Richard J Evans at the New Statesman:
Just over 100 years ago, on 18 July 1925, the most notorious book of the 20th century was published – Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”) by Adolf Hitler, who became dictator of Germany less than eight years later. It has been described as the epitome of “absolute evil”, the “most disgusting of all books” and “the nadir of depravity”. More than a few historians have regarded the book as providing a blueprint for what came later, from the destruction of German democracy and the genocide of Europe’s Jews to the launching of the Second World War and the ruthless ethnic cleansing of Eastern Europe by the Nazis. Its centenary provides an opportunity for re-examining its origins, its nature and its influence.
Hitler began writing the book during a period of enforced idleness following his arrest and imprisonment for leading a violent attempt to overthrow the state government of Bavaria on 9 November 1923 – the so-called Beer Hall Putsch – which ended in a hail of bullets fired at him and his Nazi supporters by the Bavarian police. Brought to trial in Munich on 26 February 1924, Hitler claimed that he had acted purely out of patriotic motives.
more here.
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