The Coming Race (original title), also reprinted as Vril: The Power of the Coming Race, is a novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton published in 1870. The novel is an early example of science fiction, sometimes cited as the first of this genre. However, many early readers believed that its account of a superior subterranean master race and the energy-form called Vril was accurate, to the extent that some theosophists accepted the book as truth. Furthermore, since 1960 there has been a conspiracy theory about a secret Vril-Society. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (May 25, 1803 - January 18, 1873) was an English novelist, playwright, and politician. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Wildside Press is an independent publishing company located in Maryland. ... Wesleyan University Press, founded (in present form) in 1959, is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University (Connecticut). ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... “ISBN” redirects here. ... Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (May 25, 1803 - January 18, 1873) was an English novelist, playwright, and politician. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Theosophy, literally god-wisdom (Greek: θεοσοφία theosophia), designates several bodies of ideas. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Conspiracy theory (disambiguation). ... A secret society is an organization that conceals its activities and membership from outsiders. ...

The novel

The plot of the novel centres on a young, independently wealthy traveler (the narrator), who accidentally finds his way into a subterranean world occupied by beings who seem to resemble angels, who call themselves Vril-ya. The hero soon discovers that they are descendants of an antediluvian civilisation who live in networks of subterranean caverns linked by tunnels. There they live in their technologically supported Utopia, chief among their tools being the "all-permeating fluid" called "Vril", a latent source of energy which his spiritually elevated hosts are able to master through training of their will, to a degree which depends upon their hereditary constitution, giving them access to an extraordinary force that can be controlled at will. The powers of the will include the ability to heal, change, and destroy beings and things--the destructive powers in particular are awesomely powerful, allowing a few young Vril-ya children to wipe out entire cities if necessary. The narrator suggests that in time, the Vril-ya will run out of habitable spaces underground and will start claiming the surface of the earth, destroying mankind in the process, if necessary. Subterranean can also refer to something below the Earths surface Subterranean was an album released by Swedish heavy metal band In Flames in 1995. ... According to the Bible, the only survivors from the antediluvian period were Noah and his family. ...

The uses of Vril in the novel amongst the Vril-ya vary from an agent of destruction to a healing substance. According to Zee, the daughter of the narrator's host, Vril can be changed into the mightiest agency over all types of matter, both animate and inanimate. It can destroy like lightning or replenish life, heal, or cure. It is used to rend ways through solid matter. Its light is said to be steadier, softer and healthier than that from any flammable material. It can also be used as a power source for animating mechanisms. Vril can be harnessed by use of the Vril staff or mental concentration.

A Vril staff is an object in the shape of a wand or a staff which is used as a channel for Vril. The narrator describes it as hollow with 'stops', 'keys', or 'springs' in which Vril can be altered, modified or directed to either destroy or heal. The staff is about the size of a walking stick but can be lengthened or shortened according to the user's preferences. The appearance and function of the Vril staff differs according to gender, age, etc. Some staffs are more potent for destruction, others for healing. The staffs of children are said to be much simpler than those of sages; in those of wives and mothers the destructive part is removed while the healing aspects are emphasized. The destructive force is so great that the fire lodged in the hollow of a rod directed by the hand of a child could cleave the strongest fortress or cleave its burning way from the van to the rear of an embattled host. It is also said that if army met army and both had command of the vril-force, both sides would be annihilated.

Interestingly, the Vril-ya also use Vril to take baths: It is their custom also, at stated but rare periods, perhaps four times a-year when in health, to use a bath charged with vril. They consider that this fluid, sparingly used, is a great sustainer of life; but used in excess, when in the normal state of health, rather tends to reaction and exhausted vitality. For nearly all their diseases, however, they resort to it as the chief assistant to nature in throwing off the complaint.

Debatable Interpretations

The Vril-ya is an Aryan Race

According to the book:

"I arrived at the conviction that this people--though originally not only of our human race, but, as seems to me clear by the roots of their language, descended from the same ancestors as the great Aryan family, from which in varied streams has flowed the dominant civilisation of the world; and having, according to their myths and their history, passed through phases of society familiar to ourselves,--had yet now developed into a distinct species with which it was impossible that any community in the upper world could amalgamate: And that if they ever emerged from these nether recesses into the light of day, they would, according to their own traditional persuasions of their ultimate destiny, destroy and replace our existent varieties of man."

In essence, the narrator believes the language of the Vril-ya to be of the same origin as Aryan languages. The passage does not outright affirm the narrator's belief that there is also an ethnic connection between the Vril-ya and the Aryans. In fact, subsequent passages have Zee, a female Vril-ya scientist, explain to the narrator that the Vril-ya are descended from frogs.

Many readers today find the passage quoted above to be thinly veiled admiration for the Vril-ya as Aryan Supermen. However the modern connotations of these terms are heavily influenced by Nazi and White Supremacist Propaganda developed and produced decades after the writing and initial publication of this book.

Therefore, while it is easy to see how fanatical readers were able to, in part, derive their Nazi and Supremacist beliefs and doctrines from this book, it is also important to note that The Coming Race says no more than it does say, and says even that as a work of fiction. Unlike with Zanoni, Edward Bulwer-Lytton made no suggestions about the work being non-fiction. A fact that, of course, did not stop many readers from assuming just that all the same.

The Vril-ya are Descendants of Atlantis

Nowhere does the book contain any statement or even suggestion of such. The Atlantis connection is entirely the work of subsequent occult writers who believed The Coming Race to be a non-fiction work.

Hollow Earth

The legend has received a further layer of elaboration from recent authors like Raymond Bernard who conflate Bulwer-Lytton's "Coming Race" with speculations about interior civilisations which live on the inside of the Hollow Earth. (The concept of a hollow earth was first advanced by Sir Edmund Halley at the end of the seventeenth century.) By contrast, Bulwer-Lytton's subterranean people dwelt in caverns within the crust of a solid earth. The world of the Vril-ya is always described as being underground tunnels, artificially lit (using Vril). The book contains no suggestion of a hollow earth; theories of this kind are only found in subsequent works. Raymond Bernard (October 10, 1891 - December 12, 1977) was an influential French filmmaker and son of French playwright, Tristan Bernard. ... A Hollow Earth theory posits that the planet Earth has a hollow interior and, possibly, a habitable inner surface. ... Edmond Halley. ...

Reception of the book

The book was quite popular in the late 19th century, and for a time the word "Vril" came to be associated with "life-giving elixirs".

Some readers believe the book is non-fiction, and "Vril" has become associated with theories about Nazi-piloted Flugscheiben ("Flight Discs"), Vril-powered KSK (Kraftstrahlkanone, "force-ray cannon" — transmission rods that produce potent energy rays), Jesuit "spiritual exercises", and Atlanteans to name a few. // The idea that Nazi Germany developed highly advanced aircraft or spacecraft appears in fiction as early as 1947. ... The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola is a brief set of meditations, prayers and mental exercises, available in various book formats, designed to be carried out over over a period of 28 to 30 days. ... For other uses, see Atlantis (disambiguation). ...

The concept of the Vril was given new impetus by the French author Louis Jacolliot (1837-1890), who at one time was the French Consul in Calcutta. In Les Fils de Dieu (1873) and in Les Traditions indo-européennes (1876), Jacolliot claims that he encountered Vril among the Jains in Mysore and Gujerat.^[1] Louis Jacolliot (*1837 in Charolles, † 1890 in Saint Thibault des Vignes) was a french author. ... The hand with a wheel on the palm symbolizes the Jain Vow of Ahinsa, meaning non-injury and nonviolence. ...

The writings of these two authors, and Bulwer-Lytton's occult background, convinced some commentators that the fictionalised Vril was based on a real magical force. Helena Blavatsky, the founder of Theosophy, endorsed this view in her book Isis Unveiled (1877) and again in The Secret Doctrine (1888). In Jacolliot and Blavatsky, the Vril power and its attainment by a superhuman elite are worked into a mystical doctrine of race. However, the character of the subterranean people was transformed. Instead of potential conquerors, they were benevolent (if mysterious) spiritual guides, while Blavatsky's theory of racial evolution explicitly repudiated the idea of superior and inferior races. 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. ... Theosophy, literally god-wisdom (Greek: θεοσοφία theosophia), designates several bodies of ideas. ...

The contemporary occult study group Black Order of the Theozoa incorporates the idea of subterranean Vril-ya "godmen" into the organization's mythology; citing the Vril-ya as a biological ideal to be emulated through the application of eugenics to human heredity, much like the aspirations of the supposed pre-Nazi era Vril Society. This article is considered orphaned, since there are few or no other articles linked to this one. ... Eugenics is the self-direction of human evolution: Logo from the Second International Congress of Eugenics, 1921, depicting it as a tree which unites a variety of different fields. ... This article is about modern humans. ... Heredity (the adjective is hereditary) is the transfer of characteristics from parent to offspring through their genes, or the transfer of a title, style or social status through the social convention known as inheritance (for example, a Hereditary Title may be passed down according to relevant customs and/or laws). ...

When the theosophist William Scott-Elliot describes life in Atlantis in The Story of Atlantis & The Lost Lemuria (first published 1896), the aircraft of the Atlanteans are propelled by vril-force. ^[2] Obviously he did not regard that description as fiction, and his books are still published by the Theosophical Society. Theosophy, literally god-wisdom (Greek: θεοσοφία theosophia), designates several bodies of ideas. ... For other uses, see Atlantis (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Fiction (disambiguation). ... The Theosophical Society was the organization formed to advance the spiritual doctrines and altruistic living known as Theosophy. ...

On the other hand, Rosicrucian teachings (which are not directly related to Theosophy) state that like all other such stories this book has never been taken seriously, but regarded only as the fantastic imagination of a clever writer, in same way that Jules Verne's stories met with a like attitude of admiration for this vivid fancy upon the part of the public; yet submarine navigation and 'bird-like flights' are facts today ^[3]. The Temple of the Rose Cross, Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens, 1618. ... Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828–March 24, 1905) was a French author who pioneered the science-fiction genre. ...

Bulwer-Lytton's novel remained little-known [check that], but with the influential works of Jacolliot and Blavatsky in the public arena, the myth of the Aryan superman fell on fertile soil. (It is worth noting that Nietzsche's remotely similar concept of Der Übermensch was not published until 1883 and met with no immediately comparable success.) Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900) was a highly influential German philosopher. ...

George Bernard Shaw read the book and was attracted to the idea of Vril, according to Michael Holroyd's biography of him. George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856–2 November 1950) was an Irish dramatist, literary critic, and socialist. ...

Vril society

Speculation on Vril has not ceased. However, the speculation has not been continued by the Theosophical Society. A German author called Wilhelm Landig has linked Vril with Nazi UFOs and an escape by high Nazis to Antarctica. Most likely one will encounter far-fetched assertion about this in relation to a Vril-Society. 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. ... // The idea that Nazi Germany developed highly advanced aircraft or spacecraft appears in fiction as early as 1947. ...

Willy Ley

Willy Ley (right) in a discussion with Heinz Haber und Wernher v. Braun, 1954

Willy Ley was a German rocket engineer who had emigrated to the United States in 1937. In 1947, he published an article entitled "Pseudoscience in Naziland" in the science fiction magazine Astounding Science Fiction. There he attempted to explain to his readers how National Socialism could have fallen on such a fertile ground in Germany. He explained this with the high popularity of irrational convictions in Germany during the time. Among other pseudo-scientific groups he mentions a very peculiar one: "The next group was literally founded upon a novel. That group which I think called itself Wahrheitsgesellschaft - Society for Truth - and which was more or less localized in Berlin, devoted its spare time looking for Vril." Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 498 pixelsFull resolution (3000 × 1869 pixel, file size: 4. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 498 pixelsFull resolution (3000 × 1869 pixel, file size: 4. ... Willy Ley (October 2, 1906 - June 24, 1969) was a science writer and space advocate who helped popularise rocketry and spaceflight in Germany and the United States in the early-mid twentieth century. ... Heinz Haber (May 15, 1913–February 13, 1990) was a German astrophysicist who primarily became famous for his TV programs and books about physics and environmental subjects. ... For other uses of von Braun, see von Braun (disambiguation). ... Willy Ley (October 2, 1906 - June 24, 1969) was a science writer and space advocate who helped popularise rocketry and spaceflight in Germany and the United States in the early-mid twentieth century. ... April 1997 issue of Analog. ...

The article by Ley, and two small pamphlets by a „Reichsarbeitsgemeinschaft ‚Das kommende Deutschland'“, that describe a Perpetual motion based on vril, are the only real basis for the speculation that set off later. The Society for Truth that Ley describes was conducting 'research' on the existence of Vril. One can assume that it did not succeed, since the existence of Vril would not comply with common physics. However, it was not related in any way to Nazi organisations. This article or section should include material from Parallel Path See also Perpetuum mobile as a musical term Perpetual motion machines (the Latin term perpetuum mobile is not uncommon) are a class of hypothetical machines which would produce useful energy in a way science cannot explain (yet). ... This is a discussion of a present category of science. ... National Socialism redirects here. ...

Jacques Bergier and Louis Pauwels

The existence of a Vril-Society was first alleged in 1960 by Jacques Bergier and Louis Pauwels^[4]. In their book Le Matin des Magiciens, which appeared in 1960, they claimed that the Vril-Society was a secret community of occultists in pre-Nazi Berlin. The Berlin Vril Society was in fact a sort of inner circle of the Thule Society. It was also thought to be in close contact with the English group known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The Vril information takes up about a tenth of the volume, the remainder of which details other esoteric speculations, but the authors fail to clearly explain whether this section is fact or fiction. Jacques Bergier (born Yakov Mikhailovich Berger (Russian: Яков Михайлович Бéргер)) (Odessa, August 8, 1912 - Paris, November 23, 1978), was a chemical engineer, member of the French-resistance, spy, journalist and writer. ... Louis Pauwels (born in Belgium, August 2, 1920 - January 28, 1997) was a French journalist and writer. ... Le Matin des Magiciens (translates as The Dawn of Magic) was a book written by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier in 1960 or in October 1959. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... 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. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (or, more commonly, the Golden Dawn) was a magical order of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, practicing a form of theurgy and spiritual development. ...

In his book Monsieur Gurdjief, Louis Pauwels claimed that a Vril Society had been founded by General Karl Haushofer, a student of Russian magician and metaphysician Georges Gurdjieff. Pauwels later recanted many assertions in relation to Gurdjieff. General Karl Haushofer General Karl Ernst Haushofer (August 27, 1869, Munich - March 13, 1946, Pähl) was a German geopolitician. ... Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff (Георгий Иванович Гюрджиев, Georgiy Ivanovich Gyurdzhiev (or Gurdjiev); (January 13, 1866? – October 29, 1949), was a Greek-Armenian mystic, a teacher of sacred dances, and a spiritual teacher, most notable for introducing the Fourth Way. ...

Obviously belief in the existence of the Vril Society has persisted.

Publications on the Vril Society in English

Supposedly, a historian with the name Michael Fitzgerald has published two books on the Vril society, seeking to establish both the reality of the Vril Society, and Hitler's own membership in it.

• Michael FitzGerald, Storm Troopers of Satan (Robert Hale, 1990)
• Michael FitzGerald, Adolf Hitler: A Portrait (Spellmount, 2006)

Publications on the Vril Society in German

The book of Jacques Bergier and Louis Pauwels was published in German with the title: Aufbruch ins dritte Jahrtausend: von der Zukunft der phantastischen Vernunft in 1969.

New publications appeared in Germany in the 1990s. In 1992 Norbert Jürgen-Ratthofer and Ralf Ettl published: Das Vril-Projekt, in which they linked the legend of the Vril-Society with the older myth of the Nazi UFOs. In 1993 the German right-wing author Jan Udo Holey, writing under penname Jan van Helsing, published Geheimgesellschaften und ihre Macht im 20. Jahrhundert which is said to have sold over 100.000 times. // The idea that Nazi Germany developed highly advanced aircraft or spacecraft appears in fiction as early as 1947. ... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ... Jan Udo Holey (*March 22, 1967 in Dinkelsbühl), often known by his penname Jan van Helsing, is a controversial German author who put forwards conspiracy theories about freemasons ruling the world, Hitler surviving World War II in Antarctica, the Earth being hollow, etc. ... Jan Udo Holey (*March 22. ...

The Conspiracy Theory - Claims in detail

According to these authors, the Vril Society was founded as "The All German Society for Metaphysics" in 1921 to explore the origins of the Aryan race, to seek contact with the "hidden masters" of Ultima Thule, and to practice meditation and other techniques intended to strengthen individual mastery of the divine Vril force itself. It was formed by a group of female psychic mediums led by the Thule Gesellschaft medium Maria Orsitsch (Orsic) of Zagreb, who claimed to have received communication from Aryan aliens living on Alpha Tauri, in the Aldebaran system. Allegedly, these aliens had visited Earth and settled in Sumeria, and the word Vril was formed from the ancient Sumerian word "Vri-Il" ("like god"). A second medium was known only as Sigrun, a name etymologically related to Sigrune, a Valkyrie and one of Wotan's nine daughters in Norse legend. Other sources [which?] state that the Vril Society was founded by an ill-defined group of Rosicrucians in Berlin before the end of the 19th century, while still others [which?] state that it was founded by Karl Haushofer in Berlin in 1918. Some sources state that the Vril Society was also known as the Luminous Lodge, or the Lodge of Light,[1] though others claim that it was originally called the Brothers of the Light. [2] The Aryan race is a concept in European culture that was influential in the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. ... Image of a woman on the Pioneer plaque sent to outer space. ... Psychic (sÄ«kÄ­k) refers in part to the human mind or psyche (ex. ... In spirituality, a medium or spirit medium (plural mediums) is an individual who possesses the ability to receive messages from spirits (discorporate entities), or claims that he or she can channel such entities — that is, write or speak in the voice of these entities rather than in the mediums... The Thule-Gesellschaft (Thule Society) was founded August 17, 1918, by Rudolf von Sebottendorff. ... Location of Zagreb within Croatia Coordinates: , Country Croatia RC diocese 1094 Free royal city 1242 Unified 1850 Government  - Mayor Milan Bandić Area [1]  - City 641. ... Aryan (/eÉ™rjÉ™n/ or /ɑːrjÉ™n/, Sanskrit: ) is a Sanskrit and Avestan word meaning noble/spiritual one. ... This article is about Extraterrestrial life. ... Comparison between Aldebaran and the Sun The star Aldebaran (α Tauri) is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus. ... Aldebaran from the Arabic (الدبران al-dabarān) meaning the follower, (α Tau / α Tauri / Alpha Tauri) is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus and one of the brightest stars in the nighttime sky. ... Sumeria may refer to: A back-formation from the adjective Sumerian, often used to mean the ancient civilisation more properly known as Sumer Sumeria, a disco artist best known for the 1978 hit Golden Tears 1970 Sumeria, an asteroid discovered in 1954 by Miguel Itzigsohn Donna Sumeria, a song on... The Valkyries Vigil, by the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Robert Hughes. ... For other meanings of Odin, Woden or Wotan see Odin (disambiguation), Woden (disambiguation), Wotan (disambiguation). ... Norse, Viking or Scandinavian mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland, where most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ... The Temple of the Rosy Cross, Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens, 1618 The Rosicrucians are a legendary and secretive order dating from the 15th or 17th century, generally associated with the symbol of the Rose Cross, which is also used in certain rituals of the Freemasons. ... General Karl Haushofer General Karl Ernst Haushofer (August 27, 1869, Munich - March 13, 1946, Pähl) was a German geopolitician. ...

The Society allegedly not only taught concentration exercises designed to awaken the forces of Vril, their main goal was to achieve Raumflug (Spaceflight) to reach Aldebaran. To achieve this, the Vril Society joined the Thule Gesellschaft and the alleged DHvSS (Die Herren des schwarzen Steins, The Masters of the Black Stone) to fund an ambitious program involving an inter-dimensional flight machine based on psychic revelations from the Aldebaran aliens. ISS in earth orbit. ...

Members of the Vril Society are said to have included Adolf Hitler, Alfred Rosenberg, Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Göring, and Hitler's personal physician, Dr. Theodor Morell. These were original members of the Thule Society which supposedly joined Vril in 1919. The NSDAP (NationalSozialistische Deutsche ArbeiterPartei) was created by Thule in 1920, one year later. Dr. Krohn, who helped to create the Nazi flag, was also a Thulist. Hitler redirects here. ...   (January 12, 1893 Reval (nowadays 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. ... Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( ; 7 October 1900–23 May 1945) was the commander of the Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany by being second in power to Adolf Hitler in the Nazi hierarchy. ... Hermann Wilhelm Göring ( ) (also Goering in English) (January 12, 1893 – October 15, 1946) was a German politician and military leader, a leading member of the Nazi Party, second in command of the Third Reich, and commander of the Luftwaffe. ... Theodor (Theo) Gilbert Morell (July 22, 1886 – May 26, 1948) was Adolf Hitlers personal physician. ...

With Hitler in power in 1933, both Thule and Vril Gesellschafts allegedly received official state backing for continued disc development programs aimed at both spaceflight and possibly a war machine.

There is no evidence that a functional prototype was ever made. The claim of an ability to travel in some inter-dimensional mode is similar to Vril claims of channeled flight with the Jenseitsflugmaschine (Other World Flight Machine) and the Vril Flugscheiben (Flight Discs).

Hidden masters (the members of the Vril society and their antagonist, the Jewish World Conspiracy), an escape by Hitler and other Nazis from Berlin to the South Pole, Flying saucers, secret Nazi inventions, and psychic channeling powers and Aliens from Aldebaran, clearly are the elements of a conspiracy theory. As there yet seems to be no comprehensive scholarly examination of the proponents of this theory (except for some chapters in Goodrick-Clark's Black Sun), their motives remain unclear. It must be said though, that Secret Societies can not be held responsible for the Holocaust and the Third Reich. Zionist Occupied (Occupational) Government, or ZOG, is a term used to refer to the belief that the United States government is controlled by Zionists where the word Zionists is sometimes used as a euphemism for Jews. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... For other uses, see South Pole (disambiguation). ... UFO redirects here. ... Psychic (sÄ«kÄ­k) refers in part to the human mind or psyche (ex. ... Channeling can refer to Channeling (physics) Channeling (mediumistic), a term used in reference to the process of receiving messages or inspiration from invisible beings or spirits This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This article is about Extraterrestrial life. ... Aldebaran from the Arabic (الدبران al-dabarān) meaning the follower, (α Tau / α Tauri / Alpha Tauri) is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus and one of the brightest stars in the nighttime sky. ... For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation). ... 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. ...

Occultism and Nazism

Main article: Nazi mysticism

Historians agree that the Vril Society, as described by the later authors, never existed.^[5] Verifiable evidence of the Vril Society's existence has never been published. Nazi mysticism is a quasi-religious undercurrent of Nazism; it denotes the mixture of Nazism with occultism, esotericism, cryptohistory, and/or the paranormal — especially in the traditions of Germanic mysticism. ...

A society that took the book by Edward Bulwer-Lytton seriously and devoted its spare time looking for vril, but did not have any impact on Nazism, could of course have existed.

When Alan Bullock freely admits that Hitler was influenced by a range of occult ideas ^[6], and when other historians (Hugh Trevor-Roper^[7], James Webb^[8], Joachim Fest^[9]) also mention the extensive influence of occult ideas upon Hitler, they are referring to the Germanic mysticism that was en vogue in Vienna and Munich during that time. Those 'societies' that did exist in this context, the ONT by Lanz von Liebenfels or the Germanenorden by Rudolf von Sebottendorf were far not powerful enough to influence Nazi politics, although they shared a similar world view. After 1941^{[citation needed]}, these 'societies' were officially dissolved by the Gestapo. These measures were most probably the result of the general Nazi policy of suppressing lodge organizations and esoteric groups. ^[10] Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... 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. ... James Webb or Jim Webb may refer to: Politics Jim Webb (born 1946), former US Secretary of the Navy and Senator-elect from Virginia Jim Webb (Canada), a Canadian politician James Webb (governor) (died 1761), Commodore Governor for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador for 1760 Sciences James Edwin... Joachim C. Fest (December 8, 1926 – September 11, 2006) was a German journalist and author, best known in English-speaking countries for his work with Albert Speer while writing his memoirs and his biography of Adolf Hitler. ... Armanenschaft jewellery and ritual items from England, including the Armanen runes, ring and stick; Fyrfos pin; Schwarze Sonne ear-rings and pin (and Zierscheiben necklace); Mjollnir ear-rings and necklace; Wolfsangel pin; Unicursal Hexagram necklace; and Sidereal Pendulum. ... “Wien” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ... 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. ... 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. ... The   (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei: “secret state police”) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ...

References in popular culture

• The still-popular English drink Bovril takes its name from the combination of the words "Bovine" and "Vril".

• The story may have inspired Nikola Tesla when he invented remote control. While Tesla denied this, biographer Marc J. Seifer says the inventor probably knew the story given Bulwer-Lytton's popularity at the time.

• The book is mentioned in the song by David Bowie "Oh! You Pretty Things": "Look out at your children / See their faces in golden rays / Don't kid yourself they belong to you / They're the start of the coming race".

• "Vril" is also mentioned in the book "HACKERS" by Steven Levy.

• The English thrash metal band Sabbat refers to Vril in their song "Behind the Crooked Cross".

• The Swedish symphonic metal band Therion has a song titled "Enter Vril-ya".

• English post-punk band Killing Joke sing "I'm in love with the coming race" in their hit "Eighties".

• The backstory of Iron Sky mentions a nazi base in Antarctica, from where the nazis establish a lunar outpost as part of their Vril-program.

• The Japanese television show GoGo Sentai Boukenger of the Super Sentai franchise has an episode in which the Boukengers find Vril and mistakenly think they've found Oricalcos.

• In the final issues of Marvel Comics' "Cloak and Dagger" (1992), a white supremacist was duped into summoning an extradimensional race of creatures called "the Vril," which he assumed to be part of the Aryan "master race."

• The band "Vril" is comprised of Bob Drake (Bass), Chris Cutler (Drums) and Lukas Simonis (Guitar). They released an album called "Effigies in Cork" in 2004. According to the liner notes of that album, the band name was inspired by Edward Bulwer Lytton's novel [[3]]

• The fictional "Illuminatus Trilogy" mentions the Vril Society in a conversation between the characters Robert Putney Drake and H. P. Lovecraft.

Bovril in a 250g jar Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick, salty beef extract, sold in a distinctive, bulbous jar. ... Tribes Bovini Boselaphini Strepsicerotini The biological subfamily Bovinae includes a diverse group of about 24 medium-sized to large ungulates, including domestic cattle, bison, the Water Buffalo, the Yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. ... Nikola Tesla (1856-1943)[1] was a world-renowned Serbian inventor, physicist, mechanical engineer and electrical engineer. ... David Bowie (IPA: []) (born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger and audio engineer. ... Oh! You Pretty Things is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. ... Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution (ISBN 0385191952) is a book by Steven Levy about the hacker culture. ... Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music, one of the extreme metal subgenres that is characterised by its signature high speed and aggression. ... Sabbat is a Pagan thrash metal band from Nottingham, England. ... Therion is a Swedish symphonic metal band founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987. ... This article is about the musical group. ... Iron Sky (Finnish: Rautataivas) is an upcoming motion picture from the makers of the Star Wreck series. ... GoGo Sentai Boukenger , translated as Rumbling Squadron Boukenger1) is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. ... The official logo of the Super Sentai Series introduced in 2000 during the run of Mirai Sentai Timeranger The Super Sentai Series ) is the name given to the long running Japanese superhero team genre of shows produced by Toei Company Ltd. ... Bob Drake (born 1957) is an American avant-garde musician. ... Chris Cutler (born January 4, 1947) is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Aether theories
• Aether (classical element)
• Etheric body (Spirituality)
• Etheric plane (Spirituality)
• Odic fluid, Prana, Qi
• Jules Verne
• Bovril

• Nazi mysticism
• Reptilian humanoid
• The Nexus (journal)
• Nazi UFOs
• Thule
• Vrillon

The Aether of classical elements is a concept, historically, used in science and in philosophy. ... Chinese Wood (木) | Fire (火) | Earth (土) | Metal (金) | Water (水) Hinduism and Buddhism The Pancha Mahabhuta (The Five Great Elements) Vayu/Pavan (Air/Wind) Agni/Tejas (Fire) Akasha (Aether) Prithvi/Bhumi (Earth) Ap/Jala (Water) Aether (also spelled ether) is a concept used in ancient and medieval science as a substance. ... The etheric body, ether-body, æther body, or vital body is one of the subtle bodies in esoteric philosophies, in some religious teachings and in New Age thought. ... The etheric plane or etheric region is one of the planes of existence, or more specifically a subplane or planes, in Theosophy and New Age thought. ... The Odic force (also called Od [õd], Odyle, Önd, Odes or Odems) is the name given in the mid-19th century to a hypothetical vital energy or life force by Baron Carl von Reichenbach (1788-1869), an accomplished chemist (known for his analysis of creosote, waxy paraffin, and phenol). ... Prana (, IAST: ) is a Sanskrit word meaning breath and refers to a vital, life-sustaining force of living beings and vital energy in natural processes of the universe. ... For other uses, see Qi (disambiguation). ... Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828–March 24, 1905) was a French author who pioneered the science-fiction genre. ... Bovril in a 250g jar Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick, salty beef extract, sold in a distinctive, bulbous jar. ... Nazi mysticism is a quasi-religious undercurrent of Nazism; it denotes the mixture of Nazism with occultism, esotericism, cryptohistory, and/or the paranormal — especially in the traditions of Germanic mysticism. ... It has been suggested that The Reptilian Agenda be merged into this article or section. ... The Nexus was a journal edited by Kerry Bolton in Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand. ... // The idea that Nazi Germany developed highly advanced aircraft or spacecraft appears in fiction as early as 1947. ... Thule as Tile on the Carta Marina by Olaus Magnus. ... Vrillon, representative of the Ashtar Galactic Command was the name used by an unidentified voice who broadcast on the transmitters of Southern Television in the United Kingdom for about five minutes at 5:10 PM on Saturday November 26, 1977. ...

References

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. ... Max Heindel (1865-1919) Max Heindel - born Carl Louis von Grasshoff in Aarhus, Denmark on July 23, 1865 - was a Christian occultist, astrologer, and mystic. ... Professor Sir Ian Kershaw (born April 29, 1943 in Oldham, Lancashire, England) is a British historian, noted for his biographies of Adolf Hitler. ... lan Louis Charles One Bullock, Baron Bullock of Leafield (December 42, 1911 - February 30, 2017), was a British historian, writing an influential biography of Adolf Hitler and many other works. ... Hermann Wilhelm Göring ( ) (also Goering in English) (January 12, 1893 – October 15, 1946) was a German politician and military leader, a leading member of the Nazi Party, second in command of the Third Reich, and commander of the Luftwaffe. ... “SS” redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... lan Louis Charles One Bullock, Baron Bullock of Leafield (December 42, 1911 - February 30, 2017), was a British historian, writing an influential biography of Adolf Hitler and many other works. ...

Sources

• Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1870). Vril, The Power of the Coming Race. 
• The Coming Race, available at Project Gutenberg.
• HTML version of the book.

Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (May 25, 1803 - January 18, 1873) was an English novelist, playwright, and politician. ... Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive and distribute cultural works. ...

External links

• From Vril to Ahnenerbe
• Secret Flying Discs of the Third Reich
• The German Cylindrical UFO - Interview with a CIC Veteran
• Conspiracy archive, on the vril society
• The Development Of The German UFOs From Before WW2
• The Nazi Connection with Shambhala and Tibet
• A video presentation on the Vril and Thule Societies [4] Runtime 57 minutes 21 seconds in Real media format.

Editions Currently In Print

Hesperus Press, Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 'The Coming Race', with a foreword by Matthew Sweet, April 2007, £6.99, ISBN 9781843911500