ADOLF HITLER MEIN KAMPF BOOK ORIGINAL WAR EDITION 1942

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. 

Hitler dictated this 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.

A 'knapsack edition' was published and distributed by the German post office to soldiers on the front lines during World War Two. Its size was only 4-1/2 x 6-3/4 inch, so it could be carried easier by the soldier than the standard edition.