News server Romea.cz. Everything about Roma in one place

News server Romea.cz. Everything about Roma in one place

Hitler's selected speeches published in Czech translation

08 December 2012
4 minute read

A selection of speeches made by the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler between 1939 and 1942 has been released in the Czech language. Publisher and translator Pavel Kamas told the Czech Press Agency that he wanted to provide people with these speeches, which have been practically unavailable before now, so they could freely form their own opinions of them. Experts contacted by the Czech Press Agency have pointed out that the speeches are propaganda tools and could be misleading if not accompanied by expert commentary.

"In the book you will learn that Hitler spoke of Czech people with recognition and respect. You will learn why he allowed the establishment of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, how he valued the Slovaks, that he believed everyone has the same right to life, that he condemned the methods used to expel the Czechs from Poland, how he strove for peace and why," reads the website Hitlerovyprojevy.cz, which was set up to sell the book by the publisher Nakladatelství Guidemedia etc. Kamas is also the company’s sales agent.

Kamas says the aim of the book is not to analyze or critically interpret Hitler’s speeches, despite the fact that they are Nazi propaganda statements. Reportedly there has been enough work done by renowned historians who have subjected Hitler’s ideas, intentions and real-world actions to investigation.

"We wouldn’t be contributing anything new there. We essentially are making available what was actually said, and one has an inexhaustible number of resources through which one can confront these claims critically, of course," Kamas said. He believes that until now, people could not verify for themselves what Hitler actually said.

Kamas has issued the 650-page publication through the Brno-based publishing house Nakladatelství Guidemedia etc. The first print run of 10 000 is only selling online for now.

Experts, however, are warning that Hitler’s speeches were part of propaganda and therefore did not necessarily reflect the dictator’s actual opinions and plans, which unleashed the Second World War, including the horrors of the Holocaust.

"Hitler had Goebbels behind him, a propaganda genius. He said a lie repeated 100 times becomes the truth," historian Jan Břečka of the Moravian Museum (Moravské zemské muzeum) said. An article by Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels entitled "The Fuehrer as an Orator" is also part of the publication.

The speeches have been issued unedited and the translator drew on the German originals. The accompanying texts to the speeches, the forward, and the epilogue were written by Lukáš Beer, a commentator who focuses on Czech-German relations and the Protectorate era but who is not an academically educated historian.

Experts say the publication’s deficiencies lie in its lack of erudite commentary reflecting historians’ findings.

Břečka says there is a danger that the speeches published in this form will lead to misinterpretations and that extremists in particular will be pleased with them. On the other hand, be believes those who personally lived through the Protectorate era and Nazi persecution will obviously be embittered by this new publication. "In any event, publishing Hitler’s speeches today without explaining them is nonsense," Břečka said.

Two commentaries and shared links on Nazi online discussion fora show that Břečka is correct. "Attention, the ‘Give the Fuehrer’ action is underway now" writes Erik Sedláček under the nickname Sedlis-Diehard in a message to his fellow-travelers that includes the link to the book’s website . After clicking on the link, you come to the publisher’s website, where you read: "Give the Fuehrer and win a gift worth CZK 200 – when you buy two copies of the book PROJEVY [SPEECHES] (one for your library, one to give as a Christmas present) you’ll win a copy of the book Mnichovská dohoda a osud sudetských Němců [The Munich Agreement and the Fate of the Sudeten Germans] from us as a gift!"

Political scientist Pavel Pečínka says opinions on the publication of such historical documents vary. On the one hand there is the liberal approach, on the other hand there are concerns that criminal ideologies will be spread. Pečínka inclines toward the publication of such works in commented form. At the same time he reminds us that contemporary neo-Nazis often appeal to freedom of speech arguments in their defense.

"It’s modern in that community. They distinguish themselves from the mainstream, posing as dissidents breaking through a social taboo," Pečínka said.

The Czech courts have dealt with the publishing of books by Adolf Hitler in years past. Michal Zítko, who published a translation of Mein Kampf without commentary, was initially given a three-year suspended sentence for supporting a racist movement, but the Supreme Court later acquitted him. In September 2010, the Municipal Court in Prague ordered the KMa company to remove from sale all of the books by Adolf Hitler that it was printing in the Czech Republic. The reason was a protest from the government of the German state of Bavaria, whose Finance Ministry owns the copyright. Police are not yet investigating the publication of these selected speeches.

Help us share the news about Romas
Trending now icon