The Case of the Curious Translation of Mein Kampf

Ordinarily, I post items here that relate directly to the German Propaganda Archive. This is one of the occasional exceptions.

Two months back, I was reading the Wikipedia article on Mein Kampf. According to said article, the finest translation was that by one Michael Ford. That interested me. I know a lot about Mein Kampf, and I had never heard of it. I looked into it. Ford, as it turned out, had self-published the translation, then using the anonymity offered by Wikipedia, and in violation of its policies, had inserted the high praise. I removed those edits. When he discovered that a month or so later, he tried to re-insert his praise of his own book, but the violations of Wikipedia policies were so clear that others promptly reverted his edits as fast as he made them. He's given up on that, at least for the moment.

Then I want to amazon, where I found the book was selling well, in part due to a number of 5-star reviews that appeared suspiciously soon after the book’s publication last summer. He had also published a book that promoted his translation, claiming he had the only “correct” translation, one that remedied all sorts of previous errors. Mr. Ford is clearly a master of self-promotion. His is, by the way, a self-described entrepreneur whose other books include how to avoid being scammed on eBay and finding a job if you are a felon. Despite my requests, he has not provided any information on his background that would make one likely to trust his ability to translate Mein Kampf, which is a challenge even for experienced translators.

I posted a negative review, pointing out some typical howlers in translation that he had committed. If you are curious, look up my review on amazon. To date, Mr. Ford simply repeats that his version is the only “correct” one, and claims that it is the standard translation. For obvious reasons, he cannot provide the names of significant scholars in the field who agree with him.

In the meanwhile, Mr. Ford has won the support of a band of “historical revisionists” who are involved in web sites that try to appear as “objective” scholarly sites, though a quick read reveals their nature. I do not think Mr. Ford himself has such tendencies — but he is happy to accept the support of anyone who approves of his work, as best as I can tell.

Hitler's Death

I recently got the 2 May 1945 issue of the Hamburger Zeitung, which reports Hitler's death. Now, the war was all but over, and other stories in the issue make that clear without even trying to suggest that victory is still possible. Under those circumstances, it is interesting to see how Hitler's death is handled.

Issues of Signal for Sale

I've added 19 issues of Signal to the list of items I have for sale. This was a lavishly illustrated magazine published in more than 25 languages, and intended for foreign consumption. These are German-language copies distributed in Switzerland, and are fascinating examples of Nazi propaganda for international audiences.

The cover below, from a January 1942 issue, shows captured Russian soldiers.

The Nazi House

Nazism had opinions on everything, as it claimed to be a worldview that applied to everything. Today, I add a 1937 piece on how a German house should look. It goes along with an older GPA piece on Nazi interior decoration. The picture below is one view of said house.

German Propaganda Book Shop

I buy a lot of material for my research, often collecting duplicates of various items. I offer them for sale. Currently, I have 31 issues of Unser Wille und Weg, the monthly for propagandists, and a range of other items. Take a look if you are interested in original material from the period. These 31 issues have since been sold, but there are other interesting items available. I still do have 5 issues of Unser Wille und Weg, too.

Nazi Economic Propaganda (May 1932)

Of late, I've been interested in Nazi propaganda material from 1932. Today, I am adding a May 1932 pamphlet titled the Economic Emergency Program of the NSDAP. Largely based on Gregor Strasser's work, it outlines in broad terms what Nazism proposed to do to rescue Germany from the Great Depression. Although it doesn't provide much detail on how the proposals will be implemented, many of the proposals would have sounded good to Germans at the time. It proposes a huge program of job creation, land reclamation, help for farmers, import reductions, taxing the rich, helping the middle class, nationalizing the banking system, reducing interest rates, and building large numbers of private homes, among other things.

Nazi Economic Propaganda: 1938-1940

The latest addition to the German Propaganda Archive is a variety of charts from Die wirtschaftspolitische Parole, the official Nazi bimonthly on economic matters. It covered a wide range of topics.

Two images are below. The first is part of the Nazi anti-smoking campaign, claiming that the equivalent of two million Volkswagens have gone up in smoke, or that for the amount spent on tobacco, enough gas could have been purchased to drive 50 billion kilometers. The second image asserts that Jews are being driven out of the German economy, to the benefit of everyone else.