‘Mein Kampf’ republication sparks debate

After years of being banned in Germany, Adolf Hitler’s manifesto that influenced many to start a hate movement against one religious group and sparked a genocide, “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle), is back on shelves, according to BBC. With new publications, worries arise as people speculate whether the book will serve as another source capable of sparking terrorism.

Hitler wrote his manifesto while incarcerated in 1924. In the book, he explains his hatred for the Jewish people.

After WWI, Germany went into a depression and the majority of the people left with wealth were Jewish. Hitler saw the group succeeding while others suffered sparking his hatred for the minority, who soon became his target, according to the book.

Although, the content of Mein Kampf was poorly written, Hitler still managed to sway thousands of minds.

“He got his facts wrong, he has his history wrong. It is just poorly written,” said Government teacher Mr. Dunkle. “There are views like this. You can go on websites and see racists comments but the biggest thing is to not let this get out of hand.”

In Germany during the 1920s, it got out of hand. People used Mein Kampf as a way to blame the failing economy on a minority; resulting in the death of 5- 6 million Jews. As a result of the republication, people fear a copycat.

Others, however, disagree with this fear.

“I think it is a good thing it is being republished. It is apart of German history. It is good that people are exposed to it even though it may contain a lot of hatred,” said U.S. History teacher Mr. Bencomo. “No, we will not have a copycat. I don’t think there is any mystery around what Hitler believed or what Hitler thought. Maybe it is not being published but there is still access to it online or somewhere else.”

The Holocaust is part of world history and is no longer a secret. Some people believe that if people do not learn from history then we are destined to repeat it.

“No I don’t think it is that simple to have a copycat, I think things take time. They didn’t ban ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ and then suddenly the black movement started. I think literature reflects us and not vise-versa,” said AP English teacher Ms. Ukolowicz. “You will always learn more to opening yourself to someone’s ideas rather than closing yourself.”

As Mein Kampf strikes fear into some people, most are open to the idea of learning the tactics used by a dictator that influenced thousands of minds. To say for sure that republishing Mein Kampf in Germany is a good thing can only be told at a later date.