Friday October 15, 1999 No
Mein Kampf, but Adolf cartoon
fine FRANKFURT
(Reuters) -
"Mein
Kampf" may have
been voted one of the 100 books that
shaped the century -- but it was no show
on Friday for Adolf Hitler's
seminal work at the world's biggest book
fair. There was no such problem, however, for
Adolf the best-selling cartoon character
who donned his German helmet time machine
to travel "Back to the Future" from
Paraguay to Sarajevo. "Mein
Kampf," which Hitler wrote in
prison several years before he led the
Nazi party to power in 1933, is banned in
Germany as hate literature. The book trade quarterly Logos had
chosen "Mein
Kampf" as one of the century's most
influential books even though "it displays
utter disdain for freedom and civil
morality, virulent anti-Semitism." Logos
editor Gordon Graham decided to
display all 100 influential books in
Frankfurt." Then a German friend told me you cannot
exhibit 'Mein Kampf.' We took legal advice
and were told it can only be exhibited
under locked glass. So we have it hidden
now. It is significant this should be
happening after 50 years," Graham
said. © 1999
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