Hitler Publishes First Volume of Mein Kampf
Following the failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, Adolf Hitler was imprisoned in Landsberg Prison where he dictated his political manifesto to associates including Rudolf Hess. On July 18, 1925, the first volume of Mein Kampf (My Struggle) was published by a small Munich press, outlining Hitler's antisemitic ideology, his vision for German expansion, and critiques of the Weimar Republic and Marxism. The book combined autobiography with political program, arguing for racial purity and the need for Lebensraum in the East. Initial sales were modest, but it gained traction among Nazi supporters and was later required reading in Germany after 1933. The publication marked an early step in codifying the ideas that would drive Nazi policy.
Why it matters: Mein Kampf served as a foundational text for the Nazi movement, articulating the worldview that justified later aggression, persecution, and the Holocaust. Its ideas influenced German foreign policy and domestic laws throughout the 1930s and 1940s. The book remains studied today as a primary source documenting the origins of 20th-century totalitarian ideology and its consequences.