Bavaria, the German state which holds the copyright to Adolf Hitler's infamous autobiographical manifesto Mein Kampf, is preparing to print Germany's first commercially available copy of the book since the end of World War II.

Given to Bavaria by the Allies following the war in order to prohibit German publications, Mein Kampf's copyright is set to expire in 2015, and local officials are seeking to preempt commercial publishers by releasing a critical edition meant for students.

The goal is to "demystify" Hitler and his writings, according to Bavaria's finance minister Markus Soeder. The initiative is part of a larger campaign of "normalization" meant to open up the less tasteful elements of Germany's past to debate.

Despite the rush to control the conversation, the Institute of Contemporary History's Edith Raim, editor of the annotated relic, says she doesn't expect the book's return to print will positively impact Hitler's image. For one thing, even the Führer's BFF Mussolini found the book to be boring.

"Our book won't find any buyers in the Neo-Nazi scene," Raim said. "It's going to be a solid scientific work."

[photo via AP]