Mein Kampf emerging from Germany's shadows What in the world?

Pieces of global opinion Published duration 8 July 2014

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Adolf Hitler's manifesto, Mein Kampf (My Struggle), has not been published in Germany since the end of World War Two. This may change when the book's copyright - currently held by the state of Bavaria - expires at the end of 2015, however.

The prospect has led Germans to debate whether the book should become more readily available to the public or continue to exist only on the internet and the black market.

Last month interior ministers of 16 German states pledged to do all they could to prevent anyone from printing the work. They said they will ask the federal prosecutor general to investigate whether they could charge publishers with violating the nation's sedition laws.

According to Peter Ross Range, former diplomatic correspondent for US News & World Report, such a strategy is misguided.

"The inoculation of a younger generation against the Nazi bacillus is better served by open confrontation with Hitler's words than by keeping his reviled tract in the shadows of illegality," he writes in the New York Times.

While circulating copies of Hitler's work within Germany would be "sensational", he says, it would also remove the mystique created by the book's suppression.

"This publishing event will shape contemporary politics and feed Germany's deep-rooted postwar pacifism," he argues.

Fears in Germany that publication will be a boon to the nation's pseudo-Nazis are misguided, he says, as their party only polls around 1%, compared to nearly 25% in neighbouring France (where the work can be purchased).

The book should be available and studied in its historical context, he concludes, serving as a cautionary document for the German people.

Israel

President Obama writes op-ed for Haaretz - "Peace is possible", says US President Barack Obama in an opinion piece published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. He writes that it will require "difficult choices" on the part of Israelis and Palestinians, however.

"The only solution is a democratic, Jewish state living side-by-side in peace and security with a viable, independent Palestinian state," he continues.

Without "a true and living peace that exists not just in the plans of leaders, but in the hearts of all Israelis and Palestinians", Israel will never be secure, he says. Throughout the negotiating process, he concludes, the US will continue to be Israel's first, oldest and strongest friend.

China

Obama's second chance - Thanks to Chinese President Xi Jingping's "ham-handed" efforts to project power in Asia, writes Bloomberg View's William Pesek, the US has another opportunity to complete its Asian pivot and strengthen its alliances in the region.

In Vietnam, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan and even Hong Kong, he writes, "Xi's overbearing ways are giving Obama a second wind".

The US must dedicate more resources to Asia to capitalise on this situation, he says. "What Asian nations really want to see from the US are signs of commitment to Asia's long-term growth and development," he writes.

Ukraine

An improving army - Recent successful operations by the Ukrainian military are a sign that the prospects for the nation's long-term stability could be improving, writes Walter Russell Mead in the American Interest.

"War is the mother of states, and the efforts required to create and sustain a winning army deepen the capabilities that Ukraine's authorities will need if they are serious about state-building," he writes.

He cautions that Ukraine is not out of danger yet, however. The country still relies heavily on privately sponsored militias, which could undermine centralised national authority.

Argentina

Debt and Wall Street politics - The recent Argentine debt crisis didn't occur because the nation refused to heed the advice of the International Monetary Fund, writes Farid Kahhat in America Economia (translated by WorldCrunch).

The trouble, he says, is the result of a US judicial system that relies on "legal norms" that favour the country's finance and insurance industries. He implies that this is why the US Supreme Court ruled on 16 June that the Argentine government must pay $1.3b (£760,000) to US bondholders who had refused to agree to a debt restructuring plan.

US financial and insurance corporations have growing influence on US legislative policy thanks to their lobbying efforts, he contends, and "Argentina may be paying the price".

BBC Monitoring's quotes of the day

Afghanistan newspaper editors weigh in as tensions remain high after the Independent Election Commission announced the preliminary results of the presidential election second round.

"If the [election] commission fails to make the electoral process transparent and in the end declares the final results in favour of one of the candidates, there will be unpleasant situation in the country."- Editorial in Afghan daily Arman-e Melli

"We have repeatedly said that the separation of clean votes from dirty votes can save democracy in the country." - Editorial in Hasht-e Sobh

"The announcement of the election results has changed the situation and further complicated the electoral deadlock." - Editorial in Mandegar .‎

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Related Topics Germany

Adolf Hitler