More On Hitler's Audience In Turkey

Los Angeles Times
March 16, 2005

Hitler Finds an Audience in Turkey
Speculation about why his 'Mein Kampf' is on bestseller lists includes anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism or maybe just the piddling price.

By Amberin Zaman, Special to The Times

At the Ada bookshop in a popular Ankara shopping strip, "Mein Kampf," or "Kavgam" (pictured below) as it is called in Turkish, has sold out.

Some analysts say the appeal of "Mein Kampf" probably has to do with the rising anti Americanism here, a result of the U.S.-led invasion of neighboring Iraq. Among the work's chief rivals on the bestseller lists is "Metal Storm," a gory thriller that depicts a U.S. invasion of Turkey. The hero, a Turkish spy whose training includes shooting his puppy, avenges his homeland by leveling Washington with a nuclear device.

In a country where conspiracy theories are commonly used to explain international politics, "it is accepted wisdom in some circles that Israel dictates U.S. policy," said Dogu Ergil, a Middle East expert at Ankara University. Thus, his theory goes, anti-Americanism morphs into a hybrid strain of anti-Semitism that in turn arouses curiosity about Hitler. --Link--