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Internet Sale of Mein Kampf

Reply-To: H-NET List for History of the Holocaust <[email protected]>
Sender: H-NET List for History of the Holocaust <[email protected]>

Date: August 10, 1999

From: John Fox

Upon receipt of Susanna Hicks' reference to the New York Times article of 9 August ref. the (misleadingly titled) article concerning the internet sale of "Mein Kampf" and the reactions of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, I immediately logged on to the article to see what it was all about.

I have this to say. Are the people at the Simon Wiesenthal Centre completely off their heads in trying to block the internet sale of "Mein Kampf" to would-be German purchasers? Not only is the book a key historical document, but yet again - or should it be, "here we go again"? - their actions raise the question of censorship. Admittedly, of course, the German authorities are equally to blame in banning the distribution of the book in Germany, especially through home-grown booksellers. On the other hand, of course, nobody can stop any German from reading this important and key text in the comfort of a local or university library.

The whole thing strikes me as a total nonsense, especially since it is quite insulting to present-day Germans to try to "limit" their reading in case they are seduced by what Hitler had to say.

Something else about the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's actions greatly worries me. Will they next get it into their heads to try to "ban" the sale and even the reading of this historical text elsewhere in the world? Really, enough is enough of this "nanny-like" posturing.

Sincerely.

John Fox

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