The Indonesian translations of Mein Kampf and Das Kapital are now openly available to buy and read, following an announcement from the Attorney General's Office on Wednesday that the two books were no longer banned.
The books were perceived by former president Soeharto's authoritarian New Order regime to contain ultranationalistic and communist teachings.
They were banned during Soeharto's rule, under the pretext they could endanger the mind-set of Indonesian citizens.
Assistant attorney general for intelligence Wisnu Subroto said Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and Karl Marx's Das Kapital were no longer on the AGO's list of banned books.
"No, we aren't banning them," he told The Jakarta Post.
Hitler's notorious autobiography Mein Kampf was translated into Indonesian and released in 2007 by publisher Narasi. It became an immediate bestseller for its publisher, ranking as one of its top five favorites.
The book comes in two volumes. Both sport a swastika on the front cover and receive pride of place in most major bookstores throughout Indonesia, a predominantly Muslim country of some 234 million people.
Narasi said it had to reprint the book three times, with more than 15,000 copies sold so far.
Das Kapital was translated into Indonesian and published as Kapital, Sebuah Kritik Ekonomi Politik in February 2005 by publisher Hasta Mitra. The translator was Oey Hay Djoen, a former Buru Island prisoner.
At a ceremony to launch the book, former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid said the book helped Indonesia understand the meaning of capitalism; while noted philosopher Franz Magnis Suseno said the publication of the book indicated the return of Indonesia's intellectuality.
Like Mein Kampf, the Indonesian version of Das Kapital has received a favorable response from Indonesian readers, with many high school and university students turning to it as a definitive reference.
However, there are still muted calls for the books to be banned, with critics claiming they are a negative influence on Indonesia's young generation.
Wisnu said the AGO did not consider the books a threat to the country's sovereignty.
He said the latest title on the AGO's list of banned books was Pemusnahan Etnis Melanesia: Memecah Kebisuan Sejarah Kekerasan di Papua Barat (Genocide of Ethnic Melanesia: Breaking the Silence on the History of Violence in West Papua), written by Socratez Sofyan Yoman.
The book was published by Yogyakarta-based Galangpress in 2007.
"This book spreads false information to the public and can threaten national integrity. It can also cause unrest within society," Wisnu said.
