ADOLF HITLER HISTORY
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company | ISBN 97838759839
|September 1998 | PDF | 1,1 MB | 368 Pages
Mein Kampf (English: My Struggle/My Battle) is a book by the
German-Austrian Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, which combines elements of
autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's National Socialist political
ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and volume 2 in 1926.
Following the failed Beer Hall Putsch, Adolf Hitler went
into hiding. However, he was arrested on November 11, 1923, was remanded, and,
after a 24-day trial, found guilty of high treason and sentenced to five years
imprisonment (of which the term was to be reduced by four months and two weeks
for the time served in prison prior to and during the trial). Presiding Judge
Neithhardt was convinced that Hitler and the other members of the Kampfbund had
acted honorably, and Hitler was therefore eligible for parole in six months and
also to be given the privilege of Festungshaft (imprisonment without penal
labor). This permitted Hitler a steady flow of visitors and a desk in his cell.
Hitler was allocated Cell No. 11 of the Fortress Landsberg
prison. A subsequent trial pertaining to the putsch saw Hitler��s chauffeur
Emil Maurice and close associate Rudolf Hess imprisoned for five years, though
they too would be eligible for release in six months. During this time in
prison, Hitler underwent something of an epiphany with regards to his use of
violence: from now on everything was to be ostensibly legal.
Having chosen this new move, Hitler felt that he needed to
make sure that the public knew what he stood for, so began to dictate a book to
Hess and Maurice, part autobiography but also a political treatise. While
imprisoned, Hitler��s first often overlooked contribution to the literary world
was released, a small 24-page self-written booklet entitled "What Happened
On November 8?" aimed at clearing up confusion and rumor amidst both the
party ranks and presumably some members of the public.
A poster shows that Hitler originally wanted to call his
forthcoming book "Viereinhalb Jahre [des Kampfes] gegen L��ge, Dummheit
und Feigheit" (Four and a Half Years [of Fighting] Against Lies, Stupidity
and Cowardice). Hess is said to have suggested the much shorter "Mein
Kampf" (often translated as ��My Struggle��, or "My Campaign";
its meaning could also be conveyed as ��My Fight��); this has also been
attributed to Max Amann, Hitler��s publisher.
Though Hitler had received many visitors earlier on, he soon
devoted himself entirely to the writing (or rather the dictation) of the book.
As Hitler continued, he realised that it would have to be a two-volume work,
with the first volume scheduled for release in early 1925. The prison governor
of Landsberg noted at the time that "he [Hitler] hopes the book will run
into many editions, thus enabling him to fulfill his financial obligations and
to defray the expenses incurred at the time of his trial."
Once released from prison on December 20, 1924, Hitler moved
back to the picturesque mountainous climes of the Obersalzberg, to which he had
been introduced by his mentor Dietrich Eckart, who had been at Landsberg with
Hitler for a few weeks (imprisoned for eighteen months for his role in the
putsch) before his health failed and he was released. By day, Hitler dictated
his second volume of Mein Kampf to Eckart before sleeping, first at a room in
the nearby Hotel Pension Moritz and later a rented cottage just a stone��s
throw away from Haus Wachenfeld, over which he would later construct his
Berghof as chancellor of Germany
On July 15, 1925, Franz Eher Nachfolger, later to become the
publishing house of the NSDAP, released Mein Kampf: Eine Abrechnung (A
Retrospect) at a run of a mere 500 copies. Though by no means popular, people
were said to have contacted Eher asking for a larger run, which resulted in the
publication of a second edition of the first volume in mid-1926. The second
volume, Die Nationalsozialistische Bewegung (The National Socialist Movement)
was released in December 1926.
While Hitler was in power (1933�C1945), Mein Kampf came to
be available in three common editions. The first, the Volksausgabe (People��s
Edition), featured the original cover on the dust jacket and was navy blue
underneath with a gold swastika eagle embossed on the cover. The Hochzeitsausgabe
(Wedding Edition), in a slipcase with the seal of the province embossed in gold
onto a parchment-like cover was given free to marrying couples. In 1940, the
Tornister-Ausgabe was released. This edition was a compact, but unabridged,
version in a red cover and was released by the post office for parents and
partners to send to loved ones at the front. These three editions contained
both volumes one and two in the same book.
There was also a special edition published in 1939 in honor
of Hitler's 50th birthday. This edition was known as the Jubiläumsausgabe
(Anniversary Issue). It came in both dark blue and bright red boards with a
gold sword on the cover. This work contained both volumes one and two. It was
considered a deluxe version relative to the smaller and more common
Volksausgabe.
The book could also be purchased as a two volume set during
Hitler's time in power and was available in softcover and hardcover. The soft
cover edition contained the original cover (as pictured at the top of this article).
The hardcover edition had a leather spine with cloth covered boards. The cover
and spine contained an image of three brown oak leaves.
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