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The Jewish Chronicle

On this day: Hitler released from prison

December 20 1924: When the Nazi leader wrote Mein Kampf

December 20, 2010 17:36
mein kampf

By

Jennifer Lipman,

Jennifer Lipman

1 min read

In 1924 the future Nazi leader was locked up in the Landsberg prison in the German state of Bavaria.

He had been charged and convicted for high treason for attempting to seize power in Germany in the failed Munich Putsch coup the previous year. He spent 264 days behind bars in total.

It was in this period that Hitler wrote the book that would become the literary backbone to Nazi ideology: Mein Kampf, or My Struggle. It was written with the help of Rudolf Hess, his deputy, who had also been involved in the Putsch and sent to prison.

A combination of Hitler’s personal story and political ideology, Mein Kampf set out Hitler’s vision for Germany’s future, including the extermination of the Jewish people.