1940 ENGLISH VERSION OF ADOLF HITLER'S MEIN KAMPF
MIEN KEMPF BY ADOLF HITLER 1940 ENGLISH EDITION - ORIGINAL
This is an original 1940 English version of Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Published by Reynal & Hitchcock the book is 1038 page red hard cover version. Mein Kampf is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germany.
In 1936, when the Germans decided they wanted to have an English language copy of Mein Kampf published, the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda commissioned James Vincent Murphy. Murphy was already employed as an English translator of Hitler's speeches. He began his translation in 1936 and completed it in 1937. However, the Propaganda Ministry cancelled the project and kept all copies of the manuscript as Murphy was beginning to be seen as "unreliable". He was also dismissed at the Ministry.
The Germans continued to use a rough draft translation of Mein Kampf by James Murphy to form 90% of main body and translators in the NSDAP to create a final volume. Hitler nor any of the German government officials endorsed the Murphy translation, but they ultimately took no action against it leading to several publishers to continue with the English version books completion.
After the Munich crisis in September 1938, the firm of Reynal & Hitchcock decided that it would be imperative to have an unexpurgated edition available to the public. They found scholars at the New School of Social Research, who were already preparing such a translation. Reynal & Hitchcock approached both this committee and Houghton Mifflin about publishing the translation under a license.
The Reynal and Hitchcock translation went out of print in 1942. No reason was given, but it was speculated that it was because Houghton Mifflin did not want to share profits with Reynal and Hitchcock, as well as a desire to produce a cheaper, less bulky version, without the elaborate notes and commentary that the Reynal and Hitchcock translation had.
Hitler dictated his book to his secretary, Rudolf Hess while imprisoned in Landsberg after the failed Putsch in Munich in November 1923.
The governor of Landsberg noted at the time that "he [Hitler] hopes the book will run into many editions, thus enabling him to fulfill his financial obligations and to defray the expenses incurred at the time of his trial."
The first volume of Mein Kampf was published in 1925, and it sold 9,473 copies in its first year. In 1927, the second volume on national socialism was published. The first edition of the first volume is marked by a red cover subtitled "A Reckoning".
Before Hitler became Reich Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Mein Kampf sold very slowly; but in 1933 after Hitler became Chancellor sales of Mein Kampf rose dramatically to 1.5 million copies.
| SKU | O1494 |
|---|---|
| Weight | 0.655000 |