Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' Published

'Mein Kampf' (My Struggle) by Adolf Hitler

A Day in History - 18th July 1925

Following his conviction for high treason against the German Republic in the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five years imprisonment in Landsberg prison. During his time, of which he only served nine months, Hitler began to dictate Volume One of his autobiographical piece - initially titled 4 ½ Jahre Kampf gegen Lüge, Dummheit und Feigheit. Eine Abrechnung (4 ½ Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice. A Reckoning) but ultimately shortened to Mein Kampf. It was first published on July 18th, 1925 and sold 9,473 copies in its first year.

‘Volume One; A Reckoning', combines personal narrative and political ideology into a manifesto on Germany’s inherent flaws. Hitler expresses a profound rejection of democratic systems that produced an 'abortion of fire and filth' and a 'manifest lack of any individual responsibility'. It would only be a return to the Prussian ideals of absolute authoritarian rule alongside the principle of leadership to fix the 'devastating influence of this parliamentary institution'.

Hitler further authored that the state was not an economic entity, but a racial one. To revitalise herself, Germany must burst the chains of 'humane consideration for the individual' and 'wipe out what is weak to give place to the strong'. Germany's 'parasitic' Jewish population must be eradicated for its Aryan Race, a ‘Prometheus of mankind’, to prosper in proper space and purity. Hitler outlined the further need for Lebensraum (living space) in a chapter that outlined the need to expand east into Russia. Ideas of Blut und Boden (blood and soil) foreshadowed Generalplan Ost, a Nazi campaign for the genocide of Eastern Europe's Marxist 'mongrel' races.

Volume 2 was released in 1926, with a greater focus on National Socialism. Despite slow initial sales, Mein Kampf's popularity grew as did that of Hitler and the Nazis. In the 1930s it became a national bestseller and was given out to every newly married couple and every soldier fighting at the front. As for today, it stands as a stark reminder of the destructive power of hate-filled ideologies and the importance of defending human rights.