The Spanish first edition of Mein Kampf

Authors

  • Jesús Casquete Badallo Universidad del País Vasco

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/rep.184.07

Keywords:

Adolf Hitler, National Socialism, totalitarianism, Mein Kampf, Spanish Falange, fascism, German History, Spanish History.

Abstract

The first Spanish edition of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler was published in 1935. It was an abridged edition authorized by the Nazis. This article refutes two legends in circulation which point to the Falangists Antonio Bermúdez Cañete and Onésimo Redondo as the authors of two translations of the National-Socialist “Bible”. It reconstructs the history of its publication by the publishing-house Araluce in Barcelona, and critically analyses its contents. It identifies the Bolivian diplomatic representative in Berlin (and Nazi) Federico Nielsen Reyes as the author of the translation and of the introduction to the book. Finally, it delves into the reception of Hitler’s self-fiction across the spectrum of the Spanish right-wing. With the breakout of the Civil War, a second edition of the book was published in 1937 in Ávila by the publishing house of the NSDAP.

Published

2019-06-19

Issue

Section

RESEARCH NOTES