Forget J.K. Rowling or Roald Dahl, for many Italian schoolchildren it seems, they'd rather be tucked up in bed with the writings of Adolf Hitler.
That's according to an Italian government cross-country survey of 140,000 classrooms. In 10 school classes across several regions of Italy, including Palermo, Trieste and and Udine, Hitler's disturbing semi-autobiography was a top-ten favorite read.
In a darker prelude to Christmas cheer, Hiter's tome, which means 'My Struggle'', outlines his anti-Semitic ideology in 1924 that formed the basis for Nazism. His dogmatic world view went on to manifest itself in the Holocaust, in which around six million Jews were murdered at the hands of Nazi Germany.
#Hitler's #MeinKampf beloved by #Italian schoolchildren, survey says https://t.co/WtNWQMLTT3 That is more than a little disturbing…
— Enigmatic Jew (@doc_history) December 12, 2016
Italy's Ministry for Education was trying to promote a love of reading for children.
Massimo Fini, Italian journalist and essayist, told Sputnik that this is the latest sign of a deep anti-elitist resentment that has been festering in Europe for years.
"It is a kind of blow back effect of decades of censure towards that very book. As well as a reaction to decades of constant demonization of both Hitler and that historical period. I know of a wonderful book by Fest who explains Hitler, without minimizing the entity of his actions, but explaining them. Blanket condemnation, demonization, and especially censure are not the ways to go."
Alessandro Fusacchia, a spokesperson for the Italian Ministry for Education, called the choice as a "particularly nasty case", adding that the book was ineligible for the vote in any case as secondary school pupils had been asked to select books by Italian authors published after 2000.
Fini says that for many Italian young people, going against what is expected is a common state of mind.
"The youth are, by nature, rebellious against the establishment, and against established truths. I don't think they really like Hitler's book, which is, intellectually, and not just morally, a very flawed book. Actually, I believe that the youth should read Main Kampf to see for themselves how weak the foundations of Nazi ideology really are. It was a poor idea that of censoring Hitler's book. Prohibitionism tends to backfire. And it has backfired this time, as the survey shows".
Fini suggests that the wave of discontent against the status-quo that has characterized 2016, from the UK's Brexit decision to the US election of President-elect Donald Trump, should not be ignored, especially in the political sphere.
The top three books overall were: Bianca come il latte, rossa come il sangue (White As Milk, Red as Blood) by Alessandro D'Avenia, Io Non Ho Paura (I'm Not Scared) by Niccolò Ammaniti, and Gomorra by Roberto Saviano.
Despite the Nazi fascist's unwanted inclusion, Italian Ministry for Education spokesperson Mr. Fusacchia, called the survey "a great celebration of books and reading."
