'Mein Kampf' excerpts to be published

BERLIN, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A German weekly magazine publisher's decision to release excerpts from Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" beginning next week already is drawing criticism.

Peter McGee, the publisher of German paper Zeitungszeugen, which already published excerpts from Nazi newspapers, said he plans to start publishing excerpts of Hitler's book as an insert and will be accompanied by comments from historians, French daily Le Figaro reported Wednesday.

"It is about time that the broader public is given the opportunity to deal with the original text," he told Der Spiegel.

He said he plans to print three 15-page editions, with a print run of 100,000 each, Sweden's The Local reported.

"Mein Kampf," written by Hitler while jailed for a failed government overthrow in Bavaria in 1923, is banned in Germany but is available on nationalist Web sites based outside Germany.

Dieter Graumann, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told The Jerusalem Post while he could do without "Mein Kampf" being published at all, he would rather have Germans read annotated excerpts from the book than access the volume online.

"I can truly do without the publication of this hate-filled book that is saturated with anti-Semitism to the core," Graumann told the Post via e-mail.

But if the book must be read, Graumann said it was better to read it with an accompanying critical commentary.