Description
The different reactions of today’s Germans to the controversial reprinting of Hitler’s Mein Kampf after 70 years. Opinions vary and they do not all think that it should be available. Some feel that people should be able to make their own mind up about the book, whilst others feel that it was banned for a good reason. German bookshops are stocking the book but aren’t advertising the fact, as they don’t want to be seen to be making a profit from a work by Hitler and want to avoid spreading xenophobic ideas.
Classroom Ideas
This clip will form the basis for much discussion about ‘Mein Kampf’ and whether the authorities were right to treat the book in the way they did. It will also be important to comment upon the reactions of today’s Germans to the book in order to dismantle certain stereotypes. Introduce language content by revising types of books (eg fantasy, science fiction) and by asking, ‘Bist du eine Leseratte?’, ‘Was für Bücher liest du gern?’. This provides the scope to use phrases ‘gern’/‘lieber’/‘am liebsten’ and ‘nicht gern’. Prepare students to write about their reading preferences, including whether they prefer books or an electronic reader and why.
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