Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler (Book Analysis) E-Book

Bright Summaries

• Herausgeber: BrightSummaries.com
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: BrightSummaries.com
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Seitenzahl: 25

Beschreibung

Unlock the more straightforward side of Mein Kampf with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, which was written during Hitler’s incarceration in Landsberg Prison and contains a detailed expression of his political thought. Though its virulent anti-Semitism and diatribes against parliamentary documentary may be shocking to contemporary readers, an estimated ten million copies of Mein Kampf were sold in Germany between its publication in 1925-1926 and 1945, and at one point it was given out as a wedding present from the government of the Third Reich. Nowadays, the book has value as a historical document, as it provides a revealing insight into the ideological underpinnings of Nazism and Hitler’s political strategy. Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party and Führer of the Third Reich from 1934 to 1945. He transformed Germany into a totalitarian dictatorship and is directly responsible for one of the most infamous genocides in history, the Holocaust.

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This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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Leseprobe

Adolf Hitler

Führer and Chancellor of the Third Reich

Born in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary in 1889.Died in Berlin in 1945.

Adolf Hitler was born in Austria-Hungary in 1889, before moving to Germany with his family at the age of five. He lost his parents at a young age and was something of a misfit during his childhood and adolescence. He dreamed of becoming an architect and applied to the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna on multiple occasions, but was rejected each time. After the First World War, which he fought in, he went into politics and soon became the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.

In 1923, he wrote Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”), which set out the ideological underpinnings of Nazism. He put these ideas into practice ten years later when he became Chancellor of the Third Reich and established a totalitarian regime in Germany. He gave himself the title Führer (“Leader”) and extended his domination across Europe during the Second World War.

Mein Kampf

The Nazi manifesto

Genre: political manifestoReference edition: Hitler, A. (2015) Mein Kampf: My Struggle. Trans. Murphy, J. Stockholm: White Wolf.1st edition: 1925-1926Themes: domestic and foreign policy, race theory, the press, anti-Semitism, Marxism, Nazism, the army

Mein Kampf was originally published in two volumes. The first volume appeared in 1925 and is more analytical, while the second was published in 1926 and sets out a political programme. When taken together, they provide an outline of the author’s biography: for example, the first two chapters are entitled “In the home of my parents” and “Years of study and suffering in Vienna”. The first volume ends with a description of a popular assembly held by the National Socialist Party on 24 February 1920, which is presented as an important turning point in Hitler’s political career.

The “struggle” referred to in the title is directed against a host of perceived enemies: Judaism, Marxism, the press and parliamentary democracy. Hitler also expresses his aim of reunifying Germany and setting up a racist, elitist regime which he would lead.

Summary

A multifaceted struggle

While the title of the book may suggest a single, unified struggle, the text itself reveals that this is not the case. This approach reflects Hitler’s belief that “The art of leadership, as displayed by really great popular leaders in all ages, consists in consolidating the attention of the people against a single adversary” (p. 60). As part of his aim “to make different opponents appear as if they belonged to the one category” (p. 60), he conflates the purported struggle against the Jews with the need to get rid of his party’s many adversaries: Marxism, the press and parliamentary government, which he depicts as corrupted by the race he so despises so that they are now just heads of the “Jewish world-hydra” (p. 266).