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Encyclopedia > Religious aspects of Nazism

For popular misconceptions about the religious aspects of Nazism, see Nazi occultism.
Nazism
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Several historians, political scientists and even philosophers have studied Nazism with a specific focus on its religious or semi-religious aspects.[1] Nazism in history Nazi ideology Nazism and race Outside Germany Related subjects Lists Politics Portal         Nazism or National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), refers primarily to the ideology and practices of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party, German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) under Adolf Hitler. ... Religious is a term with both a technical definition and folk use. ...


The most prominent discourse here is the debate about Nazism as political religion, but there has also been research on the millenarianistic, messianic, Gnostic, Christian and occult aspects of Nazism. In the terminology of some scholars working in sociology, a political religion is a political ideology with cultural and political power equivalent to those of a religion, and often having many sociological and ideological similarities with religion. ... Millenarianism (sometimes spelled millenarism or millennarism) is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming major transformation of society after which all things will be changed in a positive (or sometimes negative or ambiguous) direction. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Gnosticism is a blanket term for various religions and sects most prominent in the first few centuries A.D. General characteristics The word gnosticism comes from the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis (γνῶσις), referring to the idea that there is special, hidden mysticism (esoteric knowledge) that only a few possess. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Occult (disambiguation). ...


The potential occult aspects of Nazism have been the subject of a broader interest outside of academic discourses, with the development of a popular myth of Nazi occultism since 1960. This persistent idea, that the Nazis were directed by occult agencies, has been dismissed by historians as modern cryptohistory, in the sense that such an agency "has remained concealed to previous historians of National Socialism."[2] For other uses, see Occult (disambiguation). ... Nazism in history Nazi ideology Nazism and race Outside Germany Related subjects Lists Politics Portal         Nazi occultism is an occult undercurrent of Nazism, of minor overall importance. ... Pseudohistory is a pejorative term applied to texts which purport to be historical in nature but which depart from standard historiographical conventions in a way which undermines their conclusions. ...

Contents

Nazism as political religion?

First published in 1985, The Occult Roots of Nazism by the historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke is the most important work of reference for this topic. In a new preface to the 2004 edition, Goodrick-Clarke mentions some other serious writers who have examined "the religious and occult aspects of German National Socialism" before him:[3] Raymond Aron, Albert Camus, Giorgio Galli, Romano Guardini, Denis de Rougemont, Eric Voegelin, George Mosse, Klaus Vondung and Friedrich Heer. The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology : The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany, 1890-1935 is a book by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke. ... Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke is the author of several books on modern occultism and esotericism with the history of its intersection with fascist politics. ... Raymond-Claude-Ferdinand Aron (March 14, 1905 — October 17, 1983) was a French philosopher, sociologist and political scientist. ... For other uses, see Camus. ... Romano Guardini (1885 – 1968) was a Roman Catholic priest, author, and academic. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Eric Voegelin, born Erich Hermann Wilhelm Vögelin, (January 3, 1901 – January 19, 1985) was a political philosopher. ... George Lachmann Mosse (September 20, 1918, Berlin, Germany-January 22, 1999, Madison, United States) was a German-born American left-wing Jewish gay historian of fascism in general and Nazi Germany in particular. ... Friedrich Heer (1916 - 1983) was a historian born in Vienna . ...


The Occult Roots of Nazism includes a definition of occultism, but Goodrick-Clarke does not put forward a theoretical concept that specifies his view of the relation between Nazism and occultism, or between Nazism and religion. Other historians would focus less on the occult aspects of Nazism and more on the kind of religious aspects that have been termed Political religion by Eric Voegelin. For other uses, see Occult (disambiguation). ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... In the terminology of some scholars working in sociology, a political religion is a political ideology with cultural and political power equivalent to those of a religion, and often having many sociological and ideological similarities with religion. ... Eric Voegelin, born Erich Hermann Wilhelm Vögelin, (January 3, 1901 – January 19, 1985) was a political philosopher. ...


Among high-ranking Nazis, Richard Walther Darré, Rudolf Hess, Heinrich Himmler and Alfred Rosenberg are credited with an interest in the occult. Adolf Hitler's religious beliefs in particular have been a question of examination. R. Walther Darré in a 1939 calendar Richard Oscar Walther Darré (14 July 1895 - 5 September 1953), SS-Obergruppenführer, was one of the Nazi leading ‘blood and soil’ ideologists. ... Not to be confused with Rudolf Hoess. ... Himmler redirects here. ... Alfred Rosenberg around 1935   (January 12, 1893 Reval (today Tallinn) – October 16, 1946) was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi party, who later held several important posts in the Nazi government. ... Adolf Hitlers religious beliefs have been a matter of dispute, in part because of apparently inconsistent statements made by and attributed to him. ...


After 1945, esoteric elements within Nazism were continued and expanded into new völkisch religions of white identity, collectively described as Esoteric Nazism. Influenced by Esoteric Nazism, there is even a contemporary loose network of pagan neo-Nazis. This article describes semi-religious developments of Nazism after 1945. ...


Ariosophy

The Occult Roots of Nazism is not about Nazism as such. Instead it focuses, as the title indicates, on its possible occult roots, an esoteric movement of the 1900s to 1930s in Germany and Austria that is generically referred to as Ariosophy. Etymology Esoteric is an adjective originating during Hellenic Greece under the domain of the Roman Empire; it comes from the Greek esôterikos, from esôtero, the comparative form of esô: within. It is a word meaning anything that is inner and occult, a latinate word meaning hidden (from which... Werner von Bülows World-Rune-Clock, illustrating the correspondences between Lists Armanen runes, the signs of the zodiac and the gods of the months Armanism and Ariosophy are the names of ideological systems of an esoteric nature, pioneered by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von...


According to Goodrick-Clarke, the Ariosophists wove occult ideas into the völkisch ideology that existed in Germany and Austria during that time.[4] Ariosophy shared the racial awareness which was already current within völkisch ideology,[5] but in addition to this the Ariosophists drew upon the notion of root races from Theosophy, thus postulating locations such as Atlantis, Thule and Hyperborea as the original homeland of the Aryan race (and its alleged purest branch, the Teutons or Germanic peoples). The ariosophic writings described a time of a glorious ancient Germanic past, in which an elitist priesthood had "expounded occult-racist doctrines and ruled over a superior and racially pure society."[6] The downfall of this imaginary golden age was explained as the result of the interbreeding between the master race and those considered untermenschen (lesser races). The "abstruse ideas and weird cults [of Ariosophy] anticipated the political doctrines and institutions of the Third Reich"[7] as Goodrick-Clarke writes in the introduction of his book, motivating the phrase "occult roots of Nazism"; however, with the exception of Karl Maria Wiligut,[8] Goodrick-Clarke has not found evidence that prominent 'Ariosophists' directly influenced Nazism. The völkisch movement is the German interpretation of the Populist movement, with a romantic focus on folklore and the organic. ... Root Race is a term first used by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky in her book The Secret Doctrine. ... Theosophy is a word and a concept known anciently, commonly understood in the modern era to describe the studies of religious philosophy and metaphysics originating with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky from the 1870s. ... For other uses, see Atlantis (disambiguation). ... Thule as Tile on the Carta Marina by Olaus Magnus. ... For other uses, see Hyperborea (disambiguation). ... The Aryan race is a concept in European culture that was influential in the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ... This entry is about the tribe of the Teutons. ... Thor/Donar, Germanic thunder god. ... Manifestations Slavery Racial profiling Lynching Hate speech Hate crime Genocide (examples) Ethnocide Ethnic cleansing Pogrom Race war Religious persecution Blood libel Paternalism Police brutality Movements Policies Discriminatory Race / Religion / Sex segregation Apartheid Redlining Internment Ethnocracy Anti-discriminatory Emancipation Civil rights Desegregation Integration Equal opportunity Counter-discriminatory Affirmative action Racial quota... Herrenvolk redirects here. ... Untermensch (German: subhuman) is a term from Nazi racial ideology. ... Karl Maria Wiligut (alias Weisthor) (December 10, 1866 - January 3, 1946) was also known as Himmlers Rasputin. He was born in Vienna in what was then Austria-Hungary. ...


Nazism and occultism

When it comes to the potentially occult aspects, the difficulty with this subject lies also in that it can be regarded "as a topic for sensational authors in pursuit of strong sales."[9]


The religious beliefs of the Nazi leaders

Among the Nazi leaders, Himmler, Heß, Rosenberg and Dárre had religious interests that could be described as esoteric. Dárre's interests have rarely been the subject of an examination,[10] with the exception of Anna Bramwell's biography of him. (Himmler's and Rosenberg's religious interests are looked at below.) Adolf Hitler's religious beliefs are a difficult case. On the one hand he had been in contact with Lanz von Liebenfels, on the other hand he made definite remarks against the völkish occultism in "Mein Kampf" and in public speeches. Lanz von Liebenfels Adolf Josef Lanz (aka Jörg Lanz), who called himself Lanz von Liebenfels (July 19, 1874 - April 22, 1954) was a former monk and the founder of the right-wing magazine Ostara, in which he published anti-semitic and folkish theories. ...


Adolf Hitler's religious beliefs

Main article: Adolf Hitler's religious beliefs

Since 1957, when the Austrian psychologist Wilfried Daim published the important study on Lanz von Liebenfels[11] enough evidence exists to say that Hitler had been exposed to the ariosophic Weltanschauung in Vienna; however, to what extent he was influenced by it, is not clear. In the research into this question, Hitler's Mein Kampf has even been compared to Liebenfels' Theozoologie in detail.[12] According to an online article from the Simon Wiesenthal Center,[13] the influence of the anti-Judaic, Gnostic and root race teachings of H.P. Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy, and the adaptations of her ideas by her followers, constituted a popularly unacknowledged but decisive influence over the developing mind of Hitler. Adolf Hitlers religious beliefs have been a matter of dispute, in part because of apparently inconsistent statements made by and attributed to him. ... Wilfried Daim (July 21, 1923 in Vienna) is an Austrian psychologist, psychotherapist, writer and art collector. ... The Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish organization that declares itself to be a human rights group dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust by fostering tolerance and understanding through community involvement, educational outreach and social action. ... Gnosticism is a blanket term for various religions and sects most prominent in the first few centuries A.D. General characteristics The word gnosticism comes from the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis (γνῶσις), referring to the idea that there is special, hidden mysticism (esoteric knowledge) that only a few possess. ... Root Race is a term first used by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky in her book The Secret Doctrine. ... Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Hahn (also Hélène) (July 31, 1831 (O.S.) (August 12, 1831 (N.S.)) - May 8, 1891 London, England), better known as Helena Blavatsky or Madame Blavatsky was the founder of Theosophy. ...


Hitler put his rejection of the völkisch Esotericism in harsh terms. In Heinrich Heims' Adolf Hitler, Monologe im FHQ 1941-1944 (several editions, here Orbis Verlag, 2000), Hitler is quoted as having said on 14 October 1941: "It seems to be inexpressibly stupid to allow a revival of the cult of Odin/Wotan. Our old mythology of the gods was defunct, and incapable of revival, when Christianity came...the whole world of antiquity either followed philosophical systems on the one hand, or worshipped the gods. But in modern times it is undesirable that all humanity should make such a fool of itself."


Rudolf Hess

According to Goodrick-Clarke, Rudolf Hess had been a member of the Thule Society before attaining prominence in the Nazi party.[14] As Adolf Hitler's official deputy, Hess had also been attracted and influenced by the organic farming theories of Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy.[15] In the wake of his flight to Scotland, Reinhard Heydrich, the head of the security police, banned lodge organizations and esoteric groups on 9 June 1941.[16] When organic farmers and their supporters — and even nudists — were arrested, Agriculture Minister Richard Walther Darré protested to Himmler and Heydrich, "despite a letter from Bormann, warning Darré that Hitler was behind the arrests."[17] Not to be confused with Rudolf Hoess. ... Organic farming is a form of agriculture which excludes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, plant growth regulators, livestock feed additives, and genetically modified organisms. ... Rudolf Steiner. ... Anthroposophy, also called spiritual science, is a spiritual philosophy based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner,[1] which states that anyone who conscientiously cultivates sense-free thinking can attain experience of and insights into the spiritual world. ... Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was an SS-Obergruppenführer, chief of the Reich Security Main Office (including the Gestapo, SD and Kripo Nazi police agencies) and Reichsprotektor (Reich Protector) of Bohemia and Moravia. ... Naturists find going without clothing both enjoyable and relaxing. ... R. Walther Darré in a 1939 calendar Richard Oscar Walther Darré (14 July 1895 - 5 September 1953), SS-Obergruppenführer, was one of the Nazi leading ‘blood and soil’ ideologists. ... Martin Bormann Martin Bormann (June 17, 1900 - c. ...


However, the suppression of esoteric organisations began very soon after the Nazis acquired governmental power. This also affected ariosophic authors and organisations: "One of the most important early Germanic racialists, Lanz von Liebenfels, had his writings banned in 1938 while other occultist racialists were banned as early as 1934."[18] This article gives an overview of Esotericism in Germany and Austria, mainly since 1880. ... Werner von Bülows World-Rune-Clock, illustrating the correspondences between Lists Armanen runes, the signs of the zodiac and the gods of the months Armanism and Ariosophy are the names of ideological systems of an esoteric nature, pioneered by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von... Lanz von Liebenfels Adolf Josef Lanz (aka Jörg Lanz), who called himself Lanz von Liebenfels (July 19, 1874 - April 22, 1954) was a former monk and the founder of the right-wing magazine Ostara, in which he published anti-semitic and folkish theories. ...


Thule Society and the origins of the NSDAP

Thule emblem
Thule emblem
Main article: Thule Society

The Thule Society, which is remotely connected to the origins of the NSDAP, was one of the ariosophic groups of the late 1910s.[19] Thule Gesellschaft had initially been the name of the Munich branch of the Germanenorden Walvater of the Holy Grail, a lodge-based organisation which was built up by Rudolf von Sebottendorff in 1917.[20] For this task he had received about a hundred addresses of potential members in Bavaria from Hermann Pohl, and from 1918 he was also supported by Walter Nauhaus.[21] According to an account by Sebottendorff, the Bavarian province of the Germanenorden Walvater had 200 members in spring 1918, which had risen to 1500 in autumn 1918, of these 250 in Munich.[22] Five rooms, capable of accommodating 300 people, were leased from the fashionable Hotel Vierjahreszeiten ('Four Seasons') in Munich and decorated with the Thule emblem showing a dagger superimposed on a swastika.[23] Since the lodge's ceremonial activities were accompanied by overtly right-wing meetings, the name Thule Gesellschaft was adopted to arouse less attention from socialists and pro-Republicans.[24] Thule-gesellschaft_emblem, I got it from [1], which states that it is public domain. ... Thule-gesellschaft_emblem, I got it from [1], which states that it is public domain. ... Thule Society emblem The Thule Society (German: Thule-Gesellschaft), originally the Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum Study Group for Germanic Antiquity, was a German occultist and Völkisch group in Munich, named after a mythical northern country from Greek legend. ... Thule Society emblem The Thule Society (German: Thule-Gesellschaft), originally the Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum Study Group for Germanic Antiquity, was a German occultist and Völkisch group in Munich, named after a mythical northern country from Greek legend. ... The Nazi swastika The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ... Werner von Bülows World-Rune-Clock, illustrating the correspondences between Lists Armanen runes, the signs of the zodiac and the gods of the months Armanism and Ariosophy are the names of ideological systems of an esoteric nature, pioneered by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von... For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ... The Germanenorden or Germanic Order, was a secret society in Germany early in the 20th century. ... Rudolf Freiherr von Sebottendorf was the alias of Adam Alfred Rudolf Glauer (November 9, 1875 – May 8, 1945), who also occasionally used another alias, Erwin Torre. ... This article is about the symbol. ...


The Aryan race and Lost lands

The Thule Society took its name from Thule, an alleged lost land. Sebottendorff identified Ultima Thule as Iceland.[25] Within the Armanism of Guido von List, to which Sebottendorff made distinct references,[26] it was believed that the Aryan race had originated from the apocryphal lost contintent of Atlantis and taken refuge in Thule/Iceland after Atlantis had become deluged under the sea.[27] Hyperborea was also mentioned by Guido von List, with direct references to the theosophic author William Scott-Elliot.[28] Thule as Tile on the Carta Marina by Olaus Magnus. ... Lost Lands are islands or continents believed by some to have existed during pre-history, but to have since disappeared as a result of catastrophic geological phenomena. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Aryan race is a concept in European culture that was influential in the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ... For other uses, see Atlantis (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Hyperborea (disambiguation). ... Theosophy is a word and a concept known anciently, commonly understood in the modern era to describe the studies of religious philosophy and metaphysics originating with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky from the 1870s. ...


In The Myth of the Twentieth Century, the second most important Nazi book after Mein Kampf, Alfred Rosenberg also referred to Atlantis as a lost land or at least to an Aryan cultural center.[29] Since Rosenberg had attended meetings of the Thule Society he might have been familiar with the occult speculation about lost lands; however, according to Lutzhöft (1971), Rosenberg drew on the work of Herman Wirth.[30] The attribution of the Urheimat of the Nordic race to a deluged land had found a great appeal in that time.[30] The Myth of the Twentieth Century (Ger. ... Alfred Rosenberg around 1935   (January 12, 1893 Reval (today Tallinn) – October 16, 1946) was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi party, who later held several important posts in the Nazi government. ... Herman Wirth, (alternatively referred to as Herman Wirth Roeper Bosch, or Herman Felix Wirthor Hermann) was a Dutch-German lay historian and scholar of ancient religions and symbols. ... Urheimat (German: ur- original, ancient; Heimat home, homeland) is a linguistic term denoting the original homeland of the speakers of a proto-language. ... Nordic theory (or Nordicism) was a theory of race prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. ...


Formation of DAP and NSDAP

In autumn 1918 Sebottendorff attempted to extend the appeal of the Thule Society's nationalist ideology to people from a working class background. He entrusted the Munich sports reporter Karl Harrer with the formation of a workers' ring, called the Deutscher Arbeiterverein ('German workers' club') or Politischer Arbeiterzirkel ('Political workers' ring').[31] The most active member of this ring was Anton Drexler.[31] Drexler urged the foundation of a political party, and on 5 January 1919 the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (DAP, German Workers' Party) was formally founded.[31] When Adolf Hitler first encountered the DAP on 12 September 1919, Sebottendorff had already left the Thule Society (in June 1919).[32] By the end of February 1920, Hitler had transformed the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei into the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP, National Socialist German Workers’ Party).[31] Apparently meetings of the Thule Society continued until 1923. A certain Johannes Hering kept a diary of these meetings which mentions the attendance of other Nazi leaders between 1920 and 1923, but not of Hitler.[33] Karl Harrer (8 October 1890 - 5 September 1926) was a German journalist and politician, one of the founding members of the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (German Workers Party, DAP) in 1919, the party that soon would become the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP). ... Anton Drexler (June 13, 1884 - February 24, 1942) was a German Nazi political leader of 1920s. ... The German Workers Party (German: Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, short DAP) was a briefly existing progenitor of the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers Party). ... Hitler redirects here. ... The National Socialist German Workers Party, (German: , or NSDAP, commonly known as the Nazi Party), was a political party in Germany between 1919 and 1945. ...


That the origins of the Nazi party can be traced to the lodge organisation of the Thule Society is fact. However, there were only two points in which the NSDAP was a successor to the Thule Society. One is the use of the swastika. Friedrich Krohn, who was responsible for the colour scheme of the Nazi flag, had been a member of the Thule Society and also of the Germanenorden since 1913.[34] This allows Goodrick-Clarke the conclusion that it is possible to trace the origins of the Nazi symbol back through the emblems of the Thule Society and the Germanenorden and ultimately to Guido von List,[34] but it is not evident that the Thulean ideology filtered through the DAP into the NSDAP. Goodrick-Clarke implies that ariosophical ideas were of no consequence: "the DAP line was predominantly one of extreme political and social nationalism, and not based on the Aryan-racist-occult pattern of the Germanenorden [and Thule Society]".[31] Godwin summarises the differences in outlook which separated the Thule Society from the direction taken by the Nazis: To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

"Hitler...had little time for the whole Thule business, once it had carried him where he needed to be...he could see the political worthlessness of paganism [i.e. what Goodrick-Clarke would describe as the racist-occult complex of Ariosophy] in Christian Germany. Neither did the Führer's plans for his Thousand-year Reich have any room whatever for the heady love of individual liberty with which the Thuleans romantically endowed their Nordic ancestors."[35]

The other point in which the NSDAP continued the activities of the Thule Society is in the publication of the newspaper Völkischer Beobachter. Originally, the Beobachter (Observer) had been a minor weekly newspaper of the eastern suburbs of Munich, published since 1868.[36] After the death of its last publisher in June 1918, the paper ceased publication, until Sebottendorff bought it one month later.[36] He renamed it Münchener Beobachter und Sportsblatt (Munich Observer and Sports Paper) and wrote "trenchant anti-Semitic" editorials for it.[36] After Sebottendorff had left Munich, the paper was converted into a limited liability company. By December 1920 all its shares were in the hands of Anton Drexler, who transferred the ownership of the paper to Hitler in November 1921.[37] One of the last editions of the Völkischer Beobachter (April 20, 1945) hails Adolf Hitler as man of the century on the occasion of his 56th birthday, ten days before his suicide. ...


Its connection with Nazism has made the Thule Society a popular subject of modern cryptohistory. Among other things, it is hinted that Karl Haushofer and G. I. Gurdjieff were connected to the Society,[38] but this is completely unsustainable. General Karl Haushofer General Karl Ernst Haushofer (August 27, 1869, Munich - March 13, 1946, Pähl) was a German geopolitician. ... George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (Armenian: ; Russian: ; Georgiy Ivanovich Gyurdzhiev (or Gurdjiev); January 13, 1866? – October 29, 1949), was an Armenian-Greek mystic, a teacher of sacred dances, and a spiritual teacher. ...


Aftermath

In January 1933 Sebottendorff published Bevor Hitler kam: Urkundlich aus der Frühzeit der Nationalsozialistischen Bewegung (Before Hitler Came: Documents from the Early Days of the National Socialist Movement). Nazi authorities (Hitler himself?) understandably disliked the book, which was banned in the following year. Sebottendorff was arrested but managed to flee to Turkey.


Himmler and the SS

Credited retrospectively with being the founder of "Esoteric Hitlerism", and certainly a figure of major importance for the officially-sanctioned research and practice of mysticism by a Nazi elite, was Heinrich Himmler who, more than any other high official in the Third Reich (including Hitler) was fascinated by pan-Aryan (i.e. broader than Germanic) racialism and by certain forms of Germanic neopaganism. Himmler's capacity for rational planning was accompanied by an "enthusiasm for the utopian, the romantic and even the occult."[39] This article describes semi-religious developments of Nazism after 1945. ... Himmler redirects here. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Aryan (/eÉ™rjÉ™n/ or /ɑːrjÉ™n/, Sanskrit: ) is a Sanskrit and Avestan word meaning noble/spiritual one. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Mjolnir is one of the primary symbols of Germanic neopaganism. ...


It also seems that Himmler had an interest in Astrology. The astrologer Wilhelm Wulff was consulted by Himmler in the last weeks of the Second World War.[40] One detailed but difficult source for this is a book written by Wulff himself, Tierkreis und Hakenkreuz, published in Germany in 1968. That Walter Schellenberg had discovered an astrologer called Wulf is also mentioned in Hugh Trevor-Roper's The Last Days of Hitler. Wilhelm Wulff an astrologer who was forced by the S.S. into working for the Ahnenerbe, in order to harness not only natural, but also supernatural forces. ... Zodiac and Swastika: Astrologer to Himmlers Court (German and English title) or Zodiac and Swastika: How Astrology Guided Hitlers Germany (English title) is a book by Wilhelm Wulff with a forward by Walter Laqueur. ... Correctly: Walther Schellenberg, full name Walther Friedrich Schellenberg (January 16, 1910 - March 31, 1952) was a German Nazi and second-in-command of the Gestapo. ... Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton (January 15, 1914 – January 26, 2003) was a notable historian of Early Modern Britain and Nazi Germany. ...


In Bramwell's assessment: "Too much can be made of the importance of bizarre cultism in Himmler's activities...but it did exist, and was one of the reasons behind the split between Himmler and Darré that took place in the late 1930s."[41] Although Himmler possessed more occult tendencies than other Nazi leaders, he did not have any contact with the Thule Society.[42]


The historic example which Himmler used as a model for the SS was the Society of Jesus, since Himmler found in the Jesuits what he percieved to be the core element of any order, the doctrine of obedience and the cult of the organisation.[43] The evidence for this largely rests on a statement from Walter Schellenberg in his memoirs (Cologne, 1956, p. 39). SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop... Seal of the Society of Jesus. ... Correctly: Walther Schellenberg, full name Walther Friedrich Schellenberg (January 16, 1910 - March 31, 1952) was a German Nazi and second-in-command of the Gestapo. ...


The SS had invented its own mystical religion, based very loosely upon imagery taken from Germanic tribal faiths combined with Christianity and "visions" from those figures in order to counter what they viewed as the Jewish-influenced religion of Christianity.[citation needed] Mystical organizations were created, usually connected with elite SS corps, and adopting specific rituals, initiations and beliefs.[44] SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop...


This religion was seen as the German original race-cult religion (ursprüngliche Rassenkult-Religion, a phrase attributed to SS-member Rudolf J. Mund), however, what exactly was indoctrinated in the SS about it is not known.[45] The Vienna Circle, or Landig Group, was an occultic, völkisch and Germanic mysticist group formed in 1950 that first gathered for discussions at the studio of the designer Wilhelm Landig in Viennas 4th district of Wieden in Austria. ...


Nazi archaeology

In 1935 Himmler established with Darré the Ahnenerbe.[46] At first independent, it became the ancestral heritage branch of the SS. Headed by Dr. Hermann Wirth, it was dedicated primarily to archaeological research, but it was also involved in proving the superiority of the 'Aryan race' and in occult practices.[citation needed] A great deal of time and resources were spent on researching or creating a popularly accepted “historical”, “cultural” and “scientific” background so the ideas about a “superior” Aryan race could prosper in the German society of the time. For example an expedition to Tibet was organized in order to search for the origins of the Aryan race.[47] To this end, the expedition leader, Ernst Schäfer, had his anthropologist Bruno Beger make face masks and skull and nose measurements. Another expedition was sent to the Andes. Emblem Founded by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré on July 1, 1935, as Studiengesellschaft für Geistesurgeschichte‚ Deutsches Ahnenerbe´ e. ... A Dutch historian, Hermann Wirth was the leader of the Nazi research division Ahnenerbe until 1937 when he left the group entirely, succeeded by Walter Wüst. ... Nazi archaeology refers to the movement led by various Nazi leaders, archaeologists, and other scholars, such as Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler, to recreate the German past in order to strengthen nationalism. ... The Aryan race is a concept in European culture that was influential in the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ... This article is about historical/cultural Tibet. ... Ernst Schäfer (1910-1992) was a famous German hunter and zoologist in the 1930s, specializing in ornithology. ... See Anthropology. ... Bruno Beger (1911 - 1998) was a German Rassenkunde expert who worked for the Ahnenerbe. ... This article is about the mountain range in South America. ...


Bramwell, however, comments that Himmler "is supposed to have sent a party of SS men to Tibet in order to search for Shangri-La, an expedition which is more likely to have had straightforward espionage as its purpose".[48] Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the novel, Lost Horizon, written by British writer James Hilton in 1933. ...


Das schwarze Korps

The official newspaper of SS was Das Schwarze Korps(The Black Corps), published weekly from 1935 to 1945. Already in its first issue, the newspaper brought an article on the origins of the Nordic race, hypothesizing a location near the north pole similar to the theory of Hermann Wirth (but not mentioning Atlantis).[49] Das Schwarze Korps (The Black Corps), the official SS newspaper. ...


Also in 1935 the SS journal commissioned a Professor of Germanic History, Heinar Schilling, to prepare a series of articles on ancient Germanic life. As a result, a book containing these articles and entitled Germanisches Leben was published by Koehler & Amelung of Leipzig with the approval of the SS and Reich Government in 1937. Three chapters dealt with the religion of the Germanen over three periods: nature worship and the cult of the ancestors: the sun religion of the Late Bronze Age, and finally the cult of the gods.


According to Heinar Schilling, the Germanic peoples of the Late Bronze Age had adopted a four-spoke wheel as symbolic of the sun "and this symbol has been developed into the modern swastika of our own society [i.e. Nazi Germany] which represents the sun." Under the sign of the swastika "the light bringers of the Nordic race overran the lands of the dark inferior races, and it was no coincidence that the most powerful expression of the Nordic world was found in the sign of the swastika". Very little had been preserved of the ancient rites, Professor Schilling continued, but it was a striking fact "that in many German Gaue today on Sonnenwendtage (solstice days) burning sun wheels are rolled from mountain tops down into the valleys below, and almost everywhere the Sonnenwendfeuer (solstice fires) burn on those days." He concluded by saying that "The Sun is the All-Highest to the Children of the Earth". Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...


Cultic activities within the SS

The SS-Castle Wewelsburg

Himmler has been claimed to have considered himself the spiritual successor or even reincarnation of Heinrich the Fowler[citation needed], having established special SS rituals for the old king and returned his bones to the crypt at Quedlinburg Cathedral. Himmler even had his personal quarters at Wewelsburg castle decorated in commemoration of him. The way the SS redesigned the castle referred to certain characters in the Grail-mythos; see The "SS-School House Wewelsburg". Heinrich I depicted as The Bamberg Knight Henry I, the Fowler (German: Heinrich der Finkler or Heinrich der Vogler) (876 - July 2, 936), was Duke of Saxony from 912 and king of the Germans from 919 until his death in 936. ... For the village of Wewelsburg see Village of Wewelsburg Wewelsburg Castle - seen from the Alme valley Arial photo of the complete village Wewelsburg (pronounced ) is a Renaissance castle located in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the village of Wewelsburg (the same name as the castle) which is... For the village of Wewelsburg see Village of Wewelsburg Wewelsburg Castle - seen from the Alme valley Arial photo of the complete village Wewelsburg (pronounced ) is a Renaissance castle located in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the village of Wewelsburg (the same name as the castle) which is...


Himmler had visited the Wewelsburg on 3 November 1933 and in April 1934, the SS took official possession of it in August 1934.[50] The occultist Karl Maria Wiligut (known in the SS under the pseudonym 'Weisthor') had accompanied Himmler on his visits to the castle.[50] Initially, the Wewelsburg was intended to be a museum and officer's college for ideological education within the SS, but then it was placed under the direct control of the office of the Reichsführer SS (Himmler) in February 1935.[50] The impetus for the change of the conception most likely came from Wiligut, according to Goodrick-Clarke.[50]


SS-Officers in Argentina

There are some accounts of SS-officers celebrating solstices, apparently attempting to recreate a pagan ritual. In his book El Cuarto Lado del Triangulo (Sudamericana 1995), Professor Ronald Newton describes a number of occasions in Argentina when a Sonnenwendfeier occurred. When SS-Sturmbannführer Baron von Thermann (Edmund Freiherr von Thermann, German WP), the new head of the German Legation, arrived in December 1933, one of his first public engangements was to attend the NSDAP Sonnenwendfeier at Vicente Lopez in the suburbs of Buenos Aires "a neo-pagan festival with torches in which the Argentine Nazis greeted the winter and summer solstices". At another in December 1937, 500 young people, mostly Hitler Youth and Hitler Maidens, were taken to a natural amphitheatre dominating the sea at Comodoro Rivadavia in the south of the country. "They lit great pillars of wood, and in the light of the flickering flames diverse NSDAP orators lectured the children on the origins of the ceremony and sang the praises of the (Nazis) Fallen for Liberty. In March 1939 the pupils at the German School in Rosario were the celebrants on an island in the River Parana opposite the city: Hitler Youth flags, trumpets, a rustic altar straight from Germanic mythology, young leaders enthroned with solemnity to the accompaniment of choral singing...the Creole witnesses shook their heads in incredulity..." In the Chaco in the north of Argentina the first great event promoted by the Nazis was the Sonnenwendfeir at Charata on 21 December 1935. Portentous discourses of fire alternated with choral renderings". Such activities were still continued in postwar in Argentina: Uki Goñi in his recent book The Real Odessa (Granta, 2003) describes how Jacques de Mahieu, a wanted SS war criminal, was "a regular speaker at the pagan solar solstice celebrations held by fugitive Nazis in Argentina postwar." For other uses, see Solstice (disambiguation). ... Jacques de Mahieu (Paris, 1915 - Buenos Aires, 1990 [1]) was a French Collaborationist under Vichy and former member of the Charlemagne SS Waffen Division. ...


Occultists working for the SS

Karl Maria Wiligut

Among the personnel of the SS, Karl Maria Wiligut could most of all be described as a Nazi occultist. The (first?) biography of him, written by Rudolf J. Mund, was titled: Himmler's Rasputin[51] (German: Der Rasputin Himmlers, not translated into English). After his retirement from the Austrian military, Wiligut had been active in the 'ariosophic' milieu. Ariosophy was only one of the threads of Esotericism in Germany and Austria during this time. When he was involuntarily committed to the Salzburg mental asylum between November 1924 and early 1927, he received support from several other occultists.[52] Wiligut was clearly sympathic to the Nazi Revolution of January 1933.[53] When he was introduced to Himmler by an old friend who had become an SS officer, he got the opportunity to join the SS under the pseudonym 'Weisthor'.[53] He was appointed head of the Department for Pre- and Early history within the Race and Settlement Main Office (Rasse- and Siedlungshauptamt, RuSHA) of the SS.[53] His bureau could (much rather than the Ahnenerbe) be described as the occult department of the SS: Wiligut's main duty appears "to have consisted in committing examples of his ancestral memory to paper."[53] Wiligut's work for the SS also included the design of the Totenkopfring (death's head ring) that was worn by SS members.[54] He is even supposed to have designed a chair for Himmler or at least this chair and its covers are offered for sale on the web.[55][56] Karl Maria Wiligut (alias Weisthor) (December 10, 1866 - January 3, 1946) was also known as Himmlers Rasputin. He was born in Vienna in what was then Austria-Hungary. ... Grigori Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (Russian: ) (22 January [O.S. 10 January] 1869 – 29 December [O.S. 16 December] 1916) was a Russian mystic with an influence in the later days of Russias Romanov dynasty. ... Werner von Bülows World-Rune-Clock, illustrating the correspondences between Lists Armanen runes, the signs of the zodiac and the gods of the months Armanism and Ariosophy are the names of ideological systems of an esoteric nature, pioneered by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von... This article gives an overview of Esotericism in Germany and Austria, mainly since 1880. ...


Gregor Schwartz-Bostunitsch

Gregor Schwartz-Bostunitsch was a radical author with German-Ukrainian ancestry.[57] An active agitator against the Bolshevik Revolution, he fled his native Russia in 1920 and travelled widely in eastern Europe, making contact with Bulgarian Theosophists and probably with G.I. Gurdjieff.[57] As a mystical anti-communist, he developed an unshakeable belief in the Jewish-Masonic-Bolshevik world conspiracy portrayed in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.[58] In 1922 he published his first book, Freemasonry and the Russian Revolution, and emigrated to Germany in the same year.[59] He became an enthusiastic convert to Anthroposophy in 1923, but by 1929 he had repudiated it as yet another agent of the conspiracy.[59] Meanwhile, he had begun to give lectures for the Ariosophical Society[60] and was a contributor to Georg Lomer's originally Theosophical (and later, neopagan) periodical entitled Asgard: a fighting sheet for the gods of the homeland.[61] He also worked for Alfred Rosenberg's news agency during the 1920s before joining the SS.[59] He lectured widely on conspiracy theories and was appointed an honorary SS professor in 1942, but was barred from lecturing in uniform because of his unorthodox views.[59] In 1944 he was promoted to SS-Standartenführer on Himmler's recommendation.[59] The October Revolution, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was the second phase of the Russian Revolution, the first having been instigated by the events around the February Revolution. ... Seal of the Theosophical Society Theosophy is a body of belief which holds that all religions are attempts by man to ascertain the Divine, and as such each religion has a portion of the truth. ... Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff (January 13, 1872 - October 29, 1949), the Greek-Armenian mystic and teacher of dancing born in Alexandropol, Armenia (then of the Russian Empire, now Gyumri, Armenia), traveled to many parts of the world (i. ... 1992 Russian edition of the Protocols, adapting Eliphas Levis portrayal of Baphomet. ... Freemasons redirects here. ... Anthroposophy, also called spiritual science, is a spiritual philosophy based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner,[1] which states that anyone who conscientiously cultivates sense-free thinking can attain experience of and insights into the spiritual world. ... Werner von Bülows World-Rune-Clock, illustrating the correspondences between Lists Armanen runes, the signs of the zodiac and the gods of the months Armanism and Ariosophy are the names of ideological systems of an esoteric nature, pioneered by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von... Neopaganism (sometimes Neo-Paganism, meaning New Paganism) is a heterogeneous group of religions which attempt to revive ancient, mainly European pre-Christian religions. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... SS-Standartenführer insignia Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in both the SA and the SS. First created as a title in 1925, in 1928 the rank became one of the first commissioned Nazi ranks and was bestowed upon those SA and SS officers...


Otto Rahn

The Fortress of Montségur from the 16th century. The castle that has been linked to the legend of the Holy Grail was destroyed in 1244.
The Fortress of Montségur from the 16th century. The castle that has been linke