MUNICH, Germany, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A German research institute says it plans to go ahead with a scholarly edition of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" even though Bavaria has dropped the project.
Bavaria holds the copyright on the book because Hitler was legally a Munich resident when he killed himself in 1945. The copyright expires on Jan. 1, 2016.
Andreas Wirsching, the director of the Institute for Contemporary History in Munich, in a statement Wednesday on the institute's website called the book "a central source for the history of National Socialism" and said a scholarly edition is important to "the demystification of 'Mein Kampf.'" But he said the institute is aware it is working on the edition in a "sensitive environment."
Hitler began "Mein Kampf" or "My Struggle" while he was in prison following the "Beer Hall Putsch" of 1923. The book, combining autobiography with Hitler's political, racial and anti-Semitic theories, sold well before he came to power and even better afterwards.
Bavaria was a sponsor of the project. But Science Minister Ludwig Spaenle said the state has decided to drop out and to continue to ban "Mein Kampf" after the copyright expires, the European Jewish Press reported Thursday.
"Many conversations with Holocaust victims and their families have shown us that any sort of reprint of the disgraceful writings would cause enormous pain," he said.
"Mein Kampf" is widely available around the world in a number of languages and the text is online.
