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German government sues
British publishers for selling thousands of Nazi era newspapers
By Daily Mail Reporter
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Mr McGees project
"Zeitungszeugen".
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German police are
confiscating 280 copies of a publication of Nazi newspapers reprinted
by a British company.
Authorities have announced
they will sue the publishing for printing and disseminating Nazi
symbols such as the swastika, which is a criminal offence in
Germany.
London-based Albertas
will also be charged with breach of copyright laws, as the
publishing rights for the Nazi-era newspapers lay with the German
government
Supported by notable
German historians, the project, to examine the history of the country’s
media, was launched two weeks ago and became an instant bestseller
across the country.
The decision to confiscate
remaining issues and take the publishers to court comes after the
state of Bavaria announced last week that it had sole copyright of the
Nazi papers issued between 1933 and 1945.
Bavarian officials
demanded a stop to publication and a recall of any remaining copies
currently on sale.
A spokesman for the
Bavarian government said that republishing Nazi newspapers meant
confronting Holocaust survivors with their suffering and it also
posed a danger of disseminating National Socialist propaganda.
The first issue of
reprints edition, which is available for £3.50, includes the Nazi
paper Der Angriff, or Attack, from January 30, 1933, announcing that
Adolf Hitler became German chancellor.
The headline story
is accompanied with an anti-Semitic commentary by Josef Goebbels,
editor of the paper and Hitler’s propaganda minister.
The reprints come with
commentaries which explain the historical context and dissect the
Nazis' propaganda tricks.
According to the CEO of
the publishing house Peter McGee, the project was conceived solely
for educational purposes and would only serve to introduce historic
truth to readers rather that promote Nazism.
Mr McGee has also rejected
claims that his company was in violation of copyright and as it was 'completely
unclear' whether the state indeed owned rights to the Nazi publications.
Mr Gee said: 'We will
clarify this in court.'
Bavaria, where Hitler once
lived, is known for its restrictive policy towards reprinting Nazi
publications and has also blocked plans to reprint Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
The British publishing
project has divided the German public, with some greeting the
idea as useful, while others, including Charlotte Knoblauch,
the head of the country’s Central Jewish Council, have opposed
the publication.
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