'Mein Kampf' to see its first post-WWII publication in Germany

(AFP PHOTO/CARL DE SOUZA)

The Munich-based Institute of Contemporary History announced February 3 that it plans to republish Adolf Hitler's autobiography Mein Kampf in 2015. This would be the book's first publication in Germany since 1945.

Mein Kampf, whose title means "My Struggle," is Hitler's autobiography and manifesto containing his views on "racial purity" and against Judaism and Communism.

The Institute of Contemporary History (IfZ) says it plans to publish an annotated version of the text to as an educational tool for schools and universities.

A new edition of Mein Kampf can only be published after 2015, when the copyright currently held by the Bavarian state government expires. The IfZ says it would like to begin working on the project even before the end of the copyright, but the Bavarian state government has so far not been granted permission.

Hilter wrote Mein Kampf in 1924, and the work was first published in two volumes in 1925 and 1926. More than 10 million copies of the title were sold or distributed in Nazi Germany. It has been published in book and serial form throughout the world and made its author a multi-millionaire.