Magazine delays printing of 'Mein Kampf'

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BERLIN, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- The British publisher of a German historical magazine said Wednesday he will postpone printing excerpts of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" after legal threats.

Peter McGee had announced plans last week to publish segments of the book in his magazine Zeitungszeugen, though it remains under copyright in Germany until 2015, The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported. McGee said he will hold off on his plans until the legal issues were sorted out.

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

"Mein Kampf" is available to researchers in libraries and sometimes translations from abroad can be found in Germany, but it cannot be published in the country, the news agency said.

"Holocaust survivors are relieved that the nightmare of Hitler's handbook openly sold in the kiosks of Berlin has been lifted," Elan Steinberg, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, said in a statement. "Make no mistake: The issue here was not of free speech, but rather that of a sensationalist publisher seeking to make material profit at the emotional expense of victims of Nazi terror. Indeed, even in Germany, legitimate scholars or inquirers can easily obtain reference to 'Mein Kampf' through the Internet or academic libraries."

The Bavarian Finance Ministry, which holds the copyright to "Mein Kampf," gave permission to the Munich-based Institute for Contemporary History to begin work on an annotated edition of the book in advance of the 2015 copyright lapse.