Hitler's Mein Kampf

     

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            Once upon a time, an Austrian man was doing time in Landsberg Prison on charges of treason. Landsberg consisted of four brick-built cell blocks built in a cross-shape orientation.” This allowed guards to watch all wings simultaneously from a central location. The prison, which was used for holding convicted criminals and those awaiting sentencing, was also designated a Festungshaft (meaning fortress confinement). Its facilities were similar to modern protective custody unit. There was no forced labor, the cells were reasonably comfortable, and visitors were allowed. The Austrian’s sentence was five years and during that time, he received many visitors. However, his favorite pass-time was writing and he had plans for a two-volume book which the author wanted to call Four and a Half Years [of Struggle] Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice. When volume one was done, the editors were his chauffeur, Emil Maurice, and his friend and confident Rudolf Hess. The author was, of course, Adolf Hitler. At his publisher’s suggestion, the book was retitled Mein Kampf in which Hitler outlined his political ideology, his plans for Germany’s future, and the reasons for his antisemitism. The book came out on July 18, 1925 and, much to the prison governor’s disappointment, initial sales were disappointing. If the book ran into enough editions, it would "enable Hitler to fulfill his financial obligations and to defray the expenses incurred at the time of his trial. However, following Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, it became a best seller in Germany. In fact, it made so much money, Hitler eventually had a large tax debt which was wiped out (of course) when he became Germany’s chancellor.

“Through aggressive marketing, the publisher pressured the public, German institutions, and Nazi organizations to purchase copies. The Nazi propaganda machine's transformation of Adolf Hitler from a common German soldier and politician into an infallible, God-like leader greatly boosted sales as well. By the end of 1944, more than 12 million copies had been printed; most of them after 1939.” Eventually there were commemorative editions: for weddings, birthdays, Hitler’s birthday, and Braille editions. In 1934, the French government unofficially sponsored the publication of an unauthorized translation. It was meant as a warning. Since its first publication in India, Mein Kampf has gone through hundreds of editions, sold over 100,000 copies and has been translated into various Indian languages.

Then the war ended.

    “In May 1945, the Allies began to systematically remove Nazi propaganda (including books, maps, films, statues, flags, and symbols) from Germany’s libraries, universities, stores, buildings, and city streets.”  They “removed Mein Kampf and other Nazi texts from circulation and prohibited their re-publication. American authorities subsequently transferred the copyright to the Bavarian government. The Bavarians “used their legal power to prevent the re-issuing of Mein Kampf in Germany and elsewhere, with the exception of the English-language versions. In spite of its efforts, though, the Bavarian government was never able to fully stop the reprinting.  Up until 2015, when its copyright expired, Bavaria accepted royalty payments for the book and then redistributed the money to various charities.

In the United States and “According to the Boston Globe, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has been publishing "a greatly abridged edition" since 1933 but only began donating proceeds from the book to Jewish-related charities in 2000.” Recently, however, it began donating 'funds to projects having nothing to do with the Holocaust or anti-Semitism,” said actions angering many Jews and Jewish organizations.

It’s hard to know what to do with any literature of this nature. The only person who had a legitimate claim to the royalties was his nephew Leo Raubal (Hitler's half-sister’s child), but Leo refused to have anything to do with the book or the profits. 

“Unfortunately, the publisher failed to recognize the sensitivity around this book," said Josef Blumenfeld, founder of PR firm EdTech180 and a former executive at HMH. "“I’m sure HMH was well-intentioned when it tried to broaden the use of funds" 

This barely touches what is an enormously complicated issue. I suggest watching Mark Felton's YouTube video on the subject.

Old Sayings and Chickens - Barbara Baker

 

My grandson hiccupped and said, “Who’s thinking about me?”

I turned to him. “Who taught you that saying?”

“You did.” He rolled his eyes. “You always say it.”

Well, blow me over. The fact anyone remembers what I say surprised me, let alone someone so young. And his response made me smile because I still ask the same question whenever I get the hiccups.

Once again, I trip down the Google rabbit hole but this time to find out where the saying came from. This is what I learned:

Folklore says getting the hiccups means someone is talking about you or missing you. It continued to say the trick to stop the hiccups was to go through all the people in your head and when you hit the culprit the hiccups would stop.

My mother never told me that part of the saying. Next time I get the hiccups, instead of holding my breath, I’ll recite names. Who knows, maybe someone important is thinking about me.

Since I was in research mode anyways, and because my grandson is responsible for this procrastination adventure, I check into the saying out of the mouths of babes. It owes its origin to Psalm 8:2 KJV where God ordains strength out of the mouths of babes. Today, the phrase has changed to praise a young person who speaks wisely. 

Here’s a good line for my procrastination endeavors – don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Benjamin Franklin created the original phrase - never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today. That’s a tough one to abide by when procrastination mode is in full gear.

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch is said to be from the Aesop Fables although there is no confirmation of that. Hmm. I thought Google knew all.

You’re no spring chicken originated in the 1700s when farmers needed to sell their chickens while they were young and tasty. If they couldn’t sell them, they’d age through the winter and be less profitable. I’m not sure how I’ll react the next time I hear someone use the expression. It will probably depend on what time of year it is.

It seems chickens take a lot of heat as far as old sayings go. Here’s another one:

In the 1920s in the United States, a chicken dinner from a casino cafeteria cost under $2. And $2 was the standard bet for gamblers. When someone won a bet, they could buy a chicken dinner hence the phrase winner winner chicken dinner. Well, that one surprised me. My grandkids say it every time they win at cards or soccer or running races. I was positive they were the originators.

The knowledge I acquire when I procrastinate boggles my mind.

Here's a final one which has nothing to do with chickens, but you might think about it before you go to bed tonight.

Waking up on the wrong side of the bed is said to be a Roman superstition. They were always careful to get up on the correct side to ensure that good luck would follow them throughout the day. If they got up left foot forward or on the wrong side of the bed, they believed they would be surrounded by negative energy and have an unlucky day of it.

I hope you got up on the right side of the bed and have minimal hiccups throughout your day. Enjoy the September weather. Winter is always just around the corner in Alberta. 

Summer of Lies: Baker, Barbara:9780228615774: Books - Amazon.ca

What About Me?: Sequel to Summer of Lies : Baker, Barbara: Amazon.ca: Books

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Falling Asleep by Vanessa C. Hawkins

 

 

 Vanessa Hawkins Author Page

    

As Summer raises its nightcap to celebrate its own passing, I sit on my patio beneath a gazebo: pregnant from Autumn's antecedent wake and hear the howls of ghouls ready to cavort in darkness and under mounds of tawny leaves. The heat of season's spotlight becomes a refreshing gulp of water as the pumpkins grow their heads. And I, amongst the susans and the goldenrod, don my slippers and exhale the climax to inhale a sleepy, cozy, ready to hunker Fall. Happy Monday, everyone. -V

I'm Canadian by J. S. Marlo

  

Undeniable Trait

is available now!

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J. S. Marlo's BWL Books

As many of you know, I'm a Canadian author. I love my four seasons. I can't imagine living without snow in the winter, but I'll admit I could live without the excessive heat and mosquitoes in the summer.

When it comes to set my stories, I favour fall or winter in Canada. I've lived or spent lots of time in 9 of our 10 provinces (the 10th one and the 3 territories are on my bucket list, but I know people who live/lived there), so the possibilities are endless when it comes to choose a setting that I'm familiar with. I also like to add that Canadian vibe to my book covers when I can.

My latest novel takes place in Ojibson, a fictional small town in northern Ontario. Many people don't realise how large Ontario is until they drive from Ottawa to the Manitoba/Ontario border. That's roughly 2000 km (1250 miles) along the northern shores of the great lakes and through magnificent forests where you drive by some towns and many villages that are far and few between. Some services are limited, many are only available hours away, and snow storms can wreak havoc with driving anywhere.

This is the setting I chose for my latest novel "Undeniable Trait". There's a rural hospital where the old town doctor had buried secrets. For years after his death, temporary doctors (in my neck of the woods, we call them fly-in fly-out doctors) had come to provide services, but they'd only stayed for days or weeks at a time, none of them settling down. Everything changes the day Dr. Zachary arrives in Ojibson. For reason he won't share until later in the novel, Zachary is looking for a place to settle down and start afresh. The residents are thrilled, but when Zachary starts digging out his predecessor's old files, he inadvertently stumbles onto secrets worth killing or dying for.

Personally I think the only way for two people to keep a secret is for one of them to be dead. And the only way to prevent someone from digging up a secret is to destroy it, not bury it. Eventually, it will rise to the surface and someone will talk, but hey, I'm just the writer. The old doctor didn't ask for my opinion.

When I send my suggestions for a book cover, I try to come up with a visual clue that will tell my readers where my story takes place.

In "Undeniable Trait", it's the money in the six-fingered hand. This isn't colourful Monopoly money. These are real Canadian bills. That's the "Canadian" clue.

In "Voted Out", it's the ball in the middle of the compass pointing toward VOTE. It depicts the Canadian flag.

Enjoy Fall & Happy Reading!

J. S. 

 

 

J. S. Marlo's Website

A Window to my World

R

Here is the cover of my new book which will pre-release in October. Isn’t it great? I love the idea of the window because my main character, Bonnie, is in the process of lifechanging events and the window is so symbolic of looking outward, or looking beyond the walls that have held her back.

Windows are often overlooked (no pun intended). They are just “there”. We look out a window, we look in through the window. We window-shop, yet sometimes we need to just see the window. I like the way Sydney J. Harris makes a comparison between us and windows:

“People are like stained - glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

Perhaps a more well known “windows” expression is “The eyes are the window to the soul” or as another author said, “They say dreams are the windows of the soul--take a peek and you can see the inner workings, the nuts and bolts.” Either way, there is much more to each of us than window dressing, and sometimes we have to look deep to find it. At the same time, we need to be careful, or as Benjamin Franklin said:

“Don't throw stones at your neighbors if your own windows are glass.”

As writers, it is our job, and responsibility, to show our readers what is beyond those windows; to open the world for them and take them places they can’t go on their own, and to describe it in such rich detail they feel as if they are indeed in the middle of a flower garden.

“Short stories are tiny windows into other worlds and other minds and dreams. They are journeys you can make to the far side of the universe and still be back in time for dinner.” Neil Gaiman

I love to write, sharing stories with my readers that will make their days a little brighter, like light through a window. My love for the written word “unlocks doors and opens windows that weren't even there before.” (Mignon McLaughlin)

Erma Bombeck, one of my favorite columnists, once said, “Never have more kids than you do car windows.” This does not apply to books, because the more books you have, the more windows to open; the more worlds to explore.

So open this browser window and explore worlds I have imagined just for you. https://bwlpublishing.ca/baldwin-barbara/

I hope your day is as bright as a freshly washed window!

Barbara Baldwin

www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin

www.amazon.com/author/barbarabaldwin