The Central Council of Jews in Germany said Wednesday it does not object to the publication of a critical, scientifically-annotated version of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" scheduled for January, AFP reports.
"Knowledge of 'Mein Kampf' is still important to explain National Socialism and the Holocaust," the council's head Josef Schuster told the Handelsblatt business daily.
"Therefore there are no objections to a scientifically annotated edition for research and teaching purposes."
The rights to the Nazi leader's anti-Semitic diatribe have since the end of World War II been held by the state of Bavaria, which has refused to allow reprints because the book incites racial hatred, and out of respect for victims of the Holocaust.
However, the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich plans to publish in January the two-volume "Hitler, Mein Kampf. A Critical Edition", which adds context to the Nazi dictator's hateful rant with historical commentary in some 3,500 annotations.
German authorities still plan to prosecute publishers of unedited reprints of the book on charges of "inciting racial hatred".