An abridged version of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” has been translated into Hebrew and published by Akademon, Hebrew University’s student press, over the protests of right-wing and nationalistic circles.
According to Moshe Zimmermann, who teaches German history at the university and was involved in the project, the 130-page annotated booklet containing selected chapters from the original 700-page book is largely aimed at students of German history.
Hitler wrote “Mein Kampf,” which spells out his anti-Semitic philosophy and strategy for world control, while serving an 11-month term in a Bavarian prison in 1924-25 for an attempted coup.
“Anybody studying history has to know the facts. As long as not everybody in Israel can study German in secondary schools, we have to provide translations,” Zimmerman said.
Four hundred copies of the booklet have been published. “We don’t expect this to be a best seller,” he added.
Reports of the publication were denounced by right-wing and nationalist leaders last week, claiming that Hitler’s standard textbook should never have been translated and published in Israel.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
