Mein Kim-pf

Supreme Leader: "I stayed up all night! A page-turner! Five stars!"

Kim Jong-Eun seems to think that North Korea’s leadership has much to learn from Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. According to this Washington Post article and the always fascinating New Focus International website (www.newfocusintl.com) that reports on North Korea, the Supreme Leader has given out Hitler’s autobiography as a birthday present to an elite group of 100 top lieutenants. Apparently, Kim Jong-eun is enamored by Nazi Germany’s success in recovering from the devastation of a world war as a quasi-pariah state to become an industrial power in Europe. Some observers also speculate that the diminutive and age-challenged leader with the L’il Rascals haircut could use some gravitas-by-association. And who else but the fire-breathing, fist-pumping orator-extraordinaire Hitler himself to give Kim an aura of authority?

 

It’s not a bad thing that Kim is boning up on history to gain some perspective. However, he should keep in mind that Mein Kampf was written in the 1930s, while Hitler stewed in prison with nothing but ideology to keep him company. Kim may also benefit from reading Hitler’s sequel. Unfortunately, that volume, which was due out in 1946, never quite made it to press.