Mein Kampf

1. Greg Gibson Mein Kampf

2. What is it? • Mein Kampf (translates into “My Struggle” or “My Fight”) • Though it is the trademarked work of Adolf Hitler, Hitler himself did not write it. Mein Kampf was actually first dictated to man named Rudolph Hess while Hitler was in jail between the years 1923 and 1924. • Basically what Mein Kampf is, is a documentary of Hitler’s early years in the Nazi Party, his future ideals for Germany and his infamous beliefs on politics and race. • It isn’t really a “novel”, but an autobiography combined with his political beliefs. • It was composed of 2 Volumes: • "EineAbrechnung" ("An Account“) • “Die NationalsozialistischeBewegung" ("The National-Socialistic Movement“) • He also created a second book, “ZweitesBuch” suggesting that around 1980, there would be a final struggle for world domination between the USA, Britain, and Germany.

3. Topics it Covers… • Plans for Germany and it’s allies to conquer Europe • Planned to join Italy and the United Kingdom to defeat France, Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union. • The belief of white supremacy and the scale of supremacy • Whites with blonde hair and blue eyes (Aryans) were the “master race” • Hitler believed that all results in art, science and technology were all products of the Aryan culture. • Jews were considered the lowest of low, along with Czechs, Poles and Russians. • Throughout the book, Jews are referred as many things including monsters, bloodthirsty, maggots, and the mortal enemies of Aryan humanity. • States Hitler’s belief that the “lower” people actually benefit from this because they can “come in contact with and learn from the superior Aryans”.

4. Popularity during WWII • When Mein Kampf was first released in 1925 it hardly sold any copies. • It was’nt until Hitler became Chancellor of Germany that Mein Kampf became popular. Millions of copies were sold, and it even became customary to give copies to newlyweds, high school graduates, and to every soldier on the front line. Though the popularity soared, few Germans actually read it in it’s entirity. • Some historians have speculated that if countries besides Germany read Mein Kampf before the outbreak of World War II, it might have alerted the world to the dangers Hitler would release. • For many years after WWII, the printing of the book in Germany was extremely forbidden. Today printing is allowed, but the book must be shortened and commented.

5. The content of the Mein Kampf… • Some famous quotes from Mein Kampf are: • The great masses of the people will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one. • Sooner will a camel pass through a needle's eye than a great man be 'discovered' by an election. • The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force. • Never forget that the most sacred right on this earth is man's right to have the earth to till with his own hands, the most sacred sacrifice the blood that a man sheds for this earth. • Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live. • Any alliance whose purpose is not the intention to wage war is senseless and useless.

6. It’s Importance in History… • Though it was an extremely cruel and supported many horrid beliefs, Mein Kampf was basically what unified Germany during it’s Depression after WWI. • It offered a solution for many of the German citizens who were lost and didn’t know how to live any longer, due to the extreme prices they were forced to pay for basic necessities. • Mein Kampf is what also helped Hitler and the Nazi Party premedititate plans for conquest before the war even began, making many of their basic strategies well planned out and successful • Lastly, it was the basis for the Holocaust and the near annihilation of an entire race in Europe.

7. Bibliography • http://www.crusader.net/texts/mk/ • http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/kampf2.htm • http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/kampf.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mein_Kampf