Adolf Hitler’s notorious book, Mein Kampf, falls out of copyright at the end of 2015. This means that anyone can re-produce copies of the book that was part memoir, part propaganda that fuelled World War Two.
Image Credit: Kevin Wong (Flickr)
The BBC asks – should this book, which provided a central part of the Third Reich’s ideology and was a key Nazi text, be banned?
The expiration of its copyright this month has sparked fierce debate on how to “curb a publishing free-for-all.”
John Murphy, whose grandfather translated the first unabridged English language version in 1936 says:
“The Bavarians have used copyright to control republication of Mein Kampf but that control is coming to an end – what happens next? … This is still a dangerous book – there are issues with neo-Nazis, and a danger of people misinterpreting it if it’s not put into context.”
Company registration lawyers in Bangkok Chaninat and Leeds have been successfully helping clients since 1997.
A piece in the New York times argues that suppressing the book is not the answer.
However, worries are rife in Germany, especially among some Jewish communities who are fiercely campaigning against the release of copyright.
Currently the Jewish community is relatively small. The real threat of racism here may be the vast influx of Syrian and other Arab immigrants to the country.
Whatever happens next, we can be sure that the Mein Kampf remains one of the world’s most notorious books.
Read more here.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Banning a book only ever makes it more popular – look at the books they ban in schools, they are far more likely to be read. Looking to the rest of culture, the more something offends the establishment and “bourgeoisie” the more popular it becomes with the kids. Banning this book would be a BIG mistake, as it will only increase its readership.
I agree. But I also wish all these news sites weren’t reporting this story. It is only giving publicity to the book. If everyone could just NOT write about it, the book would have a greater chance of just being forgotten, and the world will definitely be a better place.