'Mein Kampf' a Best Seller in Turkey

Thu Mar 24, 1:58 PM ET

By JAMES C. HELICKE, Associated Press Writer

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Turkish bookshops have a best seller, but some of them are hesitant about giving it too much display.



It's "Mein Kampf."

The popularity of Adolf Hitler's book, filled with anti-Jewish diatribes and dreams of world domination, is puzzling some Turks. Does it reflect rising anti-Semitic or anti-Western sentiment in Muslim Turkey? Or anger over Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and the war in Iraq (news - web sites)? Is it a backlash against the country's moves to join the European Union (news - web sites)? Or does it simply offer a cheap thrill?

At least two new Turkish-language versions are out in paperback and selling for as little as $4.50, but they could run into legal trouble. They were printed without the permission of the Finance Ministry of the German state of Bavaria, which was given control of Hitler's estate after World War II and is keen to suppress the book.

German diplomats in Turkey have been told to explore court action. "The book 'Mein Kampf' should not be reprinted," says Bavarian Finance Minister Kurt Faltlhauser. "The state of Bavaria administers the copyright very restrictively to prevent an increase of Nazi ideas."

Last month the ministry said it was seeking legal action to stop the book's publication in Poland.

"Mein Kampf" — meaning "My Struggle," was written in the 1920s and has long been widely available in Arab countries, but no increase in sales has been noted there lately. So Turkish analysts are hard put to explain why tens of thousands of copies have been sold here in recent months.

Lina Filiba, executive vice president of Turkey's 25,000-member Jewish community, called it "disturbing."

She said price and media attention were major factors, but also pointed to a "worrying trend" of anti-Semitic publications such as "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" being sold even in bustling department stores.

"Metal Storm" by Orkun Ucar and Burak Turna, a novel imagining a war between Turkey and the United States, is Turkey's top seller. Conspiracy theory books sell well and the press is extremely critical of the United States and Israel.

Filiba tied the phenomenon to the European Union's Dec. 17 decision to open membership talks with Turkey, a move long sought by Turkish governments but unpopular among those who fear it will expose their country to permissive European influences.

"I think there's an increase in anti-Semitic, anti-American, and anti-foreigner feeling that has paralleled Dec. 17," Filiba said.

Umit Ozdag, writing in the daily Aksam, worried that Turks feel ill-treated by the West and are anxious as ethnic Kurds in Turkey and neighboring Iraq are increasingly assertive. Some Turks, he wrote, are finding comfort in Hitler's claims that Germany lost the first world war because of the Jews.

"Turks think they are being exploited. They are angry with the demands of the European Union and United States. But those who anger them the most are Kurdish nationalists," he wrote. "Turks who think they're are being stabbed in the back read Hitler. That is a ... very dangerous development."

At least two publishing houses, Emre and Manifesto, have released cheap versions of "Mein Kampf."

Oguz Tektas of Manifesto said it had sold at least 25,000 of its print run of 30,000.

"It has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. Our only aim was commercial," Tektas said.

Esin Aka of the D and R bookshop chain said Thursday that the Emre book, released five weeks ago, was No. 2 this week, after "Metal Storm." Senol Bilginan of the Bilgi store in Ankara said it was No. 3.

"The price is of course low. And the fact that it has been ordered confiscated in some countries also helped," he said. "Everyone is buying it ... Young people have an intense interest."

Still, it's not always easy to find. One D and R shop in Istanbul buried it on a low shelf. The Dost bookshop in Ankara put it on a high shelf, where the cover featuring a saluting Hitler couldn't be seen. The manager said he was selling about five books a day and added he deliberately didn't put it on the best-seller shelves.

"I saw the book on TV and got curious about Hitler's life and decided to buy it," said Asli Ugur, 20, a university student.

She also bought a book about Che Guevara.

I 've read some parts of it, it's quite interesting I've got to say, maybe boring in some parts, but still fascinating...

We got the Turkish translation of Mein Kampf 'Kavgam'at home. My sister bought it as she tends to read a lott of books in Turkish. But its not like she is symphatic to Hitlers ideas or anti-semitic (thank god hehe).

But I can understand some people fear it is because of anti-semitic or ultra-nationalistic feelings people tend to buy the book.

I support the book shoudnt allowed to be sold. Here in Holland its illegal to sell it, but not illegal to posses it, like many other things hehehe.

To read it as an intellectial exercise is one thing but to read it for it's "insight" well, that is scary.

In places like Turkey, public opinion can be changed over night. In the past ~3 years, since the arrival of the AKP (moderate Islamists) and the subsequent US invasion of Iraq, it seems a new atmosphere has prevailed over the Turkish psyche.

Interesting how Mein Kampf became a best seller soon after "Metal Storm", the US invasion of Turkey. Are we starting to see a greater mistrust of foreigners (which had always been around since the war of independance)? Are we seeing more anti-Jewish and anti-American feelings, which tends to be the prevailing thought of the AKP? Are we seeing more isolationalism, especially with the pressures and the ups and downs of EU membership talks, which can lead to extreme ways of thinking. What I'm wondering is if we will see a resurgence of ultra-nationalist AND Islamist thought, which combined may lead to a quasi-Ottoman Republican ideology (can it be done?).

I believe statistically about %30 of the population are pro-moderate Islam, while another %7 are strong nationalist/activists. The rest fall into all other categories, including communists, socialists, capitalists, democrats, republicans, hardcore Islamists, Kurdish activists... The mood of the people has, in my opinion, never been so destabilized. And with so much happening around them in so little time (EU accession talks, US-Iraq complications, Kurd aspirations, Cyprus negotiations, volatile economics, earthquake fears...), it is too much for a population to absorb all at once. I think we are witnessing a huge change in the consciousness of the Turkish population. A reconstitution of prevailing thought. People are suddenly thinking the unthinkable and looking for answers in the most unusual areas.

After witnessing young teenage girls, the new generation, eager to read Mein Kampf, I'm beginning to wonder what the hell is really going on?

Dear Friends,

Our Western allies should not have any fear for that Mein Kampf could have a further impact on Turkish society so as to cause a shift to fascism. Why? Since Turkey has already had its particular long and well-settled fascist ideologies and groups. Therefore the problem is not if said book can make this society fascist, but if this best selling phenomenon indicates any rise in Turkish ultranationalism.



At this point let me share you another best-selling phenomenon in Turkey, a book which ranks the first in sales, thus succeeding the Mein kampf: One Hundred Strokes of the Brush Before Bed by Melissa P. And Mein Kampf is not in the top ten list any further, a rapid rise and a rapid fall in the sales, not enough to make generalizations to blame a society as a whole for becoming fascists.

Let us do a comparative analysis here: The best-seller books in Turkey as of March 14-21

1-Yatmadan Önce 100 Fýrça Darbesi (Hundred Strokes of the Brush Before Bed) - Melissa P. (Fiction)
2-Beni Kalbimden Vuranlar Var Ya - Reþat Çalýþlar
3-Metal Fýrtýna - Orkun Uçar - Timaþ
4-Bugünü Yaþama Arzusu - Irvin Yalom - Kabalcý
5-Statü Endiþesi - Alain De Botton - Sel
6-Ateþin Kýzlarý - Gerard De Nervall - Ýthaki
7-Karafatmanýn Sarayý - Daniel Koplowitz - Kanat
8-Paris'te Münzevi - Italo Calvino - YKY
9-Hacý Komunist - Ferhan Þensoy - Ortaoyuncularý
10-Makber - Cem Mumcu - Okuyan Us Yayýn

Here is a picture from the signature day of Hundred Strokes of the Brush Before Bed by Melissa P.



Another Article:
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dsnews/2511nd1.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Mein Kampf' all the rage in Turkey — Turks ask, 'Why?'

German state controlling Hitler estate wants to keep book out of publication

Friday, March 25, 2005

By James C. Helicke
The Associated Press

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkish bookshops have a best seller, but some of them are hesitant about giving it too much display.
It's "Mein Kampf."

The popularity of Adolf Hitler's book, filled with anti-Jewish diatribes and dreams of world domination, is puzzling some Turks. Does it reflect rising anti-Semitic or anti-Western sentiment in Muslim Turkey? Or anger over Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and the war in Iraq? Is it a backlash against the country's moves to join the European Union? Or does it simply offer a cheap thrill?

At least two new Turkish-language versions are out in paperback and selling for as little as $4.50, but they could run into legal trouble. They were printed without the permission of the Finance Ministry of the German state of Bavaria, which was given control of Hitler's estate after World War II and is keen to suppress the book.

German diplomats in Turkey have been told to explore court action. "The book 'Mein Kampf' should not be reprinted," says Bavarian Finance Minister Kurt Faltlhauser. "The state of Bavaria administers the copyright very restrictively to prevent an increase of Nazi ideas."

Last month the ministry said it was seeking legal action to stop the book's publication in Poland.

"Mein Kampf" — meaning "My Struggle," was written in the 1920s and has long been widely available in Arab countries, but no increase in sales has been noted there lately. So Turkish analysts are hard put to explain why tens of thousands of copies have been sold here in recent months.

Lina Filiba, executive vice president of Turkey's 25,000-member Jewish community, called it "disturbing."

She said price and media attention were major factors, but also pointed to a "worrying trend" of anti-Semitic publications such as "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" being sold even in bustling department stores.

"Metal Storm" by Orkun Ucar and Burak Turna, a novel imagining a war between Turkey and the United States, is Turkey's top seller. Conspiracy theory books sell well and the press is extremely critical of the United States and Israel.

Filiba tied the phenomenon to the European Union's Dec. 17 decision to open membership talks with Turkey, a move long sought by Turkish governments but unpopular among those who fear it will expose their country to permissive European influences.

"I think there's an increase in anti-Semitic, anti-American, and anti-foreigner feeling that has paralleled Dec. 17," Filiba said.

Umit Ozdag, writing in the daily Aksam, worried that Turks feel ill-treated by the West and are anxious as ethnic Kurds in Turkey and neighboring Iraq are increasingly assertive. Some Turks, he wrote, are finding comfort in Hitler's claims that Germany lost the first world war because of the Jews.

"Turks think they are being exploited. They are angry with the demands of the European Union and United States. But those who anger them the most are Kurdish nationalists," he wrote. "Turks who think they're are being stabbed in the back read Hitler. That is a ... very dangerous development."

At least two publishing houses, Emre and Manifesto, have released cheap versions of "Mein Kampf."

Oguz Tektas of Manifesto said it had sold at least 25,000 of its print run of 30,000.

"It has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. Our only aim was commercial," Tektas said.

Esin Aka of the D and R bookshop chain said Thursday that the Emre book, released five weeks ago, was No. 2 this week, after "Metal Storm." Senol Bilginan of the Bilgi store in Ankara said it was No. 3.

"The price is of course low. And the fact that it has been ordered confiscated in some countries also helped," he said. "Everyone is buying it ... Young people have an intense interest."

Still, it's not always easy to find. One D and R shop in Istanbul buried it on a low shelf. The Dost bookshop in Ankara put it on a high shelf, where the cover featuring a saluting Hitler couldn't be seen. The manager said he was selling about five books a day and added he deliberately didn't put it on the best-seller shelves.

"I saw the book on TV and got curious about Hitler's life and decided to buy it," said Asli Ugur, 20, a university student.

She also bought a book about Che Guevara.

I am anti-nazi, but I do not believe you should forbit the selling of books... even Mein Kampf.
(Neo)nazis will still have the same poisoned ideas with or without Mein Kampf. Besides people tend to forget that neonazis (and other extreme-right wing followers) are almost always low-educated people -and unemployed-, the way I see it they don't posses enough skills to read a simple "enquirer" type of magazine, how can they read a "blurry" book like Mein Kampf??

In the Netherlands possesion of Mein Kampf is legal, as is the lending of the book -you can read the book in libraries-. Selling the book is illegal in the Netherlands as is the reproducing the book. But it is legal to buy Mein Kampf in a foreign state and importing the book in the Netherlands.

I think you also refer to weed. Possesion and selling of soft-drus is illegal in the Netherlands. It's just that soft drugs are tolerated -however they are still illegal-.

LOL Pindos, wasnt I bassicly saying the same thing, though not so specific.

Ah Cid...
You should have learned by now, that in a Greek-Turkish forum everything you say, can be and will be used against you, even if your words aren't meant as a serious remark. ;)
If a remark isn't waterproof the sharks will get you, you know it :P

Yes PINDOS :lol:
I know what you mean ;)

Some people come to this site to have a good conversation, relax and enjoy the sightings of the beach of WCF and some come to this site for war to hunt like sharks on others.
I come here to relax on the beaches of WTC and if sharks try to get me, Pamela Anderson will come to the rescue :D .

PINDOS are you a shark or just the nudist on the beach hehehe

Believe in me Pindos is good in both roles. :)
Don't force your luck.

(a clue for my friend, ask him Greek naval history, he will calm down). :)

Cid did you see me on the beach??
I am indeed a pacifist nudist, but some how when I swim on my back, people confuse certain parts of my body with that of a shark!!! Ever seen the movies FREE WILLIE? Where do you think the script-wrighter got his inspiration about willie? Hahaha enough jokes.
I am the average poster in here, this means usually I am relaxed, but every now and then I smell blood and the "seek victim and bite the victim" instincts drive me crazy.. ;)

Certain parts of your body are comparable to the back of a killer-whale ? :doubt:

Dude you have a serious problem, the only mammals you can do are elephants hehehe.

Ah yes your hunter instincts, should we open a special forum: "PINDOS' Hunting Forum", hehehe. I will put in a lott of pictures of Free Willys hehe :lol: