Japan’s new hit: "Mein Kampf", Manga-style

Team Observers — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:46:45 +0200

A Japanese publishing firm has re-edited a translation of Adolf Hitler’s ideological pamphlet, first published in 1924. But this edition has a new twist: it’s a manga-style comic. It’s made quite a splash in Japanese bookshops.

"Mein Kampf" is the latest publication in a collection of historical comic books called "Manga de Dokuha" ("Learn with mangas") edited by the publishing firm East Press. The collection already includes manga versions of Karl Marx’s "Capital" and Tolstoy’s "War and Peace". These revamped classics usually sell around 35,000 copies nationwide.

The publishing rights for “Mein Kampf” have until now been held by the German region of Bavaria, which decided which firms were authorised to publish new editions of the text. But the copyright will expire in 2015 and the pamphlet will enter the public domain.

East Press explains that the manga is a "tool to study Hitler’s personality", to "understand the thoughts that generated such a tragedy".

Hitler – fodder for comedy?

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:40:00 +0200

In today's comic terrain, few if any subjects are off limits. Case in point, the proliferation of YouTube clips that use Adolf Hitler as fodder for comedy.

Using a pivotal and sombre scene from The Downfall, Oliver Hirschbiegel's controversial film about Hitler's final twelve days in his Berlin bunker, the YouTube videos juxtapose subtitles that are completely unrelated to the content of Hitler's words. The scene in question depicts Hitler's bout of unsuppressed anger as he is told by a group of cowering generals that the war and Nazi cause will end in defeat for Germany.

Since the film is in German, YouTubers have taken the liberty to add subtitles that deal with unlikely and comical subject matters. In one clip Hitler is enraged by Barack Obama's success; in another, he is lambasting the transfer of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United to Real Madrid; and in a third, Hitler scolds his generals as he is told that his Microsoft Live account is frozen and that he should think about getting a Wii instead.

Funny indeed, but the videos also raise some interesting questions. Should Hitler be used as fodder for comedy? What psychological function do such jokes fulfil? And is evil trivialised by such efforts? Our Observers weigh in.

Please be advised that some of the clips contain strong language.