If you’ve been following the story of who owns the copyright to Mein Kampf since I first published my article on the subject in the debut issue of Plant’s Review of Books in the fall of 1992, then you no doubt noticed the article in today’s The New York Times:
MUNICH — In Germany, an author is granted an ironclad copyright for 70 years after his death, apparently even if he is subsequently regarded as one of the greatest mass murderers in history and a dark stain on the national character.
Hitlers copyright on “Mein Kampf,” in the hands of the Bavarian government since the end of the Nazi regime, has long been used to keep his inflammatory manifesto off the shelves in Germany. But with the expiration date looming in 2015, there is a developing showdown here over the first German publication of the book since the end of World War II.
If you’re interested in the subject in the international realm, please take a look at Amders Andersson’s site from which I ripped off the graohic and title above (and which links back to me!)