany's efforts to understand its past is exemplary.

rob crawford, Menthon-St. Bernard, France

I couldn't agree more. Regardless of how one feels about the historical facts, this book is a piece of history much as the preserved concentration camps. And don't forget the dictum: those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

V Addeman, Costa Mesa, USA/ California

I haven’t read Mein Kampf, but I agree that everything should be published and exposed to an equally uncensored criticism. Unfortunately, it is usually a deficit in the latter that is more the problem. There are two sides to this censorship issue, and the other is that published works aren’t allowed the full range of criticism that they warrant. I think you are right in your general assessment. The fact is that, Hitler, a man of comparatively little experience in an age where communications were still considerably limited, was allowed to get into power with this background and these expressed attitudes. How could responsible European leaders have allowed this to happen? There are plenty of things they could have been done to prevent it. One could reasonably observe, especially in the light of The Times editorial, that they were complicit in the whole arrangement. Then why did the very decent bulk of the German people fight a horrific war, in which they ultimately suffered as much as anyone else, on this basis - and fight so courageously for so long? The answer lies in the manipulations by those people with the real power and it isn’t a pretty picture. We should be thinking carefully about this at this time, because these people are still in power.

Henry Percy, London, UK

During my early teens, I saw a fat crumpled copy of "Mein Kampf"in our book shelf , which my dad purchased a decade before. Those were the days, when Post WWII, the world was coming to terms with realities and aftermath of war. Those were the days of some of the most legendary figures in the world politics, Churchill, Gandhi, Nehru, Roosevelt and Eisenhover and all other ilk of reknown leaders. Not to miss the dislikes of blemished personalities like Stalin, Mussolinni and the king of all fascists, Adolf Hitler. I could read the initial 100 odd pages, but could not complete the book from cover to cover till date. I fail to reason why, perhaps I was too young and naive to understand the mind and thoughts of a Nazist , or some inherent fear loomed in my tender mind, of being influenced or even brainwashed by the doctrines of Nazism.
The book still lies in a tattered, dishevelled state , gathering dust and grime, its two hard bound covers torn a piece, like the great Berlin wall.Could I?

sandy, New Delhi, India

I agree with both Ben MacIntyre and William L. Shirer (whose monumental "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" stands on my bookshelves. At least extracts from "Mein Kampf"should be published - alongside a chunky resume of the deeds of Hitler and his legion of henchmen from 1933 onwards, not just from 1939 when World War Two started. Then people can judge for themselves why we should read it all. It is a historical truism that the Appeasement politicians of the 1930s, especially Neville Chamberlain of Britain, ignored "Mein Kampf" and preferred to believe that Hitler was a politician that could be negotiated with. Only Stalin took the threat from Hitler seriously. But the Appeasement politicians preferred to deal with Hitler than with Stalin. Even during and after World War Two, Churchill remained utterly opposed to Stalin. I´m not saying that Stalin was a "good guy" but of the two "bad guys" Stalin was the one you could do a deal with. Result of getting it wrong? 40 million dead!

cerronevado, Mijas, Spain

No and more no.You said it yourself '3000 sold in UK every year' (amazing) why even start to encourage the nutters of which there are still plenty around.- Why bother? Germany has handled their Nazi past very well indeed, what do they (or we)need this for? In case you didn't know it anti-Semitism is a fast growing industry in Britain and elsewhere , just look at he stats. before you pontificate on matters like this.

victor M. cowen, Malaga, , Spain

During WW2 I attended the grammar school at Lichfield, Staffordshire.

There were a number of copies of "Mein Kampf" in the school library. There was no proclamation about this, no control, nor any caution to students about the "dangers" of reading it.
The books were just there sitting on a shelf, mostly undisturbed, ready to be read or just left where they were.

I took one out to try to discover something of the mind of the evil genius who had led his nation to subjugate most of Europe.
I found reading it a tough "struggle" too, but I did get some sense of the warped mix of his persecution complex, Wagnerian romanticism and evil purpose. It led me to have a lifelong interest in the theory and practice of Nazism and Communism.

At the time I felt rather proud that my country was confident enough in little students like me to trust us to read the book without control or guidance.

But, we thought, we are after all, British.

Thank you, my country.

Patrick Hogan

Patrick Hogan, Tallinn, Estonia

Mein Kampf has a pernicious aura which would be well to correct through issuing a scholarly annotated inexpensive edition. It would appear that in Europe, neo-Nazism has its greatest strength in those countries in which it is 'forbidden fruit', making it that much more desirable.

N. Waters, Mississauga, Canada

The Copyright is held by Freistaat Bayern - to publish it now would be to give official blessing to its publication.

Let the copyright lapse. It is simply stupid to publish now what has been banned for 60 years.....when the State holds the copyright

TomTom, Leeds, England

JUST WONDERING


Those WWII radar stations that used to line the South Coast of England: Do they still work?

Garth Rex, Glendale Heights, USA