海角大神

The latest "it" book in some Asian countries is evidence of a startling new trend: growing interest in 鈥�Mein Kampf,鈥� Adolf Hitler鈥檚 anti-Semitic Nazi manifesto.

Hitler鈥檚 autobiography is gaining popularity in North Korea and India, where fans appear to be relatively unaware of its anti-Semitic message and instead embrace the book for other reasons. The news, coming on the heels of German efforts to republish the anti-Semitic autobiography early last year, has revived debates about balancing freedom of speech and of the press with efforts to restrict hateful speech.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gave state officials copies of 鈥淢ein Kampf鈥� as gifts on his birthday last January, according to a report in , a newspaper run by North Korean defectors. 鈥淚t seems the book was intended to promote a study of Hitler鈥檚 economic reforms, and was not necessarily meant as an endorsement of Nazism,鈥� reports .

鈥淜im Jong-un gave a lecture to high-ranking officials, stressing that we must pursue the policy of Byungjin (Korean for 鈥榠n tandem鈥�) in terms of nuclear and economic development. Mentioning that Hitler managed to rebuild Germany in a short time following its defeat in WWI, Kim Jong-un issued an order for the Third Reich to be studied in depth and asked that practical applications be drawn from it,鈥� a source told in a telephone interview.

And in India, the book has become a bestseller, Businessweek reports.

鈥淟acking the sting of anti-Semitism but troubling nonetheless, the Hitler brand is gaining strength in India,鈥� Bloomberg Businessweek reports. 鈥淢ein Kampf is a bestseller, and bossy people are often nicknamed Hitler on television and in movies.鈥�

Indeed, Hitler has become so popular in India that movies, soap operas, and even retail stores have been named after the Nazi leader. But in India, where European history is not widely taught and Hitler鈥檚 anti-Semitism is largely unknown, the admiration has less to do with Hitler鈥檚 hatred of Jews and more to do with hero worship of strong military leaders.

The growing popularity of 鈥淢ein Kampf" in North Korea and India follows on the heels of efforts to republish portions of the book in Germany in early 2012, more than 85 years after its initial publication.聽

There, editors at the German magazine 鈥淶eitungszeugen鈥� had planned to run three 16-page installments of 鈥淢ein Kampf鈥� as pamphlets inserted into issues of the magazine, arguing that exposing the work would remove its mystique and the 鈥渇orbidden鈥� appeal surrounding it.

The decision launched the country into a tense debate about whether republishing would 鈥減ropagate hate and inspire neo-Nazi groups鈥� or 鈥渄eflate the aura that surrounds the restricted work and expose it as a confused, rambling screed.鈥澛�

As we reported last January, Hitler wrote "Mein Kampf" 鈥� "My Struggle" in English 鈥� while he was languishing in a Bavarian prison after the failed Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. The rambling and anti-Semitic manifesto-cum-autobiography outlined his ideology, including his views on Aryan racial purity and his hatred of Jews and opposition to Communism. Following World War II, the Allies gave the rights to "Mein Kampf" to the Bavarian state government and the book is widely available online and across the world.

Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.