Leslie Massey
Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf is a highly controversial book that has been banned in several countries and jurisdictions. In the context of Australia, the book was banned for a significant period of time during the 20th century, alongside thousands of other titles deemed 'obscene'. However, it is important to note that Australia's censorship laws have evolved, and the country's publishing industry has challenged these restrictions. While the current status of Mein Kampf in Australia is unclear, it is known that the book has been available in the country through online platforms and major booksellers, sparking debates about the balance between free speech and preventing the dissemination of harmful ideologies.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Is Mein Kampf banned in Australia? | No |
| Countries where Mein Kampf is banned | Romania, Germany, Russia |
| Countries where Mein Kampf is not banned | United States, United Kingdom, Australia |
| Organizations that banned Mein Kampf | Amazon, Bavarian government |
| Organizations that did not ban Mein Kampf | Barnes & Noble, Project Gutenberg Australia |
| Organizations that protested the ban on other books | Australian publishing industry |
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What You'll Learn
Is Mein Kampf banned in Australia?
Mein Kampf, written by Adolf Hitler, has had a complicated publication history, with various bans and restrictions placed on it around the world. So, is it banned in Australia?
In Australia, Mein Kampf is not banned. While thousands of books were banned in Australia during the 20th century for being 'obscene', including famous titles such as James Joyce's Ulysses and James Baldwin's Another Country, Mein Kampf has never been among the banned books in the country. In fact, one of the first complete English translations of Mein Kampf, completed by James Vincent Murphy in 1939, is freely available on Project Gutenberg Australia.
While Mein Kampf is not banned in Australia, it has faced bans and restrictions in other parts of the world, including Germany, Romania, and Russia. In Germany, the book has been subject to legal debates and restrictions due to its status as Nazi propaganda, with sales of new and second-hand copies banned on Amazon since 2020. In Romania, the sale of a Romanian edition of Mein Kampf was briefly banned in 1993, but the ban was overturned on appeal. In Russia, the book has been published multiple times, but there have been efforts to ban it, such as the Public Chamber of Russia's proposal to ban it in 2006.
The availability of Mein Kampf in Australia highlights the country's changing attitudes towards censorship and its shift away from being one of the strictest censors in the English-speaking world in the 20th century.
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Mein Kampf's availability in Germany
Mein Kampf has had a complicated publication history in Germany. The book has been banned in the country since the end of World War II, and the state of Bavaria held the copyright on the work until December 31, 2015. Despite the ban, Mein Kampf was available in Germany via major online booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble in 1999. After a public outcry, both companies agreed to end sales to German addresses.
In 2015, the German government still opposed the distribution of Mein Kampf, but digital editions were bestsellers on iTunes and Amazon Kindle. The following year, in 2016, an annotated scholarly edition of the book was published in Germany, selling out within hours on Amazon's German site. This edition was almost 2,000 pages long and included around 3,500 notes. The publication of Mein Kampf in Germany led to public debate and divided reactions from Jewish groups, with some supporting and others opposing the decision. German officials had previously stated that they would limit public access to the text, and some bookstores refused to stock the book.
While owning and buying Mein Kampf in Germany is not an offence, trading in old copies can be illegal if it is done in a way that promotes hatred or war. Most German libraries carry heavily commented and excerpted versions of the book. The Bavarian government has emphasized that even after the expiration of the copyright, "the dissemination of Nazi ideologies will remain prohibited in Germany and is punishable under the penal code."
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Mein Kampf's ban in Romanian
On 20 April 1993, Sibiu-based Pacific Publishers, under the sponsorship of the vice-president of the Democratic Agrarian Party of Romania, began issuing a Romanian edition of Mein Kampf. The authorities promptly banned the sale and confiscated the copies, citing Article 166 of the Penal Code. However, the ban was overturned on appeal by the Prosecutor General on 27 May 1993.
Chief Rabbi Moses Rosen protested, and on 10 July 1993, President Ion Iliescu asked the Prosecutor General in writing to reinstate the ban on further printing and have the book withdrawn from the market. On 8 November 1993, the Prosecutor General rebuffed Iliescu, stating that the publication of the book was an act of spreading information, not conducting fascist propaganda. Although Iliescu deplored this answer "in strictly judicial terms", this was the end of the matter.
Mein Kampf has been banned in several countries, including Germany, where the state of Bavaria in southern Germany controlled the rights to the book from 1945 until the copyright lapsed in 2016. With its copyright control, Bavaria enforced an unofficial ban on the book, from which educators and scholars were selectively exempted. However, with the lapse of copyright, anyone is now free to publish the original text.
In Russia, Mein Kampf has been banned since 2010 on the grounds of extremism promotion. The prosecutor-general's office stated that the book "justifies discrimination and destruction of non-Aryan races." The sale or distribution of the book is punishable by a fine.
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Mein Kampf's ban in Russia
In Australia, Mein Kampf is not banned. One of the first complete English translations, completed by James Vincent Murphy in 1939, is freely available on Project Gutenberg Australia. The book is also available in multiple languages, including German, at the Internet Archive.
In Russia, however, the story is different. Mein Kampf has been banned in the country since 2010. The decision came from a municipal court in the central city of Ufa, where prosecutors found copies of the book easily available. Although it contains passages that are anti-Semitic and anti-Russian, some far-right groups in Russia have praised its content. Russian prosecutors stated that Mein Kampf has "a militaristic outlook, justifies the discrimination and destruction of non-Aryan races and reflects ideas which, when implemented, started World War Two."
The ban on Mein Kampf in Russia is part of a broader effort to combat the growing appeal of far-right politics and curb the growth of militant far-right groups. Russia already had a law calling all books by Nazi party leaders extremist, but Mein Kampf itself was not included on the list of banned books, leaving its legal status ambiguous. The Russian justice ministry's list of banned extremist books currently includes 573 entries, featuring Islamic texts and publications by Jehovah's Witnesses, among others.
Mein Kampf, written by Adolf Hitler, is a semi-autobiographical work that outlines his political ideology and beliefs. In the book, Hitler describes his proposed future German expansion into Eastern territories, including Russia. He also details his racist and antisemitic views, including the belief in the superiority of the Aryan race and the need to destroy the "weak" and "inferior" races.
The book has been controversial since its initial publication, and its banning in Russia is not an isolated case. In Latvia, for example, the publication of Mein Kampf is also forbidden after a small Latvian publishing house released a translation in 1995, prompting authorities to confiscate the copies and charge the director of the publishing house with offences under anti-racism law. Similarly, in Romania, authorities banned the sale of a Romanian edition of Mein Kampf in 1993, citing Article 166 of the Penal Code, although the ban was later overturned on appeal.
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Australia's history of banning books
Australia has a history of banning books, with thousands of titles prohibited throughout the 20th century. Customs officials were empowered by "powerful seizure legislation" to search people's belongings, confiscate books, and even prosecute individuals. This led to the establishment of the Australian Book Censorship Board in 1933, which was tasked with reading and evaluating books for potential bans. The censorship regime aimed to uphold Anglo-Saxon values and shield Australia from the "corruptive influences" affecting other nations.
During this period, Australia was one of the strictest censors in the English-speaking world. Approximately 15,000 titles were banned until the early 1970s, when Customs censorship was disbanded. The majority of these books were classified as ""obscene,"" which, under British common law, meant they had the potential to "deprave or corrupt" readers. This definition was often stretched to serve racist and homophobic agendas, leading to the suppression of LGBTQIA+ works and books with diverse characters or authorship.
Notable examples of banned books in Australia include James Joyce's Ulysses, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, James Baldwin's Another Country (banned due to references to homosexual and interracial sex), and William S. Burroughs' The Naked Lunch (banned for its depiction of homosexuality and drug culture). Other titles, such as Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by Fanny Hill, American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, and The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell, have also faced restrictions or bans in Australia or specific states.
While some books remain banned or restricted in Australia, the country has seen a shift away from explicit bans towards "shadow banning." This refers to the removal of books from public view, often due to controversial topics or fears of potential consequences, such as threats of violence. The practice of banning books is a form of censorship driven by political, legal, religious, moral, or commercial motives. Australia's history of book banning illustrates the complex dynamics between free expression and societal values.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Mein Kampf is not banned in Australia. One of the first complete English translations of Mein Kampf is freely available on Project Gutenberg Australia.
No, Australia had strict censorship laws in the 20th century, and approximately 15,000 titles were banned between 1933 and the early 1970s.
Yes, Mein Kampf has been banned in Germany, Romania, and Russia.
The Bavarian government emphasised that the dissemination of Nazi ideologies is prohibited in Germany and is punishable under the penal code.
Mein Kampf is not banned in the United States, but it is banned in Texas prisons.
