As 'Mein Kampf' turns 100, a documentary grapples with its terrible legacy

One of the most infamous books ever written was published 100 years ago: Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler.

Transcript

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

One of the most infamous books ever written was published 100 years ago today. "Mein Kampf," by Adolf Hitler, came out in two volumes, the first on July 18, 1925. NPR's Neda Ulaby tells us about a documentary that grapples with its terrible legacy.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

NEDA ULABY, BYLINE: The documentary is called "Hitler's Mein Kampf: Prelude To The Holocaust." Hitler wrote it in the early 1920s, while in jail for violently trying to overthrow the Bavarian state government. In his cell, simmering with rage, Hitler spewed out hundreds of pages of personal memories, grandiose ambitions and hatred.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "HITLER'S MEIN KAMPF: PRELUDE TO THE HOLOCAUST")

UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: In "Mein Kampf," Hitler focuses on recreating a greater Germany founded on antisemitism, nationalism and necessary territorial expansion.

ULABY: As a read, "Mein Kampf" is a mess, says John Michalczyk. A professor at Boston College, he co-directed the documentary with his wife. Michalczyk says the book is an unoriginal, incoherent mash-up of racist theories and wounded pride in the wake of Germany's defeat during World War I. Initially, it was hardly a success.

JOHN MICHALCZYK: When it first came out, the sales were very mediocre.

ULABY: But "Mein Kampf" became a bestseller after Hitler's rise to power as Germany's chancellor in 1933.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "HITLER'S MEIN KAMPF: PRELUDE TO THE HOLOCAUST")

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking German).

SUSAN MICHALCZYK: What he had to do in "Mein Kampf" was shift the narrative.

ULABY: Co-director Susan Michalczyk is also a Boston college professor. She says, in German, mein kampf means my struggle. Hitler, she says, was a wounded veteran who felt...

S MICHALCZYK: Misunderstood, mislabeled, badly treated, stigmatized, and his goal is now to build up his own self-esteem.

ULABY: And that of other Germans who shared Hitler's sense of being pushed aside, condescended to and not given a chance - "Mein Kampf" was foundational to Hitler's populist appeal.

S MICHALCZYK: My struggle becomes our struggle, and he rebuilds his sense of self and his sense of purpose.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "HITLER'S MEIN KAMPF: PRELUDE TO THE HOLOCAUST")

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) Adolf Hitler.

ULABY: That sense of purpose seeded mass movements in Germany, including the Hitler Youth and League of German Girls. It rested on the idea that restoring German pride and Germany's economy meant wiping out Jews, communists, disabled people and many other groups. Susan Michalczyk says she and her husband chose to make their documentary about "Mein Kampf" because of the current rise of antisemitism, racial hatred and persecution of some political and ethnic minorities.

S MICHALCZYK: It seems like it was an old book written by Hitler when he was a nobody in prison. But the long-lasting effect is he understood human nature.

ULABY: Human nature at its absolute worst - Michalczyk says "Mein Kampf" today is a loud, shrieking warning. Of that, she says, history could not possibly be more clear. Neda Ulaby, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.