Non-Fiction Challenge : Mein Kampf by Aldof Hitler
January 09, 2021
The first volume of Mein Kampf was written while the author was imprisoned in a Bavarian fortress. [..] In all he spent about thirteen months in prison. It was during this period that he wrote the first volume of Mein Kampf. If we bear all this in mind we can account for the emotional stress under which Mein Kampf was written.
— James Murphi - Translator —
Sit tight and get ready people for a whole ride of saltiness!
Yes people, i finally finish reading this book. This book as scary as the cover indeed bring me into a whole different reading experience. This would be the last non fiction challenge for this month i promise, so please be patient with me. Okay, like i said before, sit tight, let's go!
The Encounter
So why on earth me, a sci-fi enthusiast and fantasy lover end up reading the most intimidating non fiction ever?
The answer is simple. Since i also an avid movie lover, of course i encounter with lots of movie based on historical event. I love watching war movies too, which made NAZI become one of the organization that mostly mentioned in the movie. Let me list a bit for ya, Captain America? Hail Hydra! War related movie? we got Fury, 1917, The Journey's end, etc. Even non War focus kind of movie, Where Hands Touch, and the recently i got fun to watch Jojo Rabbit also the tragic one that made me know about Jews and Germany's problem The Boy in Stripped Pijama. Yeah you got the vibes. Lots of movie mentioned about this Nazi organization, about this Aldof Hitler who's famous for his dictatorship and racism.
Of course because i'm just a curious person, i want to know what made him become him. Like... why so racist? why he become the most famous villain in real life? what's his story? So i decide okay, i need to read his biography. I googled, searching in goodreads for books about him. Of course i find lots, but i end up this one because it's book written by himself.
What I Expected
You probably know what i expected from this book. Why i decided to read pages of pages (around 500+ pages) of non fiction book that in normal days i would rather not touch.
Yes, i was expecting an autobiography of him. For the back story of whys. Why he's such a racist person? Why he hates Jews for the most of it? Why he became so famous by his war strategies, etc.
I was expecting his early life, since John and Hank green talked about him in their youtube and podcast in several episode.
What I Actually Got
Turns out this book is more about his political theories and his point of view how Germany suppose to be. It does have like one or two chapter of his early life before become politician and the leader of the Nazi, but it was not that early life of him, just a glimpse of his life as an artist, doing painting.
We don't get the real reason why he hates Jews a lot, of course he talked about his hatred to this race, saying that they're manipulative and will do anything in order to avoid the spotlight as the main reason the Germany struggles. He specially really vocal about his hatred about Jews (the word Jew itself mentioned 533 times in the book, yes guys, that much) and i probably not gonna quotes his words since it would probably gonna sounds so offensive.
I was struggling a lot to finish this book actually, first since it's a non fiction, then the book turns out not a biography as i expected (which a bummer), and lots of hatred that he poured in the book just feels a lot dragging to me (since i always turns for "good vibes only" mood for every single aspect of my living) but he indeed a good writer. He's famous for being a good orator after all.
I know that fewer people are won over by the written word than by the spoken word and that every great movement on this earth owes its growth to great speakers and not to great writers. Nevertheless, in order to produce more equality and uniformity in the defense of any doctrine, its fundamental principles must be committed to writing.
His part of story for being a German, and how to be German (or how German suppose to be in his view), his point of view for every political party in German, which good and not. I learn a bit about the party in German, Marxism, Bourgeois, Judaism, although i still can't really say what's the different between them, but well.. yeah at least i learned something.
At least, if i have to say one positive thing about him, is how much he love his country, Germany. I mean how much he dedicate his life to his country, trying to make it right, save the country between the war of England and France, with Jews in the center of trouble in his country (it's from his POV not mine) i see his struggle to keep Germany as the country (and the one he wish for, the Great Germany, the World-power). Although what he has done doesn't justify his love to his country.
England did not want Germany to be a world Power. France desired that there should be no Power called Germany. Therefore there was a very essential difference. To-day we are not fighting for our position as a World-Power but only for the existence of our country, for national unity and the daily bread of our children.
The last few chapter of this book become a bit fun to read because probably i finally get in line with the topic he's talking about, and also he talks more about the events that happened in 1918 - 1923 rather than just talking his theory of the Great Germany suppose to be, about the rules about Germany should be like this and like that. He indeed had that story telling ability that can be mesmerizing, no wonder he got lots of followers when he decide to made his own party called National Socialist, which now we call it as Nazism.
Although the book (again) doesn't explain the end of the Nazi, (because probably it still hasn't end yet by the time Aldof writes it) but i still think the end of the book is quite a bam.
My Verdict
I would rate is as a So-so (go to my rating system here if you don't get what it means) for this book, the dragging feelings while reading it just so drowning me. But i kind of proud for myself for finishing this book. He indeed a great man, but just wicked. I think apart for his love for his country, and his leadership (well not all aspect) i can't say more good things about him. But i definitely read more about Nazi and probably gonna read a biography of Aldof Hitler in future because this book just didn't give me the answer for the questions i'm looking for.
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