Part 3 of 3
11. RUDOLF VON SEBOTTENDORFF AND THE THULE SOCIETY1 Birth certificate, Rat der Stadt Hoyerswerda.
2 Rudolf von Sebottendorff, Der Talisman des Rosenkreuurs (Pfullingen, 1925), p. 7. The character Erwin Torre represents Sebottendorff in the book. This work is hereafter cited as TR.
3 Ernst Tiede, Astrologisches Lexikon (Leipzig, 1922), p. 279; Sebottendorff, TR, p. 7 f.
4 Sebottendorf, TR, pp. 8-12; Ellie Howe, 'Rudolph Freiherr von Sebottendorff', unpublished typescript dated 1968, p. 9.
5 Sebottendorf, TR, pp. 15-20.
6 ibid., pp. 18-20; Lloyds Record Library, London.
7 Sebottendorf, TR, pp. 20-2. The Lloyds registry confirms that the S.S. Ems sailed from Naples for New York on 9 February 1900, while the S.S. Prinz Regent Luitpold arrived in Naples on 14 February. The Norddeutscher Lloyd agent at Gibralter, Marseilles or Genoa could have telegraphed to Naples with a request for an electrician. Howe, op. cit., p. 10.
8 Sebottendorf, TR, pp. 22-5.
9 Tiede, op. cit., p. 279; Sebottendorf, TR, pp. 30-7.
10 Sebottendorf, TR, pp. 31, 40-2, 46-58.
11 ibid., pp. 31 f, 34-7.
12 ibid., pp. 53-7.
13 ibid., pp. 65-8.
14 Haupt-Liste fur den In- Reichs- Aus-Lander No. 513699, Stadtarchiv, Munich.
15 Familienbogen Glauer, dated 19 November 1918, Stadtarchiv, Munich.
16 'Das Portrat eines hakenkreuzlerischen Hochstaplers', Munchener Post, 14 March 1923, p. 7. This account states that the incident occurred in 1909, which must be a misprint for 1908.
17 Rudolf von Sebottendorf, Geschichte der Astrologie, I vol. (Leipzig, 1923), I, 5.
18 Rudolf von Sebottendorf, 'Erwin Haller. Ein deutscher Kaufmann in der Turkei', Munchener Beobachter, 31 August 1918-10 May 1919.
19 The book on the Baktashi dervishes finally achieved publication after the war as Die Praxis der alten turkischen Freimaurerei (Leipzig, 1924). Two other works on mysticism were written by Sebottendorff at this time. Deutsche Mystik, written in Turkish (Stamboul, 1915), cited by Tiede, op. cit., p. 279, and Tauler und Boehme, written in Persian (n.p., n.d.), advertised in Sebottendorf, TR, p. 2. Neither of these works has been traced.
20 See above p. 59; Sebottendorf, Die Praxis der alten turkischen Freimaurerei (Leipzig, 1924), pp. 5ff, 19.
21 Rudolf von Sebottendorff, Bevor Hitler kam, second edition (Munich, 1934), pp. 169, 267. This work is hereafter cited as BHK. The Turkish Ministry of the Interior confirms that Sebottendorff became a Turkish citizen in 191!. Zeki Kuneralp (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ankara) to John Jardine (British Council, Ankara), letter dated 21 February 1969.
22 Familienbogen Glauer, op. cit.
23 'Reichsfreiherr Siegmund von Sebottendorff von der Rose, k.u.k. Hofkammerer und Major a.D.†21 Oktober 1915 in Wiesbaden', Wiesbadener Zeitung, 23 October 1915, p. 6.
24 Gothaische genealogische Taschenbucher der freiherrlichen Hauser 7 (1857), 700-3; ibid. 38 (1888), 776f; Genealogisches Taschenbuch der adligen Hauser 12 (1887), 440-2. See Appendix B for these genealogies.
25 Sebottendorf, TR, p. 80f.
26 Notes on the tank of Friedrich Gobel are in Technik-Geschichte 23 (1934), 102 ff.
27 Irmgard Uhlig (Kleinzschachwitz) to author, letter dated 20 April 1980.
28 Familienbogen Glauer, op. cit. Sebottendorff, BHK, pp. 168, 226. Sebottendorff vengefully lampooned Alsberg and Heindl as transvestites, Sebottendorf, TR, p. 86.
29 Sebottendorf, TR, pp. 86-8.
30 ibid., pp. 90-5.
31 ibid., pp. 95-8.
32 ibid., p. 98 f and BHK, p. 40. This new lodge in Berlin is identical with the lodge in the Kothener Strasse near Potsdamer Platz, headed bv G. W. Freese, see above, p. 131.
33 This biographical account is taken from 'Zum Gedachtnis an Walter Nauhaus', Deutscher Roland 13 (1920), Sonderdruck, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS26/1229.
34 Walter Nauhaus to Guido von List Gesellschaft, letter dated January 191 7, in Balzli, op. cit., p. 176 f.
35 Sebottendorf, TR, p. 99 and BHK, p. 53.
36 Sebottendorf, TR, p. 99; Johannes Hering, 'Beitrage zur Geschichte der Thule- Gesellschaft', typescript dated 21 June 1939, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS26/865.
37 Sebottendorff, BHK, pp. 57-60.
38 GLB 1 (1908), p. 13f.
39 GLB 5 (1910), table I.
40 'Aus der Geschichte der Thule Gesellschaft', Thule-Bote I (1933), 1-2.
41 Sebottendorff, BHK, p. 3f.
42 The ensuing account draws heavily upon Reginald H. Phelps, '''Before Hitler came": Thule Society and Germanen Orden', journal of Modern History 25 (1963), 245-61.
43 Sebottendorff, BHK, p. 43f.
44 ibid., p. 194f.
45 ibid., pp. 63-70.
46 The executed Thulists were: Walter Nauhaus, Baron Teuchert, Walter Deicke, Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Countess Heila von Westarp, Prince Gustav von Thurn und Taxis, and Anton Daumelang. 'Shooting of Hostages ... Munich Savagery' was the headline in The Times, 5 May 1919, p. 1.
47 Sebottendorff, BHK, pp. 62, 237, 240, 248, 264. Eckart, Hitler's most important Munich mentor, lectured in the Thule on 30 May 1919. Johannes Hering, 'Beitrage zur Geschichte der Thule-Gesellschaft', typescript dated 21 June 1939, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS26/865.
48 List of members in Sebottendorff, BHK, pp. 225-74.
49 ibid., p. 74. Details of Karl Harrer on p. 247.
50 Politische Arbeiter-Zirkel meeting minutes, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS26/76.
51 Anton Drexler, 'Lebenslauf', typescript dated 12 March 1935, supplied by Dr Reginald Phelps with the permission of Drexler's daughter, Frau Anni Widmaier. Michael Lotter, 'Der Beginn meines politischen Denkens', typescript of lecture delivered on 19 October 1935, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS26/78.
52 Reginald H. Phelps, 'Hitler and the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei', American Historical Review 68 (1963), 974-86.
53 Georg Franz-Willing, Ursprung der Hitlerbewegung, second edition (Preussisch Oldendorf, 1974), pp. 115, 123-6. Franz-Willing based this account upon interviews and correspondence with Friedrich Krohn, Josef Feuss, Karolina Gahr, Erna Hanfstangl and others.
54 Ernst Tiede to Guido von List, letter dated 25 February 1917, in Balzli, op. cit., pp. 214-16.
55 Baron v.d. Launitz, Duke of Gothien to SS-Obersturmbahnfuhrer Theodor Christensen, letter dated 13 October 1936, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, EAP 173-b- 20-16/19a.
56 SA warning cards on Rudolf von Sebottendorff, dated 29 January and 2 March 1934, Berlin Document Center, Zehlendorf.
57 Herbert Rittlinger to Ellic Howe, letter dated 20 June 1968.
12. THE HOLY RUNES AND THE EDDA SOCIETY1 Armin Mohler, Die konservative Revolution in Deutschland 1918-1932 (Darmstadt, 1972), gives a comprehensive survey and bibliography of these various right-wing movements after the war.
2 'Lebenslauf Rudolf John Gorsleben', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 3 (1928), 115-16; Rudolf John Gorsleben, 'Fahrt durch Syrien', Zeitschrift fur Geistesund Wissenschaftsreform 3 (1928), 323-8, 368-73.
3 Rudolf John Gorsleben, 'Als Rategeisel', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 3 (1928), 118-19.
4 Johannes Hering, 'Beitrage zur Geschichte der Thule-Gesellschaft', typescript dated 21 June 1939, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS26/865.
5 Uwe Lohalm, Volkische Radikalismus (Hamburg, 1970), pp. 260-3, 309f, 420. Lohalm notes that the fragmentation of the league favoured the growth of the Nazi Party in late 1922 and early 1923.
6 Rudolf John Gorsleben, Hoch-Zeit der Menschheit (Leipzig, 1930), pp. 16-21.
7 ibid., p. 251.
8 ibid., pp. 251-80.
9 ibid., pp. 294-307.
10 ibid., pp. 656-77.
11 ibid., p. 109.
12 ibid., p. 328f.
13 Bacchos-Dionysos (i.e. Martin Brucher), Ich befehle! Die befreiende Sendung Deutschlands im metaphysischert Geheimnis der deutschen Ursprache (Oberursel, [1920]).
14 Further members were Otto Dickel, Ernst Hauck, Hans von Joeden, Kurt Prinz zur Lippe, Mathilde Merck, Hans Georg Muller, Erich Riedl-Riedenstein, Arnold Ruge, Tassiso Scheffer, Alfred Schmidt, Graf Tassilo Strachwilz, Kaspar Stuhl, Karl Weinlander, Arnold Wagcmann, Edmund von Wecus, and Richard Anders. Fraler Georg Nikolaus (ONT), 'Lexikon der Ariosophie', undated manuscript, Rudolf Mund Archive (Vienna).
15 'Ziele und Satzllngen der EDDA-GESELLSCHAFT', Hag All All Hag 10 (1933), Heft 6, 16-17. It is also recorded that Bulow received a modest grant from Reichsfuhrer- SS Heinrich Himmler towards the costs of publishing the periodical.
16 'Gleichschaltung', Hag All All Hag 10 (1933), Heft 4, 3-5; 'Die Heimkehr der Ostmark ins Reich', Hagal 15 (1938), Heft 5, 69; 'Bohmen und Mahren', Hagal 16 (1939), Heft 3, 34-5.
17 Werner von Bulow, 'Mimirs Quelle', Hagal 11 (1934), Heft 7, 4-7 and 'Denkmaler: Die Geheimsprache der Denkmaler', Hagal 11 (1934), Heft 11, 1-3.
18 Biographical dala in Friedrich Bernhard Marby, Sonne und Planeten im Tierkreis (Stuttgart, 1975), p. 255 and jacket.
19 Friedrich Bernhard Marby, 'Von den Geheimnissen alter Turme und Kirchen', in Der Weg zu den Muttern (Stuttgart, 1957), pp. 65-80.
20 Siegfried Adolf Kummer, Runen-Magie (Dresden, 1933) and Heilige Runenmacht (Hamburg, 1932).
21 Weisthor (i.e. Wiligut) to Himmler, letter dated 2 May 1934, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, Himmler Nachlass 19.
13. HERBERT REICHSTEIN AND ARIOSOPHY1 The earliest traceable mention of the word 'Ariosophy' occurs in Ostara I, 82 (1915), p. 3.
2 Jorg Lanz von Liebenfels, 'Grundriss der ariosophischen Geheimlehre', Zeitschrift fur Menschenkenntnis und Menschenschicksal 1 (1925-6), 4-11.
3 A survey of the periodical literature may be found in Ingeborg Besser, 'Die Presse des neueren Okkultismus in Deutschland von 1875 bis 1933' (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Leipzig, 1945).
4 Wilhelm Th. H. Wulff, Tierkreis und Hakenkreuz (Gutersloh, 1968).
5 Ernst Issberner-Haldane, 'Frodi Ingolfson Wehrmann', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 3 (1928), 163-4. Although he did not personally meet List, Wehrmann corresponded regularly with him before 1919. Frodi Ingolfson Wehrmann, 'Zum Gedenken an Guido von List's zehnten Sterbetag', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 4 (1929), 157-8 and Gerhard Kunz (Stuttgart) to author, letter dated 17 March 1979.
6 Arnulf, 'Unsere Bildbeilage', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 3 (1928), 58.
7 Herbert Reichstein, 'Wie sich ein "Genie" bekannt macht', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 5 (1930), 162-4. The English text was Eleanor Kirk, The Influence of the Zodiac upon Human Life (London, 1915).
8 Frodi Ingolfson Wehrmann, Die Tragik der Germanen (Dusseldorf, 1926) represented a typically Listian reinterpretation of historical and cultural materials. His second text was Die Sendung der Germanen (Dusseldorf, 1926).
9 Ernst Issberner-Haldane, Der Chiromant (Bad Oldesloe, 1925), passim. According to this autobiography, Issberner-Haldane again met Mr Hewalt in Berlin after the war. At this time Hewalt is portrayed as a mystic with clairvoyant powers, who is fighting to safeguard Aryan purity by advising young women vigorously against racial mesalliances. He is proposing to withdraw shortly to his private monastery in Colombia, ibid., pp. 305-18. Although many episodes in the autobiography may owe their inspiration to the post-war theosophical-occult subculture, the encounters with such guru figures are recounted in detail, as they might describe authentic influences upon Issberner-Haldane before 1914.
10 ibid., pp. 182-7. 190-8.
11 ibid., pp. 222-33.
12 Notice in Zeitschrift fur Menschenkenntnis und Schicksalsforschung I (1926), 167.
13 The first issue of Die Chiromantie in Reichstein's periodical appeared in October 1929. Here Issberner-Haldane described the person of Mr Hewalt and his clairvoyant characterological powers, mentioning their two encounters. Ernst Issberner-Haldane, 'Meister-Charakterologen', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 4 (1929), 292-4. Issberner-Haldane is first mentioned as a Novice, Fra Yvo NNT, in April 1927. Tabularium 43 Uanuary-ApriI1927), p. 8. An advertisement for the 'Svastika-Heim' appears in Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 7 (1932), 135. One of Ellic Howe's German contacts told him in the 1960s that Issberner-Haldane remarried late in life 'in order to procreate a Christ Child'. He died in 1966.
14 Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 7 (1932), 163. With the exception of the abortive second Ostara series begun by Schm ude at Magdeburg in 1922, Lanz had found no outlet for his writings on a regular basis since the conclusion of the first Ostara series.
15 Herbert Reichstein, 'Geleitworte', Zeitschrift fur Menschenkenntnis und Menschenschicksal 1 (1925-6), 1-4; d. 'Was wir wollen', ibid., verso front cover.
16 ibid., verso front cover.
17 J. Lanz von Liebenfels, Grundriss der ariosophischen Geheimlehre (Dusseldorf, 1925), verso rear cover.
18 Zeitschrift fur Menschenkenntnis und Schicksalsforschung 1 (1926), verso front cover of Heft 8/9; d. announcements in J. Lanz von Liebenfels, Jakob Lorber. Das Grosste ariosophische Medium der Neuzeit III. Teil (Dusseldorf, 1926), p. 18, and Jakob Lorber. Das grosste ariosophische Medium der Neuzeit. IV. Teil (Dusseldorf, 1926), verso rear cover.
19 Joseph Fischer- Hartinger, 'Der Dichter Gregor Bostunitsch. Ein kleines Lebensbild', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 4 (1929), 333-8.
20 Norman Cohn had described how this originally Russian forgery of a plan for Jewish world-conquest, composed c.1895, enjoyed renewed popularity among the Whites after the October revolution. Norman Cohn, Warrant for Genocide (London, 1967), pp. 117-19.
21 Gregor Schwartz-Bostunitsch, Doktor Steiner-ein Schwindler wie keiner (Munich, 1930), p. 3; James Webb, The Occult Establishment (LaSalle, Ill., 1976), pp. 186, 266f; James Webb, The Harmonious Circle (London, 1980), pp. 185-7.
22 Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 3 (1928), pp. 73, 250-6.
23 Correspondence between Schwartz-Bostunitsch, Himmler and other senior SS officers, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS 19/870. Further biographical details in Walter Laqueur, Russia ana Germany (London, 1965), pp. 122-5.
24 Zeitschriftfur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 3 (1928), 14-19, 31-2, 45-7, 47-9, 55-7, 196-9.
25 Herbert Reichstein, 'Rudolf John Gorsleben †', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 5 (1930), 281.
26 Imaginarium NT, plate 102.
27 Frodi 1ngolfson Wehrmann and Herbert Reichstein, 'Aufruf!', Zeitschrift fur Geistes und Wissenschaftsreform 3 (1928), 250-6.
28 Lanz von Liebenfels appears to have been the first to develop this mantic system. J. Lanz von Liebenfels, Meister Amalarich and Meister Archibald, Die ariosophische Kabbalistik von Name und Ortlichkeit (Dusseldorf, 1926). Herbert Reichstein published his own Praktisches Lehrbuch der ariosophischen Kabbalistik in serial form in his periodical between May 1930 and June 1931.
29 J. Lanz von Liebenfels, 'Guido von List', Zeitschrift fur Menschenkenntnis und Schicksalsforschung 2 (1927), 74-89; 'Benito Mussolini', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 3 (1928), 77-94; 'Ernst 1ssberner-Haldane', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 3 (1928), 145-50. 'Die Geschichte der Ariosophie' appeared in the periodical between January 1929 and June 1930. See Appendix C for its analysis.
30 'Mitteilungen der "Neuen Kalandsgesellschaft"', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 4 (1929), 26.
31 'Mitteilungen der "Neuen Kalandsgesellschaft''', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 4 (1929), 91.
32 Herbert Reichstein, 'Charakter- und Schicksalsdeutung aus den Namen eines Menschen', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 4 (1929), 213-19. The lecture tour is announced in 'Mitteilungen der "Neuen Kalandsgesellschaft"', ibid., 296.
33 'Mitteilungen der "Neuen Kalandsgesellschaft"', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 4 (1929), 296. Cf. Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 5 (1930), 279.
34 'Mitteilungen der "Neuen Kalandsgesellschaft"', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 4 (1929), 56-7, 229-30.
35 Notices in Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 5 (1930), pp. 101, 105.
36 Gerhard Kurtz (Stuttgart) to author, letters dated 17 March 1979 and 23 October 1980.
37 'Mitteilungen der "Ariosophischen Kulturzentrale"', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 6 (1931), 199-201, 260.
38 A brief description of the birthday celebrations appeared in 'Mitteilungen der "Ariosophischen Kulturzentrale''', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 7 (1932), 208. Lanz himself was not present, but sent a letter of gratitude from Biberach, ibid., p. 207.
39 Ingeborg Besser, op. cit., p. 58.
40 Herbert Reichstein, 'Totgeschwiegene Forscher', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 5 (1930), 201-6.
41 Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 6 (1931), Heft 11.
42 Ostara III, 28 (1931), recto rear cover. The founder of the Hollow Earth Doctrine was Cyrus Romulus Reed Teed (1839-1908). Teed claimed to have undergone a spiritual illumination in 1870, when he received by revelation the tenets of this doctrine, which he called Koreshianity (Koresh is the Hebrew for Cyrus). In 1903 he established a sectarian community at Estero, Florida. The doctrine was introduced to Germany by Peter Bender, who read the sect periodical The Flaming Sword, while a prisoner of war in France. Karl E. Neupert wrote several books on the subject. Elmer T. Clark, The Small Sects in America (New York, 1949), pp. 147-50 and J. Gordon Melton, The Encyclopedia of American Religions (Wilmington, Ind., 1978), II, 37f.
43 Herbert Reichstein, 'Kabbalistische Horoskope', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 5 (1930), 85-9.
44 Herbert Reichstein, 'Adolf Hitler-ein Werkzeug Gottes', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 7 (1932), 105-6.
45 Ernst Lachmann, 'Deutschlands bevorstehende Schicksalsjahre im Lichte astrologischer und historionomischcr Prophetie', Zeitschriftfur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 5 (1930), 89-91. '1931-das deutsche Wende-und Schicksalsjahr', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 6 (1931), 85-7. '1932-Auftakt zur deutschen Revolutionsperiode', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 7 (1932), 61-3.
46 Notice in Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 8 (1933), Heft 4.
47 Interview with Arthur Lorber (Donzdorf), 22 August 1979.
48 Rudolf Olden, Das Wunderbare oder die Verzauberten (Berlin, 1932).
49 Sefton Delmer, Weimar Germany (London, 1972), p. 95.
50 Statements of faith in Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 7 (1932), pp. 157- 64.
14. KARL MARIA WILIGUT: THE PRIVATE MAGUS OF HEINRICH HIMMLER1 Joachim C. Fest, The Face of the Third Reich (London, 1970), pp. 111-24; Bradley F. Smith, Heinrich Himmler: a Nazi in the making 1900-26 (Stanford, Calif., 1971 ); Josef Ackermann, Heinrich Himmler als ldeologe (Gottingen, 1970).
2 Michael H. Kater, Das 'Ahnenerbe' der SS 1935-1945 (Stuttgart, 1974).
3 For most information on Wiligut I am indebted to Rudolf J. Mund, Der Rasputin Himmlers (Vienna, 1982). Further details were gleaned from the Wiligut-Weisthor SS file, Berlin Document Center.
4 Details of wartime military service in Mund, op. cit., pp. 18-22.
5 K. M. Wiligut-Weisthor, 'Lebenslauf', typescript dated 16 May 1937, Wiligut- Weisthor SS file, Berlin Document Center.
6 According to Frau B., another Mund source, Adolf Hitler is supposed to have frequented this group between 1908 and 1913. Mund, op. cit., p. 25.
7 Theodor Czepl, 'Gedachtnisprotokoll und Bericht Czepls an den ONT aus dem Jahre 1921', in Mund, op. cit., pp. 27-34.
8 Wiligut's chronology is described fully in Mund, op. cit., pp. 153-75. The centrality of Goslar in his account may derive from his familiarity with Ernst Betha, Die Erde und unsere Ahnen (Berlin, 1913), which identified Goslar as the chief shrine of ancient Germany.
9 Wiligut's account of his family in the medieval period is contained in his own 'Lebenslauf', dated 16 May 1937, Wiligut-Weisthor SS file, Berlin Document Center.
10 A full description of the case and the report of the court in Mund, op. cit., pp. 35- 51.
11 'Uraltes Familien-Siegel des Hauses Wiligut', Hag All All Hag 10 (1933), Heft 2/3, 290-3.
12 Jarl Widar, 'Gotos Raunen-Runenwissen!', 'Runen raunen ... ', 'DieVierheiten', Hagal 11 (1934), Heft 7, 7-15; 'Die Zahl: Runen raunen, Zahlen reden ... ', Hagal 11 (1934), Heft 8, 1-4; 'Die Schopfungsspirale, das "Weitenei"!', Hagal 11 (1934), Heft 9, 4-7.
13 Erik Gustafson, 'Einleitung', Hagal 11 (1934), Heft 7, 1-4.
14 Surviving items are a draft of his first Hagal article 'Gotos Raunen- Runenwissen!' (July 1934) with a handwritten dedication 'in Armans-Treue!'; 'Harumar' (4 May 1934), a seven-verse mythological poem; 'Die neun Gebote Gots' (summer 1935); 'Darstellung der Menschheitsenrwicklung' (17 June 1936); 'O mani batme hum!', a mythological idyll; several letters dated 1935-6; and 'Ur-Vatar-unsar!' (14 August 1934), the Irminist paternoster reproduced here:
Vatar unsar der Du bist der Aithar
Gibor ist Hagal des Aithars und der Irda!
Gib uns Deinen Geist und Deine Kraft im Stoffe
Und forme unsere Skould also gleich dem Werdandi.
Dein Geist sei unser auch in Urd
Von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit-Om! (Amen.)
Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, Nachlass Himmler 19.
15 Kirchhoff to Weisthor, letter dated 24 June 1934, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS21/31.
16 Weisthor to Himmler, letter dated 17 August 1934, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS21/31.
17 Weisthor to Himmler and Darre, letter dated 2 September 1934, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS21/31.
18 Gunther Kirchhoff, 'Rotbart von Kyffhauser' (1 September 1934) and letter to Weisthor dated 27 August 1934, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS21/31. Other Kirchhoff items in this folder, NS21/299 and NS 19/neu 747.
19 K. M. Weisthor, 'Bericht uber die Dienstreise von SS-Oberfuhrer Weisthor nach Gaggenau/Baden und Umgebung vom 16.-24. Juni 1936' and 'Bericht uber die Auffindung des Irminkreuzes als Ortung im sudlichen Niedersachsen, also die 5. Irminskreuzortung' (2-24 July 1936) and accompanying letter to Reichsbauernfuhrer R. Walther Darre dated 31 August 1936, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, Nachlass Darre AD26. The article describing the 'turning eye' (Draugh) was 'Gotos Raunen- Runenwissen!', Hagal 11 (1934), Heft 7, 7-14.
20 Theodor Weigel, 'Bericht uber den Stein von Baden-Baden und andere Entdeckungen des Herrn G. Kirchhoff, Gaggenau' (15 April 1937), Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS21/31.
21 Otto Plassmann, 'Stellungnahme zu dem Schreiben des Gunther Kirchhoff in Gaggenau vom 17. Marz 1938' (25 March 1938) and Laffler to Siewers, letter dated 19 June 1939, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS21/31.
22 Kirchhoff had first met Tarnhari at the List Society in Berlin during the 1920s. He addressed his letter concerning the Raidenstein complex and its associations with the Lauterer-Tarnhari family to Walther Wust, letter dated 18July 1938. Evidence for Himmler's positive attitude towards Kirchhoff despite the objections of the Ahnenerbe is contained in Brandt to Kirchhoff, letter dated 14 June 1939, Siewers to Schleif, letter dated 2 August 1939 and Brandt to Wust, letter dated 26 March 1941, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS21/31.
23 Kirchhoff to Hitler, letter dated II November 1944, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS19/neu 747.
24 Karl Huser, Wewelsburg 1933-1945 (Paderborn, 1982) gives a comprehensive account of the castle as an SS institution.
25 Mund, op. cit., p. 115.
26 Ferdinand Freilingrath (1810-76), 'Am Birkenbaum', in Werner Ilberg (ed.), Freilingraths Werke in einem Band, third edition (Berlin and Weimar, 1976), pp. 145- 51. The poem achieved its final form in 1850.
27 Huser, op. cit., p. 24 f.
28 Huser, op. cit., pp. 33f, 212. The stick and its use is described in Mund, op. cit., p. 127.
29 Knobelsdorff to Weisthor, letter dated 16 October 1934, Walther Muller SS file, Berlin Document Center.
30 Wiligut used similar runes in his design for a wooden bowl to be used in the ceremony of bread and salt at SS weddings. Ulrich Hunger, 'Die Runenkunde im Dritten Reich' (unpublished Dr. phil. dissertation, University of Gottingen, 1983), p. 158.
31 Huser, op. cit., pp. 66f, 326ff, and J. Ackermann, Heinrich Himmler als Ideologe (Gottingen, 1970), p. 72.
32 Huser, op. cit., pp. 294-8.
33 A description of Weisthor's life at Berlin appears in Mund, op. cit., pp. 98-103.
34 K. M. Weisthor, 'Zur Herstellung des "Urglaubens''', undated typescript, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, Nachlass Himmler 19.
35 Details of Rahn's career appear in Rahn SS file, Berlin Document Center.
36 Rahn to Weisthor, letter dated 27 September 1935, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, Nachlass Himmler 19.
37 Correspondence relating to the SS interest in Evola, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS19/1848.
38 Mund, op. cit., p. 123 f. Wolff to Pancke, letter dated 5 February 1939; Wolff to Schmitt, letter dated 22 August 1939, Wiligut-Weisthor SS file, Berlin Document Center.
39 The last period of Wiligut's life is described in Mund, op. cit., pp. 124-7.
15. ARIOSOPHY AND ADOLF HITLER1 Lanz to Frater Aemilius, leller dated 22 February 1932 in Wilfried Daim, Der Mann, der Hitler die Ideen gab (Munich, 1958), p. 12.
2 A survey of the unreliable and sensational literature relating to Nazi occultism appears in Appendix E.
3 Friedrich Heer, Der Glaube des Adolf Hitler (Vienna, 1968), pp. 15-22.
4 Billy F. Price (ed.), Adolf Hitler als Maler und Zeichner. Ein Werkkatalog der Olgemalde, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen und Architekturskizzen (Zug, 1983).
5 Heer, op. cit., pp. 22-33.
6 Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (Munich, 1934), pp. 21, 59f.
7 Daim, op. cit., pp. 14-17, 20-7.
8 Daim, op. cit., pp. 27-34.
9 A detailed analysis of the discrepancies between the account of Greiner and that provided by reliable sources is in Robert G. L. Waite, The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler (New York, 1977), pp. 427-32.
10 Franz Jetzinger, Hitler's Youth (Westport, Conn., 1976), pp. 136, 182f; Reinhold Hanisch, 'I was Hitler's buddy', New Republic 98 (1939), 239-42, 270-2, 297-300.
11 Hermann Rauschning, Hitler Speaks (London, 1939), p. 227.
12 Daim, op. cit., pp. 16, 162f.
13 Reginald H. Phelps, 'Die Hitler-Bibliothek', Deutsche Rundschau 80 (1954), 923-31.
14 Inge Kunz, 'Herrenmenschentum, Neugermanen und Okkultismus. Eine soziologische Bearbeitung der Schriften von Guido List' (unpublished Dr. phil. thesis, University of Vienna, 1961), pp. 4-6. Schmidt-Falk must have been referring to Friedrich Oskar Wannieck, who died on 6 July 1912.
15 Phelps, op. cit., p. 925.
16 August Kubizek, Young Hitler (Maidstone, 1973), p. 110f.
17 Kunz, op. cit., pp. 4, 9, 11.
18 Kubizek, op. cit., p. 135.
19 Price, op. cit., pp. 165-183.There are in this volume numerous illustrations of Hitler paintings which were forged by Konrad Kujau, also notorious as the author of the Stem Hitler Diaries. Many of the dubious items are located in the DI collection of Fritz Stiefel at Waiblingen.
20 Edouard Calic, Ohne Maske. Hitler-Breiting Geheimgesprache 1931 (Frankfurt, 1968), p. 60.
21 Johannes Hering, 'Beitrage zur Geschichte der Thule-Gesellschaft', typescript dated 21 June 1939, Bundesarchiv, Koblenz, NS26/865.
22 Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (Munich, 1934), pp. 395-8.
23 The importance of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion for the growth of this postwar demonology in Germany is fully documented in Norman Cohn, Warrant for Genocide (London, 1967), pp. 126-215.
24 James M. Rhodes, The Hitler Movement (Stanford, 1980) draws on the writings and speeches of Hitler, Goebbels, Rosenberg, Strasser, and other Nazi leaders to highlight their apocalyptic consciousness.
25 These grandiose projects are documented in the following works: Albert Speer, Inside the Third Reich (London, 1970) and The Spandau Diaries (London, 1976); Karl Huser, Wewelsburg 19JJ-1945 (Paderborn, 1982); Amon Joachimsthaler, Die Breitspurbahn Hitlers (Freiburg, 1981); Felix Kersten, The Kersten Memoirs 1940-1945 (London, 1956); Josef Ackermann, Heinrich Himmler als Ideologe (G6ttingen, 1970); Clarissa Henry and Marc Hillel, Children of the SS (London, 1975).
APPENDIX C: THE HISTORY OF ARIOSOPHY1 Lanz took the idea of a proto-Aryan settled continent of Atlantis from two post-war volkisch mythologists: Karl Georg Zschaetzsch, Atlantis, die Urheimat der Arier (Berlin, 1922) and Hermann Wieland, Atiantis, Edda und Bibel (Weissenburg, 1925).
2 J. Lanz v. Liebenfels, 'Die Geschichte der Ariosophie', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 4 (1929), 34 f.
3 ibid., 35.
4 ibid., 100.
5 J. Lanz v. Liebenfels, Die unterschlagene esoterische Lehre des Ulfilas (Szt. Balazs, 1930); Ulfilas und das Schlusselworterbuch zur Esoterik des Altertums und Mittelalters, 4 vols. (Szt. Balazs, 1930).
6 J. Lanz v. Liebenfels, Das Leben St. Benedikts von Nursia (Szt. Balazs, 1930); Der Tod St. Benedikt von Nursia und seine Ordensregel, I. Teil (Szt. Balazs, 1930); Die Ordensregel St. Benedikts von Nursia, II. Teil (Szt. Balazs, 1930); Die Priesterschaft Benedikts von Nursia, I. Teil: Ursprunge und Vorlaufer (Szt. Balazs, 1930); Die Priesterschaft Benedikts von Nursia, II. Teil: Die Einwirkung auf die Menschheitsentwicklung (Szt. Balazs, 1930).
7 J. Lanz v. Liebenfels, Die Priesterschaft St. Bernhards von Ciairvaux, 2 vols. (Szt. Balazs, 1930).
8 J. Lanz v. Liebenfels, 'Die Geschichte der Ariosophie', Zeitschrift fur Geistes- und Wissenschaftsreform 4 (1929), 179.
9 ibid., 237-40.
10 A full list of ariosophical mystics from antiquity up until the present is given in J. Lanz v. Liebenfels, Praktische Einfuhrung in die arish-christliche Mystik. VI. Teil: Praxis, Geschichte und Literatur der Mystik (n.p., 1934), pp. 4-16.
APPENDIX E: THE MODERN MYTHOLOGY OF NAZI OCCULTISM1 A sample of such works might include the following: Nazi-hunting in the German expatriate communities of South America, including the search for the allegedly fugitive Martin Bormann, are represented by Ladislas Farago, Aftermath. Martin Bormann and the Fourth Reich (London, 1974), and Erich Erdstein with Barbara Bean, Inside the Fourth Reich (London, 1978). Robert Ludlum, The Holcroft Covenant (St Albans, 1978) describes a Nazi revival against the background of high finance. Michael Sinclair, A Long Time Sleeping (London, 1975) tells how Hitler survived until 1967 in the United States with contacts among the old guard in high political office throughout the world. W. Mattern, UFOs. Letzte Geheimwaffe des Dritten Reiches (Toronto, n.d.) suggests that the flying saucers are directed by a clique of Nazi survivors bent upon the successful resumption of world conquest.
2 Right-wing political groups of explicit Nazi inspiration in Great Britain and the United States are described in Angelo del Boca and Mario Giovana, Fascism Today (London, 1970), pp. 261-70, 323-66. Nazi chants and salutes are used in the Church of Satan, a sect devoted to devil-worship and unbridled sensual gratification, which was founded in 1966 in San Francisco. Anton Szandor LaVey, The Satanic Rituals (New York, 1972).
3 Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, the Secret Doctrine, second edition, 2 vols. (London, 1888), I, xxiii-xxv.
4 Joseph Saint-Yves d'Alveydre, La Mission de l'Inde en Europe (Paris, 1910), p. 27.
5 Ferdynand Ossendowski, Beasts, Men and Gods (London, 1923), pp. 299-316.
6 Louis Jacolliot, Les fils de Dieu (Paris, 1873) referred to the vril in connection with the magical practices of the Jainists in India. For Blavatsky's debt to Jacolliot, see Coleman, op. cit., pp. 357-366.
7 Willy Ley, 'Pseudoscience in Naziland', Astounding Science Fiction 39 (1947), 90-8.
8 Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier, The Morning of the Magicians (St Albans, 1971), p. 146f.
9 ibid., p. 148n.
10 For an objective account of Eckart's influence on Hitler, see John Toland, Adolf Hitler (New York, 1976), pp. 99-101 and Robert G. L. Waite, The Psychopathic God: Adolf Hitler (New York, 1977), pp. 116-18.
11 The limited extent of Hitler's contact with Karl Haushofer may be deduced from Hans-Adolf Jacobsen, Karl Haushofer. Leben und Werk Bd. 1, Schriften des Bundesarchivs 24/1 (Boppard, 1979), pp. 224-258.
12 Pauwels and Bergier, op. cit., p. 193.
13 ibid., pp. 195-8.
14 The presence of Gurdjieff himself in Tibet is a matter of contention and mystification. James Webb, The Harmonious Circle (London, 1980), pp. 48-74.
15 Dietrich Bronder, Bevor Hitler kam (Hanover, 1964), pp. 239-44.
16 Walter Johannes Stein, Weltgeschichte im Lichte des heiligen Gral, 1 vol. (Stuttgart, 1928), 1, 6-8, 381-94.
17 Trevor Ravenscroft, the Spear of Destiny (London, 1972), pp. 67-88. The repatriation of the Habsburg imperial regalia to Germany formed the subject of Ostara I, 6 (July 1906). Hitler actually had the regalia transferred to Nuremberg after 1938.
18 ibid., pp. 167-70, 186.
19 ibid., p. 230.
20 ibid., pp. 103-5.
21 ibid., p. 59.
22 ibid., p. 76.
23 The conjuring of a 'Moon Child' is redolent of myths surrounding Aleister Crowley. Somerset W. Maugham wrote a caustic satire about Crowley, in which a certain 'Oliver Haddo' engaged in evil alchemical experiments at his Staffordshire mansion to create a homunculus with the life-force of his poor wife. Somerset W. Maugham, the Magician (London, 1908). Crowley also wrote a novel about the magical creation of familiar spirits and discarnate entities. Aleister Crowley, Moonchild (London, 1929). The fictional status of both Ernst Pretzsche and his bookshop is discussed in Christoph Lindenberg, 'The Spear of Destiny [review]', Die Drei, December 1974, 631-5.
24 Jean-Claude Frere, Nazisme et societes secretes (Paris, 1974), pp. 142-4.
25 Franz Trefflinger, 'Beitrage zu einer Biographie des Abtes Theoderich Hagn von Lambach (1816-1872)' (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Vienna, 1967).
26 Franz Jetzinger, Hitler's Youth (Westport, Conn., 1976), p. 58f.