This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars. On May 8th 1945, the Allied powers declared victory in Europe, putting an end to the Nazi regime.

President Truman addressed the nation.

General Eisenhower informs me

that the forces of Germany have surrendered to the United Nations.

Much remains to be done.

There was a lot to be done.

Rebuilding Europe, setting up a provisional government,

and getting Germany to be less, well, Naziish.

Our producer Sam Greenspan is just back from Deutschland.

And to that end, there was one thing the Americans and the British and the French and the Russians

all wanted out of Germany. It was a book.

Mine Compt, or my struggle, was Adolf Hitler's fictionalized autobiography, and in it he outlines his political

ideology and plans for Germany's future.

It's a synthesis of his hatred for Jews and other groups and it was everywhere.

The whole number of sold copies of Meenkamf only in Germany at the end of the World War II was 12.45

millions and around 1 million copies in many, many different editions and

translations in other languages. This is Sven Felix Kellerhoff, a journalist and author of a book about Mein Kampf.

He says that according to one survey after the war, every fifth German, 105, have read

Mein Kampf. Mein Kampf.

Mein Kampf was given out to people when they joined the Nazi party.

And in some cities, the government would even

give it as a wedding gift.

...