Mein Kampf: Hitler's Rise, Ideology, and Global Impact

Mein Kampf, written by Adolf Hitler, influenced the Holocaust and WWII, continues to divide opinions and is still published globally.

### The Controversial Legacy of Hitler's "Mein Kampf"
* 📜 Hitler writes "Mein Kampf" in 1923 while in prison, outlining his **anti-Semitic and nationalist ideology**.
* 📖 Initially, the book fails to gain widespread popularity in Germany due to its **unreadable and incoherent nature**.
* 💰 Hitler eventually earns **significant royalties** from the book, using it to **fund his lifestyle and political ambitions**.
* 🇩🇪 Despite its dangerous content, many Germans underestimate Hitler's intentions as described in "**Mein Kampf**".
* 🌍 As Hitler rises to power and implements his policies, the Allies use the book as a tool for **anti-Nazi propaganda**.
* 🔒 After World War II, "Mein Kampf" is banned in Germany, but its publication continues in **other countries**.
* 📚 In 2016, the book enters the public domain, leading to the publication of **critical editions with scholarly annotations**.

April 1945. The Second World War ends in Berlin. The combats are particularly violent. The entire world suddenly realizes the unprecedented scale of this conflict. [Music] More than 50 million dead. Never before had a war been so deadly. In this chaos, the shocked allies discover the concentration camps. [Music] The shock is so great that the Americans forced the Germans to come and witness the horror for themselves. The Holocaust. The millions dead in combat. Some Germans swear they knew nothing about this disaster. [Music] Incidentally, at the Nuremberg trial, when confronted with the horror of the facts, that is exactly what some Nazis say, like shown here on the left. However, one man states loudly and clearly that this was not the case: a British man, Elwynn Jones, Deputy Public Prosecutor. According to him, this appalling nightmare was almost scripted for all to read. There was my hump, the product of the warped brain of the Fuhrer. Mein Kampf, literally My Struggle.

the nazi bible, written by adolf hitler, is an inflammatory book which directly led to these atrocities. as elwyn jones claims, from mein kampf, the road leads directly to the furnaces of auschwitz and the guest chambers of maidanik. and at the time, certain germans thought exactly the same thing. what i was thinking, history proved. mein kampf helped to prepare one of the biggest crimes ever committed on a worldwide scale. the content is earth-shattering because it's his actual plan. so, were the holocaust and the war written in mein kampf? what exactly does the book recount? more than a century after its initial publication, the book continues to divide opinions. this book should no longer exist. it's a recital of hatred, a crazy path that leads to loss, all written by a little man who was entirely convinced by what he's written. it's really just an anti-semitic pamphlet of a violence that is hard to read. if we really want to know hitler, we can't pass by this book.

here is the secret story behind one of the most sold political books in the world. 12 and a half million copies were published before 1944. A wretched book from a man who incarnated absolute evil. A book that was forbidden in many countries for 70 years. A book with an incredible story. It all begins in November 1918 at the end of the First World War. The German soldiers return home and among these millions of men, there is one who still won't accept this defeat: Adolf Hitler. At the time, he is just a simple corporal who is about to be demobilized. [Music] At the end of the First World War, Adolf Hitler is completely unknown. Born in 1889, he's someone at 30 who has very few prospects for the future. The risk for Hitler, and obviously what he feels, is going back to the same life he had before the war, not to say to cut to the chase, the life of a loser. [Music] Hitler has no career, no money, no family.

so he sticks to all he has left. The army and it's there that one man notices him. Captain Carl Mayer. He spots talents that can be used for two things. On one hand, the intelligence services of the army. And on the other, the propaganda services, including possible Mayer speakers on Hitler as a spy. His mission infiltrate the DAP, the German Workers Party affiliated with the extreme right. And there Hitler feels particularly comfortable. [Music] He does what he's asked but much more because at a certain point he takes to the floor. And that is a key moment because he discovers something he wasn't aware of. His talent as a speaker. And it's in Munich in brasseries like this one that Hitler progressively becomes leader of the NSDAP party. Several times a week he launches into two-hour-long monologues. [Music] At the start he only said uses a handful of militants but ends up captivating thousands of people. At the start of the twenties Hitler is a skilled agitator in bars.

[Applause], but he has no intention of writing one. Event will change that. What happened was Mussolini's example of marching on Rome, which gave Hitler ideas. So, in November 1923, Hitler imitates Mussolini. He's 34 and at the head of a rising political party, and at his sides is one of the heroes of the First World War, General Ludendorff. In Munich, the two men decide that the time has come to take power by force. Hitler and his troops dramatically interrupt a meeting of the Bavarian government. Hitler arrives in the middle of this meeting, revolver shots are fired at the ceiling. There's a slightly farcical side to the whole thing because he arrives, fires a pistol, makes a speech. At the time, Charlie Chaplin's impression of him is not yet known, but we can imagine it's a bit like that. And he threatens those who don't want to follow him, but the operation fails. Behind their barricades in the street, the members of the Putsch are crushed by

the army sixteen of them are killed hitler is safe and sound but he is arrested and thrown in prison the landsberg fought 60 kilometers from munich when he arrives there hitler is at his lowest point. [Music] we know that hitler weighed 72 kilograms when he arrived and would quickly lose weight. he became depressed and started a hunger strike. he even apparently thought about suicide after the failure of the punch. it was a pitiful failure and not only did he not have the audience he wanted in bavaria but he became the laughing stock of all the newspapers. hitler's story could have stopped there. however at the back of cell 7 where it was least expected he finds a new lease of life. he knows he risks the death penalty so for the first time in his life he starts to write. 60 pages. he prepares his defense for his imminent trial. [Music] and the seed of the idea was sown to write about his experiences and his enemies. so in 1923 it was about settling.

the score with his enemies. Three months later, journalists are jostling at the start of the trial. This historic image shows the conspirators of the putsch accused of high treason. They all plead not guilty, all except one who stands up to the judge, Adolf Hitler. [Music] And there he uses the trial as a platform. Hitler was charismatic, and those around him felt it. That's what was fatal in his character, that he could influence people personally. Listeners hung on his every word, everything that he dreamt up, people believed. [Music] Finally, Ludendorff is acquitted. The others receive minimal sentences. As for Hitler, he is also a winner in this trial. He risked the death penalty. Instead, he is sentenced to five years in prison and only serves nine months, and in exceptional conditions. [Music] In his cell, he has access to newspapers, drinks his tea from china cups, with an amazing view of the countryside. [Music] Even better, dressed in his normal clothes, he talks to his fellow prisoners. [Music]

among them, he finds friends and former put comrades like Rudolf Hess, who would become one of the key figures of the Third Rush. They could go into the common room when they liked. During the day, they were free in their movements and to talk to each other. It was a bit like a flat chair for men. In this four-star prison, Hitler is treated like a star. Since his trial, he's become a kind of celebrity. Everybody wants to see him or give him gifts. He receives biscuits, flowers, letters of encouragement from fans, like this one starting with My beloved Furu. The leading figures of Bavaria also rushed to talk to him. The visitors' book is full to bursting, just like these cards detailing each interview to the last minute. And among the 330 visitors, there are some celebrities: General Ludendorff and also Wagner's granddaughter. Many encourage him to continue writing, and notably, Helena Bechstein, the heiress of the piano brand, gives him a crucial present: a brand new Remington.

she often visited him during this period, and so it's thought it must have been a gift from her, as these machines were very expensive at that time, and having such a device was not self-evident. [Music] hitler has time, his party needs rebuilding, and he needs money to pay his lawyers, and so he thinks that writing a book could be a good idea. From there, a myth is born. hitler, the orator, wouldn't have written anything himself. He would simply have dictated his text to emil maurice and rudolph hess. However, nowadays historians think that is not the case. The furor did indeed type his text in prison. [Music] the first volume at landsberg, he wrote alone. In any case, Rudolf Hess couldn't type very well. He learned to use it in prison. The others didn't really help him at that level, so he worked alone on the typewriter. This idea that hitler dictated his work is a myth. It's false. He starts collecting them. He puts them all together in a kind of

heart who swallow soup he manages to give a terrible nightmarish coherence to these racial books and ideas. And so the months go on, hitler perfects his terrifying theory that of the racial struggle. At the top of his imaginary pyramid are the aryans, in other words, the germans, in a permanent battle to protect the purity of their race. Their biggest enemy, the jews, who are considered a scourge. [Music] He is and remains a complete parasite, a scrounger like a harmful bacteria always spreading further. His presence produces the effect of a parasitic plant wherever he settles. The people who welcome him will be wiped out eventually. [Music] Juden in german, the jews. It's one of the words that appears most often in mein kampf. It appears 373 times, an average once every two pages, an obsession for hitler. He believes that they are responsible for all of germany's failures, including their defeat in 1918. He tries to convince the germans that the jews are behind an international

conspiracy to destroy Germany, which is the cause of all their problems. He goes through the entire range of anti-Semitic discourse and brings it to its maximum intensity. At the end of 1924, Hitler leaves prison with hundreds of pages under his arm, and he doesn't have any difficulty publishing his text, which is extremely violent towards Jews. Because of his notoriety, publishers are lining up. The first books about him start to be released, newspapers are talking about him. He was a star in the media at the time. Well, maybe not a star, but someone very well known outside of Bavaria and even outside of Germany. And so the possibility of publishing his first book was very attractive. For Hitler, has the choice, so he opts for the publisher who offers him the most money, Max Amman. He is also a friend, his former sergeant during the 1914-1918 war. He runs a small publishing house and shares the same extremist ideas. But before the book is released, they have to find the right title, which is

not easy. [Music] The first title of Mein Kampf was Four and a Half Years of Struggle Against Lies, Cowardice and Weakness. The title says a lot more, compact, synthetic, and something that could be catchy. [Music] In truth, we don't know exactly who chose the final title. One thing is sure: it will be Mein Kampf, My Struggle. And for its release, it's highly advertised in the extreme right press. The best Christmas present, this newspaper suggests in December 1925. But when it arrives in bookshops, surprise! It's not a commercial success. A few thousand copies appeal to Nazi supporters, but the work does not break through as much as was predicted. Worse still, some newspapers annihilate him. [Music] Hitler is a political agitator who no longer understands the world. His ideas come from a twisted mind. The truth is that Mein Kampf is a book that is mostly unreadable for his contemporaries. It's mostly a hodgepodge of ideas, a kind of volcanic

explosion that isn't completely under control. The public expected sensational revelations about the push that Hitler would reveal insider secrets. The expectation was too much. People expected to see a political bomb explode, and that was in no way what was in my campaign. But Hitler insisted. In 1928, he even writes another work, which is totally unknown, nicknamed the secret book. Another very aggressive work. However, this second book is never printed in his lifetime. The publisher refuses, given the poor sales of Hermine Kampf. So Mein Kampf could have stayed a small unknown work, except fate is about to take a dramatic turn. [Music] It's 1930, and the economic crisis in America hits a still weak Germany hard. In the space of four years, the country has over four million more unemployed. At the elections, Germans avoid the classic parties and vote for the extremes. Hitler's party goes from three to 18 per [Music] cent. Straight away, sales of Mein Kampf go through the roof. 54,000 copies were sold just in 1930.

[Music] We want to know what Hitler thinks, what he wants. This man who has become part of the German political system and in his quest for power. This book improves the Führer's image. [Music] It establishes Hitler's credibility as no longer just a political agitator, just a speaker, but a writer. It's something that matters in Germany. Germany is still a country that respects its doctors and professors. [Applause] 1933, Hitler amazes the whole world when he arrives in power, almost by surprise. He is appointed chancellor, though he only won 37% of the votes. [Applause] To realize his dreams of greatness and the conquests he wrote about in Mein Kampf, he would need a united Germany. So, with the help of Goebbels, he uses one of the theories contained in his book: propaganda. All effective propaganda must restrict itself to a few key points and enforce them with stereotypical formulas, as long as required, until the last of the audience is able to understand the idea.

and one of the tools of this mass propaganda of course is Mein Kampf. Very soon, the state recommends that all government employees buy it. From 1936, it is given to all newlyweds. And then the furor charmed the manufacturing industry thanks to rearmament, their orders increase eightfold. Businesses like Krupp hand it out to everyone. It was given as presents for birthdays and celebrations, or it was given out like a bonus for good performances. And to boost sales, the publisher offers the book in all formats: braille editions for the blind. Deluxe versions with a marble cover and gold-plated pages. A limited edition for high-ranking Nazi dignitaries. And the ultimate in propaganda: an enormous version in Bible format. It was a symbol of domination for the National Socialists. It was considered like the Bible of Nazism. And even more important than the book itself was its symbolic function that everyone said, We know Mein Kampf. It's the first book by force. The book becomes a bestseller.

and so ensures Hitler's fortune through royalties. He earns the equivalent of around 10 million euros. He can buy himself his famous base, the Berghof, and satisfy his taste for luxurious Mercedes cars. In total, 12.5 million copies were printed in Germany until 1944. Hitler earned around one Reichsmark, which means through this book, he earned at least 12 million Reichsmarks. But behind the massive distribution was Mein Kampf. Really read this isn't certain. With its 700 pages and laborious text, the work certainly had enough to put people off. In 1940, Carl Heinz Rina is enrolled in the Wehrmacht as a nurse. In his family, his father had received a copy from his company but was not pleased with the gift. My father put the book on a shelf, and it stayed there until 1945. My father looked inside it and said it was a declaration of war, pure and simple, and added he would never read this.

nonsense. In fact, at the time, like many other Germans, Carl and his father underestimated Hitler. My family, in Hitler, we didn't take Hitler seriously. We didn't think a man who wrote something like that could stay in power. Perhaps we should have taken in other families. Conversely, the book crystallized all their fears. In the suburbs of East Berlin, on the banks of the Spree, Lutz Rakov remembers perfectly the first time he heard talk of Mein Kampf. In 1938, Lutz was only six years old. His father, Otto, was an architect. One evening, he got all his friends together at their house to talk about Hitler's book. I was sat under the table instead of being in bed because I was curious to know what they were saying. I heard my father keep repeating, 'But read this book.' And of course, they weren't talking about the Bible or anything else but about Mein Kampf. Lutz doesn't know if his father's friends followed his advice, but one thing is sure: his father was one of the

few Germans to understand the future catastrophes that this Nazi book forewarned. He was of the opinion that all the answers to what the Nazis were going to do were in Mein Kampf. At that time, I remember Hitler talked about freedom, freedom, freedom, and in reality, he was preparing for a war with all his force. And of course, this war that was in preparation had to stay completely secret, and that is exactly what started to worry Hitler. [Music] [Applause] He is afraid that his plans will be revealed in his books. Indeed, some of the passages do announce future conquests. The aim of our external politics: ensure the German people that they will get the territories they should. Territory will justify the sacrifice of our own children. And in his hunger for this needed space, Hitler targets one country in particular: France. [Music] The mortal enemy, the merciless enemy of the German people, is and remains France. Predicts or in any case legitimizes the idea of a revenge against France.

military revenge, and there are many very violent pages against France, which is seen as a symbol of racial mixing, a country of negroes. It's the word used by Hitler, and a country of Jews. If the French took these threats seriously, they could prevent re-armament in Germany. So, Hitler adopts a very daring strategy. November 1933 in Berlin, the Fura is visited by a French journalist, Fernand de Brunon, a supporter of becoming closer to Germany. He speaks German and without a doubt has already read the passages in Mein Kampf, and Hitler gives him a scoop, the first French interview with the new chancellor. [Music] And when de Bruno asks lefura about his anti-France statements in his book, Hitler uses a ruse as old as time, an outright lie. [Music] Hitler explains that he only wants peace. He's been through war, and Europe has already had too many deaths. Has to ask him the question as Mein Kampf is well known, saying that is not the opinion you have.

in mind kamf, and Hitler replies to him, I've changed, as would a politician that is faced with a text from his youth. I've changed. I wrote this text in prison in the fury of that time, and today I'm chancellor. The interview is on the front page of the newspaper Le Maton, one of the biggest daily newspapers at the time, with a reassuring declaration from the furu: War will settle nothing. It will only worsen the state of the world. [Music] But in France, one man doesn't believe a word and will do everything to fight Hitler's book. This man is Fernan Solo, a publisher who had just started to break through in Paris in the thirties. [Music] He publishes many political texts and literature. He's the fourth or fifth biggest publisher of foreign novels. Fernan Solo, whose politics are right-wing at the time, admires Mussolini, but Hitler and his work worry him a lot. [Music] In any case, this is how Francois Savier

solo one of the publisher's sons remembers it literally. 30 or 40 percent of the text is anti-French. It's really an attack on the country. He hadn't fought in '14. He was too young. But he met my mother who was very anti-German because my maternal grandfather was killed very early on in the 1914 war. To treat other cutters solo wanted to print Hitler's book to warn the French people and also for the commercial gain. The problem was that it would potentially be expensive. There were 700 pages to translate and above all Max Amman and Hitler refused any translation into French. Is packed full of anti-French passages. It is unthinkable that an uncensored version of the text would be released in French finds himself as an impasse that is until the day he is called to the ministry for former soldiers. There he is welcomed with complete discretion. A secret operation is underway. Solo is put into contact with a Jewish

former soldier whose name is Maurice Vanikov, and who will introduce it into the Ministry of Former Soldiers. And it's through this ministry that a team, unofficially of course, is put together. And so Solo begins a race against the clock. He wants to translate Mein Kampf into French as quickly as possible. And to do this, the ministry supplies seven experienced translators. Even better, the League Against Anti-Semitism buys five thousand copies, meaning fifty thousand francs for Solo. Which is absolutely crucial, since as you can see, in an operation like this one, which has to be carried out quickly, money needs to be raised quickly. And that was done. The book is released in February 1934 with a slogan aiming to shock everyone. In France, must read this book. Same turn of phrase on this poster. It plays on the fear that Mein Kampf inspires and predicts a second world war is coming. Solo has pulled off a great book launch, but things soon take a different turn. Hitler is furious. This small French

publisher is ruining his propaganda obviously hitler doesn't want the french to have access to his text without his propaganda and his ad hoc speeches at that time hitler is on a pseudo-pacifistic offensive where he's declaring to anybody who'll listen that he's a pacifist. From that perspective mein kampf is a thorn in his side so the chancellor takes solo to court. The case takes place in paris at the commercial court fifth of june 1934. The german and french lawyers face each other the right to alert the public against copyright solo against the most powerful man in germany. The sentence is given 13 days later and may seem shocking the french courts rule in favor of the dictator. It is forbidden to print or sell mein kampf with a penalty of 100 francs per infraction. Existing books have to be destroyed but this doesn't stop solo. He gets around the law with abridged versions. In other words pirated versions that are edited without the author's

consent. As a bonus, he also manages to see off his stock with the collusion of the police. [Music] He sold a considerable number of books during this period even after the court ruling because when the Germans complained that the books were still on sale and demanded that the copies were seized from the publisher, the local police called my father to say, We are coming to see if you are still selling the book and seize any copies you have. And so we put all the books into a van. The police came and said there were no more copies, and that evening the van came back, and the next day we carried on. However, Solo did fail in one aspect; the book didn't alarm any of the French elite. Even the 4,000 copies distributed by the Lika didn't have any effect. The decision-makers were blinded by Hitler's pacifistic talk. They considered the book too violent to be real. [Music] It's unthinkable to follow the politics suggested in Mein Kampf, so it is thought.

that Hitler has cooled his opinions. There is a refusal to see the violence in Mein Kampf, but also a refusal to understand that German political culture was such that Hitler would do what he said. Meanwhile, the ideas in the book progressively penetrate people's minds on the streets and over the radio waves. Google's propaganda minister reads extracts from Mein Kampf. The Reich even developed a low-price radio so they could be present in every home and at school. Some teachers sing the praises of the Fuhrer's cult. [Music] The children sing it. They are ready to live and die for Hitler, their savior, the most noble person in Germany. [Music] [Applause] In fact, Hitler is putting into practice what is written in his book, and so his hatred of Jews becomes part of the public consciousness. This sign says, Germans, your enemy is the Jew. The papers are full of shocking caricatures showing Jews with monstrous features controlling the world. And as this terrible message is hammered

home. Some people end up believing it. [Music] I know that one day, my brother came home from school crying, and my mother asked why he was sad. My brother said that Mr. Cornheim, who was Jewish, had given him sweets, and the other children said to my brother, Whoever eats food from the Jews will die. I heard this story and thought, I don't have any sweets, so I'm not in danger. [Music] In an insidious and perverse way, anti-Semitism establishes itself in Germany. [Music] But could the Holocaust have been foreseen from Mein Kampf? For once, historians agree unanimously. Of course, Mein Kampf doesn't talk about the gas chambers, but the book theorizes at length about the combat to the death that the Germans must lead and that there can only be one winner between the racially pure German people and the Jews. The Germans must have been more or less aware of what Hitler had planned, with or without Mein Kampf. Hitler never left any doubt that he

wanted to modify the Treaty of Versailles and take revenge on France. And in the mind of anybody with any sense, that can only mean war. But how the war would be led, against who, and what future he held for the countries in the East that is not written in Mein Kampf. [Music] Right up until the eve of the war, Europeans held on to the idea that peace with the Führer was possible. October 1938, Hitler announces that he is going to annex Czechoslovakia. This is a violation of the borders that have been defined in 1918. Europe is on the brink of war. Everything plays out here in Munich. The British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and the French Defense Minister Eduard Daladier are urgently rushed there. [Music] In the end, they prefer to abandon their Czech ally in exchange for a promise of peace from Hitler. They sign the famous Munich Agreement. On their return, the French and British ministers are welcomed as heroes.

[Applause] This morning, I had another talk with the German Chancellor, Hitler, and here is the paper which bears his name upon it as well as mine. [Applause] We regard the agreement signed last night and the Anglo-German naval agreement as symbolic of the desire of our two peoples never to go to war with one another again. [Music] Peace seems to be preserved. Don't mind Hitler, take your holiday, advises the press. [Music] Which politics want to be in favor of declaring war? What politician wants to say, I want to go to war? The majority of European countries are pacifists. Never again do we want war. Never again the First World War. Never again the slaughter. And even after the Munich crisis, very few of the elite foresee war. Written in Mein Kampf, Churchill and the young Colonel de Gaulle saw it very early on. They said they were very worried, but at the time they weren't in positions of power. [Music] Churchill has become almost an outsider.

in 1939, the pacifistic talk, which has been so carefully maintained, collapses brutally. Germany attacks Poland and invades a large part of Europe. The Russia's troops march through Paris. Hitler celebrates. The whole world trembles at the thought of falling under the control of the Nazis. That is when the elite changed their mind about Mein Kampf. [Music] The harmfulness of Mein Kampf is discovered when Hitler starts to apply the politics that he had written about. So, there's a discovery of what existed already but that people didn't see or didn't want to see. That's when the fate of the book suddenly changes. Before 1939, the Allies hadn't seen its danger but now they are going to use it to create effective counter-propaganda. That's what happens in the United States. There, Americans are protesting against the war. The average man is hardly thrilled with the idea of going to save Europe. Another war, not for me this time. America should keep out and I know I will in the

event of war in Europe. I think we should stay out of it entirely by all means. No, yes, fight, no, no, no. So the authorities broadcast clips like these. The scene takes place in a church at mass to mobilize its troops. The film is aimed at the minorities attacked in the book Mein Kampf becomes a weapon of persuasion. I'm not going to read all of this but there're one or two things in this book that will interest you, I quote from time to time. The illustrated papers show how a negro has become a lawyer, a teacher perhaps even a minister. It never dawns on the degenerate middle class America that this is truly a sin against all reason, that it is criminal madness to train a born half-ape until one believes one has made a lawyer of him. This book was written 20 years ago. The plan which it foreshadowed has become a reality. At the same time on the other side of the Atlantic, the propaganda around the book intensifies. War is also a battle of ideas.

and to win it the raj wants to impose its nazi doctrine in schools. [Music] But this time, it takes place in conquered territories. It's a page of history that not much is known about. Part of France, Alsace, and Moselle finds itself nazified from 1940. These two regions become German again, and the teaching there is turned upside down. That's what we discovered at the regional archives in Assassi through the testimony of Marguerite Foster, an Alsatian teacher who kept an intimate diary from the summer of 1940. Distressed, she writes, What will happen to my colleagues and me? I hate the German methods to the bottom of my heart. I'm horrified at the thought of teaching a member of the Hitler Youth, teaching them to think 'Deutschland über alles,' Germany above everything. We have to teach them all of France's faults, teach them perhaps to hate it as an enemy. All of my being is against this state of things. My God, thy will be done. There was no use Marguerite protesting.

like all of her colleagues in Alsace Marzelle, she had to follow the orders of the Reich. She goes to Germany to undergo an indoctrination. There, she has to learn the program called Rasankunda, the science of the races. Reading Mein Kampf is compulsory, and in her book, Margherita writes in German what the Nazis dictate. On the subject of music, The Jew has no creative activity. He takes the creativity of others. Jewish music is going to take Europe back into the night. For her students, she now has to use this pro-Nazi book. Inside, Hitler is featured as an author to study in their books under the guidance of their teachers. Pupils aged 8 to 10 draw Nazi symbols. The teacher gave the Nazi salute when he arrived. All the lessons started with an update from the front, where the German army were, the advances, the retreats. It's clear that some of the teachers trained in Germany didn't put this program into practice, that a minority did as possible, and we

mustn't forget that there were some German teachers sent to Elsass-Moselle, some of whom applied the program zealously. From 1944, the German army saw a string of defeats. As time went on, the flagship book of the regime became an inconvenience. [Music] To avoid looking like Nazis, Germans tried to get rid of it. [Music] The greatest number of copies I ever saw was on the 23rd of April 1945. We had some land next to the Spree, and I saw a lot of copies floating in the water. It was poison; it had to be disposed of, and neighbors threw everything that was poisonous into a hole: arms and books that had become embarrassing, and in all of this was mine. Comes they stood out with their red covers. We covered all of that with earth and prayed to our guardian angels that they would never be discovered. Of course, with the advance of the Red Army, people were afraid of being checked or identified as people owning this book.

they were scared the Russians would turn against them. That's why they got rid of it. From then on, in a defeated Germany, all Nazi symbols had to be removed. The Allies demand that the machines used to print Mein Kampf have to be destroyed. Any republishing of the book is strictly forbidden in Germany. At that moment, nobody imagined that this bestseller would become a longseller. This author is dead. His work is filled with hate. His politics ended in an appalling massacre. However, his forbidden work continues to be published in France, for example. After the war, Solo printed Mein Kampf and continues to do so, on average, two thousand copies per year. And it's not the only one. My Struggle in England, Amina Luta in Brazil, Wardy Feng do in China. The book is published worldwide and has been since the 1930s. It's impossible to ban its publication, especially in the age of the internet. And so, millions of copies have been sold since 1945. There is also the fascination for what

is forbidden. If it's forbidden, it must be interesting, so we seek it out. In Arab countries fighting against Israel, the book seduces anti-Semites. Even more surprisingly, Capcam, the Turkish version, topped the bestseller list in 2005. Nearly a hundred thousand copies sold in two months. When nationalists arrived in power, it is also surprisingly successful in India, where Hitler is sometimes quoted in management schools as a model of success. A country like India, where for years, decades, Mein Kampf has been successful. Mein Kampf is the symbol of a war-mongering ultra-nationalism that imposes itself on its neighbors. Since the 1st of January 2016, the book has begun a new chapter in its story. In accordance with copyright law, the work becomes part of the public domain. In theory, nothing now stops it being republished. But in Germany, the book is still considered dangerous. As such, only critical additions like this one are authorized. The furious text is surrounded by 3500 comments written by historians.

of course we wanted to make a critical addition one based on the essentials. It was about contradicting hitler correcting him in france. The publisher failed took the same approach. A scientific council are preparing a version that is also commented in order to neutralize the hate and lies in the original text. [Music] you

Mein Kampf: The Secrets of Adolf Hitler's Book of Evil | Free Documentary Nature

Free Documentary - History

"Mein Kampf" written by Adolf Hitler was a blueprint for the Holocaust and World War II, as claimed by British man Elwyn Jones.

The book, banned in many countries for 70 years, continues to be a divisive and controversial piece of literature, portraying Hitler's path from obscurity to becoming a powerful leader.

Hitler's rise to power was fueled by his talent as a speaker and culminated in a failed attempt to seize power in 1923.

Hitler's Time in Prison and the Birth of Mein Kampf

Hitler's lowest point in prison leads to a new lease on life as he starts writing and uses the trial as a platform for his ideas.

He is treated like a star in prison, surrounded by friends and supporters, which helps him rebuild his party and plan Mein Kampf.

Hitler's time in prison allows him to perfect his terrifying racial theory and solidify his obsession with the Jews as the cause of Germany's failures.

The Controversial Rise of Hitler's "Mein Kampf"

Hitler's infamous anti-Semitic manifesto, "Mein Kampf," initially struggled to gain popularity and was criticized as unreadable and incoherent.

However, the book's sales skyrocketed in 1930 with the rise of Hitler's political influence, ultimately becoming a bestseller and a tool for Nazi propaganda and indoctrination.

The widespread distribution of "Mein Kampf," including special editions and as gifts, solidified its symbolic importance as a representation of Nazi ideology.

Hitler earned around 10 million euros in royalties from Mein Kampf, selling 12.

The book's massive distribution contributed to his significant wealth, despite its laborious and off-putting content.

Mein Kampf's anti-France threats and Hitler's lies about peace are also highlighted, showing the book's impact on international relations.

The French Publisher's Secret Mission to Translate Mein Kampf

A French publisher, Solo, undertakes a secret operation to translate Mein Kampf into French with the help of the Ministry of Former Soldiers and experienced translators.

The book is released with a shocking slogan, but Hitler's furious reaction leads to a court case where the French courts rule in favor of the dictator, banning the printing and sale of Mein Kampf in France.

However, Solo continues to distribute abridged and pirated versions with the collusion of the police, selling a considerable number of books despite the ban.

The Impact of Mein Kampf on Hitler's Rise to Power

Hitler's book, Mein Kampf, played a significant role in spreading his ideas and cultivating a culture of anti-Semitism in Germany.

The book's theories about German superiority and the need for conflict were embraced by the public, contributing to the establishment of Hitler's ideologies in the mainstream consciousness.

Despite the clear intentions and aggressive ambitions outlined in Mein Kampf, many European leaders, driven by a desire for peace, underestimated the threat of war and Hitler's expansionist agenda, as highlighted by the Munich Agreement.

The Impact of Mein Kampf During World War II

Germany's invasion of Europe in 1939 led to a shift in perspective on Mein Kampf, using it for counter-propaganda.

The book became a tool for the Allies to mobilize and persuade the American public to support the war.

In conquered territories like Alsace and Moselle, Mein Kampf was enforced in schools, and teachers were required to indoctrinate students with Nazi ideology, leading to resistance and conflict.

Mein Kampf was actively discarded in Germany after the fall of the Nazi regime, but it has continued to be published worldwide, with millions of copies sold since 1945.

The book's forbidden nature has contributed to its fascination and global sales, even in countries like India and Turkey.

Despite entering the public domain in 2016, Germany still considers it dangerous, allowing only authorized critical editions with extensive comments and historical context to be published.