OPINION:
It may well be true that Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” “needs to be read by everyone. Not an abbreviated historical account but the actual book” (“To know offensive ideology is to read it,” Web, March 3). But it should be noted that the 287-page English translation, originally published in 1933, was a severely edited version of the 781-page German-language original, and omitted much of the most offensive material. The editing was required by the German government, which controlled the publishing rights.
Any new English version should include the entire text, with the parts that were excised from the original English translation clearly marked. The reader could then compare the text that many Englishmen relied upon for their understanding of the then leader of Germany with the full exposition of that man’s evil intentions that was available to the Germans.
VICTOR CHOLEWICKI
Washington
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