Mein Kamph Analysis

Undoubtedly, Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kamph stands as one of the most historically destructive mediums of discourse, promoting the pseudo-scientific and bigoted ideologies reflective of the Nazi Party. It is then in question, due to recent publication controversy, whether Mein Kamph should be produced for public access. In a fundamental sense, our acceptance of the book’s republication is a question of morality and human capacity: Are we able to critically analyze and learn from Hitler’s damaging beliefs, or will Mein Kamph simply act as a means of promoting an otherwise shadowed intolerance? Within limitations, it is my belief that Mein Kamph has a place in contemporary literature, so far as it is critically studied without reserve, and regarded as a text that teaches of human’s capacity to negatively propagate and influence others.

The publication of Mein Kamph, first and foremost, would bring to reality a number of contemporary societal issues. For instance, Hitler (1933) regularly refers the “Jewish Problem,” implying the Jewish population was restrictive to the development of the Aryan race. Although dated, the sentiment of Hitler’s ideology is chillingly present in the modern international community. Anti-Semitism in fact still persists, most prevalently found in the Middle East
due to socio-political tensions (Porat, 2005), as well as more subdued anti-Semitic sentiments found throughout the world.
The challenge of countering anti-Semitism, at its most basic level, must begin with understanding the motive that guides this belief-system.
What may be beneficial, then, would be to use Mein Kamph as a means of beginning to understand why and where anti-Semitic beliefs stem from. By utilizing it as a tool for understanding, we begin to develop considerations for how to tackle contemporary anti-Semitic issues. Indeed, many forms and subdivisions of anti-Semitism may have spawned from impressionable interpretations of Mein Kamph. As such, its republication provides a unique opportunity to approach contemporary anti-Semitism from a historically critical and interdisciplinary
perspective.

Of course, it may be argued that Mein Kamph possessed such a destructive capacity, that its republication too easily gives a voice and reason to contemporary anti-Semitism; thereby implicitly promoting Hitler’s sentiments of the Jewish population (as well as other cited groups) as a burden to the development of society. However, one may retort that blindly refusing to acknowledge the echoing effects of Mein Kamph is just as, if not more problematic to modern prejudice. By rejecting the fundamental reasoning found in the book, one is rejecting the very existence of modern prejudice towards the Jewish people – assuming no value can be taken from analyzing the book’s contents. No doubt Mein Kamph embodies bigoted ideologies, but this point alone is by no means a justification to reject its worth in literature. Rather, we must approach it not out of fear, but out of an understanding of its ability to propagate prejudice; giving value to the lessons history has unfortunately told us, with the intent of learning from our past.

In all, the way in which Mein Kamph should be approached is one of delicacy and denunciation. It is not simply enough to entirely reject its republication on the grounds of its hateful sentiments. Rather, we must act with criticism and conviction, holding true our belief that history has value in its innate ability to teach lessons about the present. With this in mind, Mein Kamph stands as a challenging, yet necessary opportunity to understand destructive belief-systems, and incorporate this understanding in an effort to combat and reflect upon modern prejudices.