A BLOT IN HISTORY Germany rebuffs scholars, says no to Hitler reprint

The following article was published in THE TIMES OF INDIA, Hyderabad edition on 6th Feb 2010 Sat

Munich: In Germany, an author is granted an ironclad copyright for 70 years after his death, apparently even if he is subsequently regarded as one of the greatest mass murderers in history and a dark stain on the national character.
Hitler’s copyright on Mein Kampf, in the hands of the Bavarian government since the end of the Nazi regime, has long been used to keep his inflammatory manifesto off the shelves in Germany. But with the expiration date looming in 2015, there is a developing showdown here over the first German publication of the book since the end of WW II.
Experts at the respected Institute of Contemporary History in Munich say they want to prepare a critical, annotated version of the book for release when the copyright expires 70 years after Hitler’s suicide in his Berlin bunker.
"We hope to prevent neo-Nazi publications by putting out a commented, scholarly edition before that," said Edith Raim, a historian at the institute. Mein Kampf is one of the central texts if you want to explain National Socialism, and it hasnt been available in a commented edition at all in Germany.
But the Bavarian government opposed the idea, citing respect for victims of the Holocaust. In a statement Thursday, the Bavarian Finance Ministry said that permits for reprints would not be issued, at home or abroad. This also applies to a new annotated edition, said the statement, adding that the state would use all means at its disposal to proceed against any violations. There was also disagreement as to whether the book might be banned as Nazi propaganda. The Bavarian govt said that even after expiration of the copyright, the dissemination of Nazi ideologies will remain prohibited and is punishable under the penal code.
But Raim said that diaries by prominent Nazis like Joseph Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler were already available. AFP