A Silver Lining of the Ban?

While traveling last week, I stayed with a friend who grew up in Germany. He asked me about the class I am taking, and during the course of the resulting discussion, Mein Kampf came up. Mein Kampf is the autobiography/manifesto of Adolph Hitler, and it is currently banned in Germany. The copyright is set to expire in 2015, which will end Germany’s ability to ban publication and distribution of the book. This is causing a huge controversy about whether there should be an official copy released.

When I got home, I looked to see what more about the current debate. I couldn’t find anything too recent, but I did find an article at time.com from August of 2008 discussing the ending of the ban, and the possible ramifications of that ending (http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1831786,00.html). The debate revolves about whether a new German edition should be released containing annotations that explain where Hitler got the information he used. The pro side believes that releasing such a book would exorcise the mystique surrounding the book, diminishing any potential power it might have. The con side believes that releasing the book in any form believes that there isn’t a demand for the book and, for those that want to read it, it is available on the Internet.

There does not appear to be a consensus at this point as to what the state of Bavaria, which currently holds the copyright, will do, but there is suggestion that there will be no official German copy printed. The Time article ends with the observation that no matter what the outcome is, Hitler would have been pleased with the attention.

The whole situation has made me think about one of the unintended benefits of attempting to ban books: it makes them irresistibly interesting. My friend said he never would have picked up Mein Kampf if it hadn’t been banned in Germany, and found it to be poorly written and not really worth the read once he was able to obtain a copy in the U.S. Giving any publicity—even if it is negative—spreads the word about something. And maybe it’s just me, but when someone says I can’t, it usually makes me want to do it even more. I know that there are books on common banned books lists that I would never have even thought about reading if they weren’t banned – not because they aren’t good books, but because they don’t necessarily fall within my interests. But when I see a book is banned, I want to know why, which causes me to pick it up and read it.

I’m certainly not advocating that books should be banned, but as long as it’s happening, I guess I’m trying to see a silver lining. I still hope for the day when everyone respects the rights of others to self-determine what is appropriate for themselves, but until that happens, I’m going to hang on to my silver lining.