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Turkey Shrugs Off Success of Hitler's 'Mein Kampf'
Mon Mar 28,11:00 AM ET Oddly Enough - Reuters
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's government Monday played down soaring sales of Adolf Hitler's anti-Semitic book "Mein Kampf" ("My Struggle") and said there were no racists in the large Muslim country.
Booksellers say "Mein Kampf," or "Kavgam" in Turkish, has featured among the top 10 bestsellers in the past two months, to the dismay of the country's small Jewish community and of the German embassy in Ankara.
Asked to comment on the phenomenon, government spokesman Cemil Cicek said: "We cannot allow prejudice against people for belonging to a certain race."
"We have never had such an attitude in our culture, nor in our history, and we do not have it now ... It's not possible for people to choose their races ... Turkish society's idea about this issue is clear. There is no racism in this country."
Privately, Turkish officials say this is a free country where the government cannot dictate what people choose to read. At least two new Turkish language versions of "Mein Kampf" are out in paperback.
Anti-Semitism has traditionally been weak in Turkey, a Muslim but secular country that has forged close security ties with Israel in recent years.
The Turkish Ottoman Empire offered refuge to Jews and other minorities fleeing persecution in Europe from the time of the Spanish Inquisition onwards.
Political analysts say "Mein Kampf" probably reflects rising nationalism and anti-American sentiment rather than anti-Semitism or specific support for Hitler and his ideas.
Many Turks are worried their country is having to make too many concessions to the European Union (news - web sites) as it prepares for the start of long-delayed entry talks later this year.
There is also widespread anger about the U.S. occupation of neighboring Iraq (news - web sites).
The current No. 1 bestseller in Turkey, ahead of "Mein Kampf," is "Metal Storm," which depicts a U.S. invasion of the country. The Turkish hero avenges his homeland by destroying Washington with a nuclear device.
The current No. 1 bestseller in Turkey, ahead of "Mein Kampf," is "Metal Storm," which depicts a U.S. invasion of the country. The Turkish hero avenges his homeland by destroying Washington with a nuclear device.
Zhukov said:How charming.
I was about to make a comment on how Hitler was a important historical figure and how perhaps it isn't surprisng that if his book were recently translated into Turkish it might sell well, and then I read that last line...
