When he first encountered the antisemitic press, he says, he dismissed it as unworthy of serious consideration. He speaks of not having met a Jew until he arrived in Vienna, and that at first his attitude was liberal and tolerant. The narrative describes the process by which he became increasingly antisemitic and militaristic, especially during his years in Vienna. In Mein Kampf, Hitler used the main thesis of "the Jewish peril", which posits a Jewish conspiracy to gain world leadership.
A team of scholars from the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich published a German-language two-volume almost 2,000-page edition annotated with about 3,500 notes. In 2016, following the expiration of the copyright held by the Bavarian state government, Mein Kampf was republished in Germany for the first time since 1945, which prompted public debate and divided reactions from Jewish groups. Īfter Hitler's death, copyright of Mein Kampf passed to the state government of Bavaria, which refused to allow any copying or printing of the book in Germany. The governor of Landsberg noted at the time that "he hopes the book will run into many editions, thus enabling him to fulfill his financial obligations and to defray the expenses incurred at the time of his trial." After slow initial sales, the book became a bestseller in Germany following Hitler's rise to power in 1933. As he continued, he realized that it would have to be a two-volume work, with the first volume scheduled for release in early 1925. Although he received many visitors initially, he soon devoted himself entirely to the book.
Hitler began Mein Kampf while imprisoned following his failed coup in Munich in November 1923 and a trial in February 1924 for high treason, in which he received the very light sentence of five years. The book was edited first by Emil Maurice, then by Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germany. Mein Kampf ( German: My Struggle or My Fight) is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler.