Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf becomes bestseller in Germany after first reprint since 1945

Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf has become a shock bestseller in Germany after being reprinted for the first time since the World War Two.

Although the copies of the memoir have been available in secondhand bookshops and libraries, no new copies have been printed since the fall of the Third Reich.

The copyright of the antisemitic book, the title of which translates as My Struggle, was held by the Bavarian state government until last year.

The Institute of Contemporary History of Munich (IfZ) said about 85,000 copies of the new annotated version of the manifesto had been sold since its release last January.

It had previously only planned to print 4,000 copies, but is now preparing its sixth print run.

The institute says the reprint has enriched debate about the dangers of far-right ideology, rather than promote it.

MORE: This endangered sea turtle was discovered ‘sliced in half’ on a remote beach
MORE: Facebook removes ‘sexually explicit’ image of 450-year-old statue of Neptune

“It turned out that the fear the publication would promote Hitler’s ideology or even make it socially acceptable and give neo-Nazis a new propaganda platform was totally unfounded,” Andreas Wirsching, the director of the IfZ, said.

“To the contrary, the debate about Hitler’s world view and his approach to propaganda offered a chance to look at the causes and consequences of totalitarian ideologies, at a time in which authoritarian political views and rightwing slogans are gaining ground.”

Hitler wrote the book while in prison in Bavaria for treason following the failed Beer Hall Putsch.

It formed the basis for Nazism, detailing Hitler’s hatred for jews and the concept of lebensraum (living space) through invading neighbouring countries.