'Mein Kampf' Banned From Publishing in Brazil; Jews Rejoice
The printing of “Mein Kampf” was recently canceled by a Brazilian publisher due to the rising pressure from the Jewish community and various scholars.
According to Forward, Edipro, an editing firm in Brazil, decided to stop the initial printing of 1,000 copies of the book, stating that it was an old translation to Portuguese from the 1930s, and had no commentary. The book was supposed to be released late in January 2016.
Paulo Maltz, president of the Rio de Janeiro Jewish Federation and vice-president of the Brazilian Israelite Confederation, said that legal procedures are currently being considered to ban the national distribution of “Mein Kampf,” which was authored by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, adds Forward.
“The book is Nazi propaganda and, under Brazilian law selling it is a non-bailable crime,” said Osias Wurman, honorary consul of Israel in Rio. Wurman. However, he agreed with a number of major publishers in Brazil who were interested in releasing an annotated edition, claiming that people need to understand the events surrounding the Holocaust.
Laura Gasparian, the owner of Argumento bookstore, said that she plans to sell the book because it is a historic document and there is actually a demand for it. She added that “Mein Kampf” will not be on display, but move straight onto the shelves.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency notes that the original manifesto consisted of 650 pages, while the annotated version has 1,000 pages, including 305 notes from an American edition and other prominent Brazilian historians.
The anti-Semitic creation had a copyright for 70 years in Germany which expired on Jan. 1, 2016. It was allowed for publishing in Brazil for the first time since World War II. “Mein Kampf” translates to “My Struggle.”
Brazilian Jews celebrated after Edipro announced that it will ban the publishing of the book.
The two biggest Holocaust-related bestsellers in history are Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” and Anne Frank’s diary. Hitler’s book initiated the genocide of the Jews in Europe. He committed suicide in Berlin in 1945 and it was only seven decades later that his work was allowed to be published in other countries.
“Mein Kampf” was first published in the 1920s and became available in Germany on Jan. 8, 2016, writes Haaretz. The book has been translated into various languages and sold millions of copies in the past several years. The expiration of the copyright means that the two books are already open in the public domain and can be used without the permission of the original publishers.
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