Novel by Nazi Henchman Goebbels Declared Extremist in Moscow

MOSCOW, October 23 (RAPSI) – A semiautobiographical novel by Nazi henchman Joseph Goebbels has been declared extremist by a Moscow court, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The novel, "Michael," was written as a diary and published in 1929. The book is both autobiographical and a tribute to Goebbels' friend Richard Flisges, who fought in World War I and died toiling in a mine.

Russian authorities launched an extremism investigation last month after reports that the novel was being sold in several Moscow bookstores, along with Benito Mussolini's "The Third Way." Both books were published and distributed to stores by the Algoritm publishing house. A criminal case of inciting hatred has been opened.

Mussolini's book was ruled extremist by a Russian court in early October. Moreover, a federal law on combating extremism already recognizes the works of Italian fascist leaders, including Mussolini, as extremist without the need for additional evaluation.

In December 2012, a Moscow court added Nazi ideologist Alfred Rosenberg's "Myth of the 20th Century" and "Memoirs," as well as Viktor Pranov's book, "Survival Law of the Foulest," to the list of extremist literature banned from publication and sale. Adolf Hitler's “Mein Kampf” has also been banned as extremist in Russia.