Annotated version of Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' was a 2016 German best-seller

MUNICH, Germany, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The Institute of Contemporary History of Munich said its annotated reprint of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf was one of Germany's best-selling nonfiction books in 2016.

The institute's reprint of Hitler's manifesto -- titled Hitler, Mein Kampf, A Critical Edition -- sold about 85,000 copies last year, when the regional government of Bavaria's copyright on the book expired. The book was banned for seven decades following World War II.

The institute originally printed 4,000 copies of its version. Editions in English and French are planned, while more books are being printed. The book spent 35 weeks on Der Spiegel's best-seller list.

Hitler's Mein Kampf -- meaning "My Struggle" -- was first published in 1925 and 1926 in two volumes. Hitler wrote the book while imprisoned. It features autobiographical information and background on his anti-semitic and extreme political views.

"We are very happy that the ambitious bridge between fundamental academic work and historical-political explanation appears to have succeeded," Andreas Wirsching, the institute's director, told The New York Times.

Wirsching said publishing the work generated more than 60 discussions in museums, memorial sites, schools and churches to examine the edition. Wirsching said the level of public interest allowed for proper discussion amid fears of rising authoritarianism.

"On the contrary, the discussions about Hitler's worldview and dealing with his propaganda presented an opportunity -- at a time when authoritarian political beliefs and far-right slogans are again gaining in popularity -- to re-examine the ominous roots and results of such totalitarian ideologies," Wirsching said.

The institute said data suggested book buyers were "customers interested in politics and history as well as educators" -- not "reactionaries or right-wing radicals."