Mein Kampf – Adolf Hitler – 1939 | British First Unexpurgated English Edition

The 1939 Mein Kampf Hitler Hurst Blackett edition represents the controversial and politically charged unexpurgated British printing of Adolf Hitler’s autobiographical manifesto, issued on the cusp of World War II. This wartime edition, published in London by Hurst & Blackett Ltd., was printed with the intention of providing the British public with firsthand access to the ideological doctrine of Nazi leadership. Unlike earlier abridged versions, this edition combines both volumes—A Retrospect and The National Socialist Movement—into a single, uncut text.

This edition is typographically straightforward, printed on wartime stock with utilitarian typesetting. Its unabridged nature—rare among English-language editions—makes it a significant bibliographic specimen. While earlier editions issued by the same publisher in the 1930s were selectively edited, this 1939 printing restores the full content across both volumes, as originally written by Hitler during his incarceration at Landsberg Prison.

Its publication year, coinciding with the outbreak of the Second World War, underscores its historical placement. The printing was not intended as ideological promotion, but as an informational tool; British officials and civilians alike could examine the unfiltered political vision driving the Nazi regime. This edition is a stark artifact of propaganda study, ideological history, and 20th-century wartime publishing practices.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Mein Kampf
• Author(s): Adolf Hitler
• Publisher: London, Hurst and Blackett
• Edition: First English edition, 1939
• Format: Octavo, single volume
• Binding: Navy cloth
• Size:  8.75in x 5.75in (22cm x 14.5cm)
• Collation: 567, [1] pp
• Illustrations: Frontispiece photograph with facsimile signature
• Contents Include:
  • Original English Preface by the Publisher

Condition:

Bound in the publisher’s original navy cloth, this octavo volume features gilt titling along the spine, still clearly legible. Moderate rubbing appears at spine ends, with some shelf wear and edge softening consistent with age. Internally, the book is intact and complete, with toned yet generally clean pages. The signature frontispiece portrait of Hitler is present, along with facsimile signature. Endpapers are unmarked, and the binding remains sound. The paper shows expected wartime quality: lightly acidic with scattered foxing but no major defects. This copy was made and printed in Great Britain at The Gainsborough Press, St. Albans, by Fisher, Knight & Co., as stated on the colophon.

Why Collect This?

• Issued in Britain at the outbreak of WWII
• First full unexpurgated English-language Hurst & Blackett edition
• Directly tied to British efforts to understand Nazi ideology
• Of interest to collectors of wartime publications, ideological history, or banned books

Item Number: #28682