An attempt by a British publisher to sell reprints of Nazi newspapers to Germans has run into trouble. The publication of pages from Der Angriff (editor Joseph Goebbels) in the first issue of its Zeitungszeugen (Newspaper witnesses) series was a virtual sell-out.
But the Bavarian state government has secured a legal ban on the second issue – a reprint of the vitriolic Völkischer Beobachter, the Nazi party paper - alleging breach of copyright.
The publisher, Peter McGee, and his editor Sandra Paweronschitz, plan to fight the ban on press freedom grounds. Their project, juxtaposing reprints with modern analysis and comment, has been a huge hit
Paweronschitz, an historian, says: "We want to give people the opportunity to form their own picture not only of the political events, but also of the era in which these events took place and the attitudes to life at that time, for example by reading the classifieds or the film guide."
Derek Scally, writing in the Irish Times, imagines the sales pitch: "Week by week, your collection will grow into a fascinating overview of the virulent propaganda that polluted a nation's psyche and started a war that brought Europe to its knees."
(Sources: Irish Times/The Local)
