Rasp
Senior Editor
Mein Kampf to remain banned in the Netherlands
Mein Kampf to remain banned in the Netherlands
Dutch Minister of Education Ronald Plasterk wants Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf to remain on the blacklist, despite his earlier pronouncement that the book ought to be available for sale in the shops. This contradictory position is a sign of the ponderous way in which the Netherlands deals with freedom of speech.
Mein Kampf is the only book that has not been freely available in the Netherlands since the end of the Second World War. The book forms the basis of Hitler's Nazi ideology, and is regarded as inciting hatred of, amongst others, the Jews. According to Dutch MP Geert Wilders of the Freedom Party, the Qu'ran is also a hate-inciting book that also ought to be banned. According to Wilders, the Qu'ran could be seen as encouraging violence against disaffected Moslems, and also endorsing the use of violence by Islamic extremists.
Plasterk's views
Plasterk has resisted calls for a ban on the Qu'ran, and said in the magazine Hollands Diep that even Mein Kampf should no longer be banned. According to Plasterk, it's good to make the book freely available, as it can be used to grasp how the horrifying events of World War II came about. This is exactly the same as reading the Little Red Book of Chairman Mao to understand the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
Nevertheless, this conviction of Plasterk is not a sufficient reason to take Mien Kampf off the blacklist. "My judgement is not a policy statement", he says, and in that sense he goes back on his pronouncement that the books should no longer be banned. Meanwhile, there has been a lot of consternation in the Dutch parliament over Plasterk's original statement.
Some of the other views
Leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom Gert Wilders spoke of a "crazy suggestion". He called it turning the world on its head.
"I ask for the Qu'ran to be banned because the book is inciting hate, and as a result we get another hate book."
Also the leader of the Christian Democrats in the Lower House, Sybrand van Haersma Buma is opposed to the free availability of Mein Kampf:
"Through the ideology in this book, six million people lost their lives. Does Plasterk understand how many people he has hurt?"
The conservative VVD is the only party to support the Labour Party Minister. VVD member Fred Teeven said:
"The only punishable offences are deeds, not thoughts or writings. If we're not going to ban the Qu'ran, we should also remove the ban on Mein Kampf."
Femke Halsema of the Green Left is also in favour of the free sale of the book, as long as it's meticulously explained.
"We don't want to hurt people unnecessarily."
Academic opinion
Also in academic circles there's increasing criticism of the ban on Mein Kampf. According to Theo Rosier, who wrote a thesis over freedom of speech and discrimination, as well as freedom of speech there also exists "the right to be informed when necessary."
Freedom of speech is necessary in a democratic society. Any limitations must be weighed up in a social context. What that means in the Netherlands is that the weight of Mein Kampf can't be compared to that of the Qu'ran. A judge will ultimately take a decision about a possible ban on freedom of speech in terms of its social relevance. So it could be that a ban on the open sale of Mein Kampf isn't deemed necessary any longer.
Mein Kampf to remain banned in the Netherlands
Dutch Minister of Education Ronald Plasterk wants Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf to remain on the blacklist, despite his earlier pronouncement that the book ought to be available for sale in the shops. This contradictory position is a sign of the ponderous way in which the Netherlands deals with freedom of speech.
Mein Kampf is the only book that has not been freely available in the Netherlands since the end of the Second World War. The book forms the basis of Hitler's Nazi ideology, and is regarded as inciting hatred of, amongst others, the Jews. According to Dutch MP Geert Wilders of the Freedom Party, the Qu'ran is also a hate-inciting book that also ought to be banned. According to Wilders, the Qu'ran could be seen as encouraging violence against disaffected Moslems, and also endorsing the use of violence by Islamic extremists.
Plasterk's views
Plasterk has resisted calls for a ban on the Qu'ran, and said in the magazine Hollands Diep that even Mein Kampf should no longer be banned. According to Plasterk, it's good to make the book freely available, as it can be used to grasp how the horrifying events of World War II came about. This is exactly the same as reading the Little Red Book of Chairman Mao to understand the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
Nevertheless, this conviction of Plasterk is not a sufficient reason to take Mien Kampf off the blacklist. "My judgement is not a policy statement", he says, and in that sense he goes back on his pronouncement that the books should no longer be banned. Meanwhile, there has been a lot of consternation in the Dutch parliament over Plasterk's original statement.
Some of the other views
Leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom Gert Wilders spoke of a "crazy suggestion". He called it turning the world on its head.
"I ask for the Qu'ran to be banned because the book is inciting hate, and as a result we get another hate book."
Also the leader of the Christian Democrats in the Lower House, Sybrand van Haersma Buma is opposed to the free availability of Mein Kampf:
"Through the ideology in this book, six million people lost their lives. Does Plasterk understand how many people he has hurt?"
The conservative VVD is the only party to support the Labour Party Minister. VVD member Fred Teeven said:
"The only punishable offences are deeds, not thoughts or writings. If we're not going to ban the Qu'ran, we should also remove the ban on Mein Kampf."
Femke Halsema of the Green Left is also in favour of the free sale of the book, as long as it's meticulously explained.
"We don't want to hurt people unnecessarily."
Academic opinion
Also in academic circles there's increasing criticism of the ban on Mein Kampf. According to Theo Rosier, who wrote a thesis over freedom of speech and discrimination, as well as freedom of speech there also exists "the right to be informed when necessary."
Freedom of speech is necessary in a democratic society. Any limitations must be weighed up in a social context. What that means in the Netherlands is that the weight of Mein Kampf can't be compared to that of the Qu'ran. A judge will ultimately take a decision about a possible ban on freedom of speech in terms of its social relevance. So it could be that a ban on the open sale of Mein Kampf isn't deemed necessary any longer.