Nazi occultism

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[[File:Schwarze sonne-schwarz2.jpg|thumb|right|165px|[[Alt-right glossary#Sonnenrad|Sonnenrad]], or black sun, in the hall of the [[SS]] generals in Wewelsburg castle]]
{{nazism}}
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'''Nazi occultism''', also known as '''Nazi esotericism''', '''Nazi mysticism''' and '''esoteric Hitlerism''',  refers to any of a number of [[Mysticism|mystical]] and/or semi-religious ideas linking the [[ideology]] of the [[Hitler]]-era German [[Nazi Party]] or modern [[Neonazism|Neonazis]] with belief in the [[occult]], [[paganism]] (especially Teutonic [[Neopaganism|pagan revivalism]]), [[Satanism]], [[Wicca]], [[Magick]], and other esoteric religions and traditions. It is interconnected with {{wpl|Nazi archaeology||,}} as well as field of {{wpl|Ariosophy|'''Ariosophy'''|,}} which refers to mystical theories about an [[Aryan]] race not necessarily associated with Nazism.<ref name=goodrick-clarke1985>Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas. ''The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology: The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany, 1890-1935''. Wellingborough, England, The Aquarian Press, 1985. {{isbn|0850304024}}.</ref>{{rp|51–52, 198}}<ref name="Kurlander2017"/>

Occultism is associated with a few figures in and around the Party, with [[Heinrich Himmler]] as a main figure, and others such as {{wpl|Herman Wirth}} being more fleeting party members. Many were connected to the [[Waffen-SS]] and its suborganisations such as the [[racist]] [[Think tank|think-tank]] ''{{wpl|Ahnenerbe||.}}'' Hitler occasionally mentioned the occult and paganism, but his spiritual beliefs despite being the subject of endless debate don't actually seem to have been very strong.<ref>Clifford, Alexander (December 16, 2021). ''Hindenburg, Ludendorff and Hitler: Germany's Generals and the Rise of the Nazis''. Pen and Sword Military. ISBN 9781526783349</ref><ref>Hitler, Adolf (October 18, 2013). ''Hitler's Table Talk 1941–1944: Secret Conversations''. Enigma Books. ISBN 9781929631667</ref><ref> Overy, Richard (2004) ''The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia''. Allen Lane/Penguin. pp. 280–281</ref>

Most prominent Nazis, either back in the [[Third Reich]] or since, didn't believe in any particularly strange religious or occult ideas; most of Hitler's circle were more or less lapsed or unobservant [[Christian]]s (see [[Positive Christianity]]).

The idea that the Nazis were all master black magicians looking for the [[Holy Grail]] has become a popular trope in fiction but is itself [[pseudohistorical]] nonsense. Similarly, there have been various people proposing the idea that Hitler or other Nazis were [[Demonic possession|possessed by demons]], in league with [[Satan]], the actual literal [[Antichrist]], etc.<ref name=goodrick-clarke2001 />{{rp|110}}

Aside from the Nazis' own occasional writings, the first proponent of a Nazi-occult link was the [[British]] [[Folklore|folklorist]] and eccentric [[Lewis Spence]]. He associated the Teutonic with malign influences corrupting [[Celtic]] Britain (which he believed was descended from [[Atlantis]]), and set out his ideas in the book ''Occult Causes of the Present War'' in 1940.<ref name=moynihan2007>Moynihan, Michael; Flowers, Stephen E. ''The Secret King: The Myth and Reality of Nazi Occultism''. Feral House, 2007. {{isbn|9781932595604}}</ref>{{rp|23-24}} Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, an academic writer on history and occult traditions, set out a more scholarly account of Nazi links to the occult in ''The Occult Roots of Nazism: The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany, 1890-1935'' published in 1985.<ref name=goodrick-clarke1985 />

==How it arose==
[[File:Thule-Gesellschaft.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Thule Society emblem... have I seen that [[swastika]] somewhere else?]]
As easy as it would be, there's more to this thing than just Nazi big-wigs of the time going "the [[hyperborea]]n [[Aryan]]s are real dammit! They came from the mystical land of [[Thule]] and were lost in the [[Welteislehre|cosmic ice]]! I can totally prove it! I ''must'' prove it!"

Nazism itself spawned from the ''[[völkisch movement]]'' with its ideological and [[theosophical]] roots.<ref name=goodrick-clarke1985 />{{rp|44}} Hitler and other Nazi leaders often borrowed from the ideas of contemporaries (Conservative Revolution) and/or [[far-right]] precursors such as [[Arthur de Gobineau]].

In certain niche circles in the German-speaking world, there was a revival of interest in the occult in the late 19<sup>th</sup> and early 20<sup>th</sup> century, mixing widespread ideas like Theosophy and interest in figures such as the [[Knights Templar]], with more specifically Germanic Ariosophy.<ref name=goodrick-clarke1985 />{{rp|18}}

A guiding and nurturing role for National Socialist thought was formed by the {{wpl|Thule Society||.}} A mystical society founded in 1910, it advocated [[anti-Semitism]], the purity of blood and race, and the return to an ideal Germanic [[golden age]] that was not historically identifiable, as it would include a time span of several millennia, from the Bronze Age to the Late [[Middle Ages]]. The conception of this hypothetical ancient age was inspired by the ideas of {{wpl|Guido von List||,}} {{wpl|Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels||,}} and various other proponents of Theosophy.<ref name=goodrick-clarke2001>Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas. ''Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism, and the Politics of Identity''. NYU Press, 2001. {{isbn|9780814731550}}.</ref>{{rp|86}} Guido von List was also the man behind the 1906 {{wpl|Armanen runes||,}} a set of pseudo-[[runes]] seen as having mystical meaning and power, the ideas of von List being adopted for prominent symbols of the Nazi party.

===Thule Society and mythical Aryans===
The Thule Society was in constant contact with the [[British]] ''[[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]]'', founded in London in 1888. Both were supposed "Theosophical Societies", a movement of thought led by [[Helena Blavatsky]], which aimed to reveal the oriental roots of thought and extend and share them with the [[Western world]]. It is precisely through the exchange of information between the speakers of these circles that some parts of the Nazi regime can be explained.<ref name="GiorgioGalli1989">Giorgio Galli, Hitler ed il nazismo magico. Ed. Rizzoli, 1989. {{isbn|9788817854108}}.</ref>

The Golden Dawn Society, like the ''Ahnenerbe'', was convinced of the existence of ancient races and civilizations&nbsp;— prior to the glaciations&nbsp;— which they believed possible to find traces of. Believing that there is the common descent of all the Germanic peoples (British included) from the mythical [[Hyperborea]]ns inhabitants of the island of [[Thule]], as described by the navigator {{wpl|Pytheas of Massalia}} in 325 BCE. One of the most convinced supporters was the infamous [[spiritualist]], magician, esotericist [[Aleister Crowley]], who believed that the Orkney Islands was the seat of this mythical land.<ref name=godwin1996>Godwin, J. (1996). ''Arktos: The Polar Myth in Science, Symbolism, and Nazi Survival''. Adventures Unlimited Press, 1996. {{isbn|9780932813350}}.</ref>{{rp|72}}<ref>Martin, S. (1986). ''Art, messianism, and crime : a study of antinomianism in modern literature and lives.''  Macmillan. Page 85. {{isbn|9780333394960}}.</ref>

Thus, although no [[archaeological]] evidence of its existence has ever been brought forward, Thule became the mythical homeland of the [[Aryan]]s, as expressed by the [[nationalism]] in vogue between the end of the 19<sup>th</sup> century and the beginning of the 20<sup>th</sup> century appropriated the belief handed down by classical sources to explain the origins of the Germanic populations, their absolute originality and their presumed racial superiority.

In 1913, [[Hanns Hörbiger]] hypothesized the [[crank]] idea of "Cosmic Ice" (''[[Welteislehre]]''). Hörbiger's crankery, as well as his other insane racial theories, caught on with pseudoscientific esoteric circles, to the point of allegedly becoming the cornerstone of the Aryan racial supremacy concept.<ref name="Kurlander2017"/>

Merged with the occult theories of the followers of the German and British groups, Hörbiger's vision ended up distorting not only what was reported in the [[Plato]]nic dialogues, but also with the myth of Thule and the Hyperboreans and the millenary classical tradition about the populations living in the remote and inaccessible Nordic lands, as cited by many Greco-Roman sources.<ref name="GiorgioGalli1989"/>

The members of the Thule theory tried in every way to demonstrate that the ancient Romans&nbsp;— and all the Italics in general&nbsp;— belonged to the Germanic race and that their first settlement in Italy was in {{wpl|Val Camonica||.}} This is a set of [[pseudohistorical]] speculations with very precarious foundations: their construction and diffusion is attributable to a syncretism due, specifically, mostly to the [[Historical forgery#Oera Linda Book|Oera Linda]], which modern philologists consider a fake written in the second half of the 19<sup>th</sup> century.

This manuscript, written in ancient Frisian, a now extinct language belonging to the Germanic language group, deals with the epic of the Frisians in a time span between 2194 BCE and 803 CE, focusing specifically on the historical, mythological and religious past of the ancient Germanic tribes.<ref>Forssling, G. E. (2020). Nordicism and Modernity. Springer International Publishing. {{isbn|9783030612108}}.</ref>{{rp|183}}

Translated into German in 1933, it played a decisive role in fueling [[Himmler]]'s racist drift, through its message that the inhabitants of the mythical Thule were the wisest, most knowledgeable and civilized population among the peoples of that bygone era. Not only was the legendary island populated by a superior race of supermen and demigods of incomparable wisdom, but their physical features made them giants with pale skin, blond hair, and blue eyes: the typical physical appearance of the pure Aryan race in the Nazi [[worldview]].<ref name=hite2003>Hite, Kenneth. ''The Nazi Occult''. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013. {{isbn|9781782009344}}</ref>{{rp|25}}

===Attitudes of Nazi leaders towards esotericism===
[[File:Aerial image of Wewelsburg (view from the southwest).jpg|thumb|right|200px|Aerial image of the Wewelsburg castle, that Himmler and co. used to LARP around at.]]
Nazism was not just a simple political creed, as the movement also aimed to build "a new Germany", which "purged of all foreign influences, would return to its origins". 

Most of the [[pseudo-scientific]] theories of Nazism were imported into the party by the highest ranking members, some of whom were also its earliest members. Lot of these theories came mostly from the "Thule Society", which spread in the pseudo-scientific environment described above, in addition to having sponsored the activities of the Ahnenerbe for the research of the so-called "ancestral heritage".

Nazi mysticism generally attributes a semi-religious meaning to [[Adolf Hitler]]'s character and the Nazi mission, of him being "man of providence". A fair number of the high-ranking Nazis, such as {{wpl|Richard Walther Darré||,}} [[Rudolf Hess]], Heinrich Himmler and [[Alfred Rosenberg]] had been members/active attendants of the Thule Society.<ref>Fritze, R. H. (2022). Hope and Fear: Modern Myths, Conspiracy Theories and Pseudo History. Reaktion Books. Page 155. ISBN:9781789145403</ref><ref>François, S. (2023). Nazi Occultism: Between the SS and Esotericism. Taylor & Francis. ISBN:9781000840049</ref>

Nazi mysticism was also used as a [[propaganda]] tool, which nevertheless drew upon many varied traditions that had as their basis some line of connection with the idea of ​​a superior race invested with a salvific mission for the entire human race.<ref>Pasi, M. (2014). ''Aleister Crowley and the Temptation of Politics''. Taylor & Francis. Page 98. ISBN: 9781317546306</ref> Even though these ideas did not have real and exclusive roots in the pre-Nazi traditions of Germanic mysticism (typically in Ariosophy). With much of the high-ranking members of Nazi Party involved with esoterism, it underscores the irrationalism of the entire political movement.

Hitler himself was inextricably linked to many aspects of the occult sciences, even though various mystical and occult societies got outlawed once he came to power. Hitler always ended up tolerating the excesses of his subordinates, [[Hermann Göring]] and Himmler in particular, and the whole court of [[charlatan]]s, seers, [[astrologer]]s, fortune tellers and magicians who surrounded the party's general staff. Himmler's unconditional loyalty and the ruthless efficiency of his SS were probably highly valued, and Hitler considered them far more important than assuming any kind of rational approach to control.

Thanks to the unconditional support from Himmler, the Austrian occultist {{wpl|Karl Maria Wiligut||,}} also known as "Weisthor" or the "German [[Rasputin]]", had a powerful influence on the genesis of Nazi mysticism and in its neo-pagan connotation.<ref>Falk, A. (2008). Anti-Semitism: A History and Psychoanalysis of Contemporary Hatred. ABC-CLIO. Page 140. ISBN: 9780313353857</ref> It was thanks to Wiligut's [[prophecy]] that Himmler established the initiatory center of the SS at the castle of Wewelsburg, in Westphalia, where the adepts chosen to make a career in the SS performed rituals halfway between those of the Knights of the Round Table, the Teutonic Knights and the Templars.

Nowadays scholars agree that the only historically acceptable result brought by pre-Nazi mysticism - through the Ahnenerbe - to the international community is having identified for the first time that the mummies of the Tarim Basin, the Taklamakan Desert, the Talas Basin and the Altai mountains are actually of Indo-European lineage, perhaps belonging to the extinct population of the Tocharians.

Conversely, peace without reparations - which [[Rudolf Hess]] was secretly negotiating with the "Aristocratic Peace Party", an exclusive, politically very influential London circle - was in good harmony with Nazi mysticism, aimed at emphasizing the common stock of populations of Germanic origin.<ref>James, L. (2010). Aristocrats: Power, Grace and Decadence - Britain's Great Ruling Classes from 1066 to the Present. Little, Brown Book Group. ISBN: 9780748125326</ref><ref>Harris, J., Trow, M. J. (1999). ''Hess''. André Deutsch. Page 243  ISBN: 9780233994062</ref>

==Origin and development of occultism within the Third Reich==
The founder of Nazi occultism/esoteric Hitlerism was [[Heinrich Himmler]], who, much more than any other high-ranking official of the Third Reich, including Hitler himself, was fascinated by the racial theories regarding the [[Aryan]]s (and not only the [[German]]s) and by certain forms of German [[neo-paganism]] that served his totalitarian theory.<ref name=moynihan2007 />

Himmler was said to consider himself the spiritual successor (and even as a reincarnation) of King {{wpl|Henry the Fowler}} (other say Duke {{wpl|Henry the Lion}}), since he established special SS rituals regarding this king and returned his bones to the crypt of Quedlinburg Cathedral. He even decorated his home in Wewelsburg with a commemoration of him.<ref>Demoule, J. (2023). The Indo-Europeans: Archaeology, Language, Race, and the Search for the Origins of the West.  Oxford University Press. Page 140. ISBN: 9780197506479</ref><ref name=hite2003 />{{rp|20}}<ref>Archaeology Under Dictatorship. (2004). Springer US. Page 203-204. ISBN: 9780387362144</ref>

===Ahnenerbe===
[[File:Ahnenerbe.svg|thumb|right|150px|Ahnenerbe organizational logo]]
The '''{{wpl|Ahnenerbe|Forschungsgemeinschaft Deutsches Ahnenerbe e. V.}}''' (the Society for Research and Teaching of Ancestral Heritage) was founded in July 1935 as an institute dedicated to research into the anthropological and cultural history of the Germanic race.<ref>Pringle, Heather (2006). The Master Plan: Himmler's Scholars and the Holocaust. New York: Hyperion. Page 50-51. ISBN 978-0-7868-6886-5.</ref><ref>The World Archaeological Congress, 1-7 September 1986, Southampton and London: Archaeological "objectivity" in interpretation (3 v.). (1986). Allen & Unwin.</ref> Founded by Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Wirth, and Walter Darré; the initial goals of the society were to rediscover the greatness of the ancient German populations, giving ample space to popularization purposes; its activities gradually began to expand thanks to the growing push given by the theories around the myth of the superior race, of which the Germans would be the direct descendants. 

Its leadership was entrusted to Wirth himself. Much time and resources were devoted to devising a “historical”, “cultural” and “scientific” background to allow the idea of ​​a superior Aryan race to flourish in German society. Mystical organizations were created, usually linked to the elite SS corps, with specific beliefs and rituals. In 1939 it was incorporated into the {{wpl|Persönlicher Stab Reichsführer-SS}} (Personal Staff Reichsführer-SS).<ref>Henke, J. (1997). Persönlicher Stab Reichsführer-SS: Bestand NS 19. Part 2. Bundesarchiv. Page 592. (in German)</ref><ref>Das KZ Auschwitz 1942–1945 und die Zeit der Todesmärsche 1944/45. (2018). De Gruyter Oldenbourg. Page 267. (in German)</ref>

Like many other organizations in Nazi Germany, the Ahnenerbe was involved in camp activities, especially in the experiments conducted there. The members of the Ahnenerbe included SS-Sturmbannführer, doctors August Hirt, and the Luftwaffe's medical major, Sigmund Rascher. The former, a professor of anatomy at the University of Strasbourg, was responsible for collecting thousands of human skulls in Auschwitz for anthropometric measurements and comparisons; the latter organized the decompression experiments in the Dachau concentration camp.<ref>
Recognizing the Past in the Present: New Studies on Medicine Before, During, and After the Holocaust. (2020). Berghahn Books. Page 208. ISBN:9781789207859</ref><ref>From Clinic to Concentration Camp: Reassessing Nazi Medical and Racial Research, 1933-1945. (2017). Taylor & Francis. ISBN: 9781317132394</ref>

Although the Ahnenerbe was the driving force behind the archaeological and research activities on ancient German history, its {{wpl|Nazi archaeology|archaeological expeditions}} represent one of the most easily identifiable elements of the esoteric side of Nazism in popular culture. In particular, the figure of the "Nazi archaeologists" searching for ancient artifacts, brought to the attention of the general public with the film Raiders of the Lost Ark in the early 1980s, has become a narrative stereotype over time.<ref>''Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public''. (2006). Routledge. Page 159. ISBN: 9780415305921</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mees |first1=Bernard Thomas |title=The Science of the Swastika |date=2008 |publisher=Central European University Press |page=201 |isbn=9789639776180 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLNUx6YK9RIC&pg=PA201 |access-date=February 6, 2016}}</ref>

===Pseudoscientific expeditions===
Always in connection with the myth of the "Ancestral Ancestors", the Nazis financed a research also aimed at finding their residence, the mythical {{wpl|Agartha||;}} among them being the followers of the [[pseudoscientific]] theory according to which there existed a kind of world within Earth, an underground world compared to ours accessible only in some regions.<ref name=godwin1996 />{{rp|8,127}}<ref name=hite2003 />{{rp|40}} Between 1937 and 1938, therefore, an expedition was organized in [[Tibet]] in search of the origins of the Aryan race. In this regard, the leader of the expedition, Ernst Schäfer, had his face, skull and nose measured by the expedition's anthropologist Bruno Beger. Another expedition set off for the Andes.<ref>Hale, C. (2003). Himmler's Crusade: The Nazi Expedition to Find the Origins of the Aryan Race. Wiley. ISBN: 9780471262923</ref> Similar expeditions were also organized in search of mythical or semi-mythical objects believed to grant extraordinary power and abilities to their possessor: for example, the Holy Grail and the Spear of Longinus.

In addition to the aforementioned Tibetan expedition, there were other notable geographical expeditions, which had the aim of identifying the starting point of the Indo-European migrations. For this purpose, in the midst of the [[World War II]], on 17 August 1942, mountaineers belonging to the SS climbed the peak of Mount Elbrus, planting the Nazi flag there, because that mountain was believed to be the seat of the ancient progenitor population of the Aryans. In the winter of 1938 - spring of 1939, an expedition to Antarctica was also organized, in search of the access point to the underground world fabled by the "[[Hollow Earth Theory]]".  On that occasion, it was rumored that a "colony at the end of the world" had been founded, with an annexed base for submarine operations, called "Neu Schwabenland" ("[[New Swabia]]").<ref>
{{cite book |author=<!--Not stated-->  |url= https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_World_s_Oceans/5BjHEAAAQBAJ|title=The World's Oceans: Geography, History, and Environment |date= 2018  |publisher= ABC-CLIO |page=84 |isbn=9781440843525 |quote= '''A SECRET NAZI BASE IN THE SOUTHERN OCEAN?''': A persistent myth that haunts the Internet is the existence of a secret Nazi base in Antarctica called New Swabia. Ever since Germany became a unified country in 1871, German scientists participated in the exploration of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. When the Nazi Party took power in Germany in 1933, it commissioned an exploration of the northern coast of Antarctica by a ship called New Swabia. Between 1938 and 1939 the members of the expedition sought to find a suitable location for a German whaling station to supply the country with fat. Although secondary aims, such as the potential setup of a weather station, had some military applicability, Germany never officially annexed the area. At the end of World War II in 1945, the rumor emerged that the Nazis took refuge in a large underground system of caves supplied by warm underground rivers to establish a base for future operation for Nazi weaponry in New Swabia. The United States' Operation Highjump supposedly set out to defeat the last Nazi stronghold in 1946. Although this operation did indeed take place, it was meant to familiarize U.S. personnel with extreme low temperatures in the event of a potential showdown with the Soviet Union. - Rainer F. Buschmann}}</ref><ref>Evans, R. J. (2020). ''The Hitler Conspiracies: The Third Reich and the Paranoid Imagination''. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN: 9780241413470</ref>

Archaeologist [[Otto Rahn]], as well as Nazi ideologue [[Alfred Rosenberg]], searched for the [[Holy Grail]] in Montségur, near the Pyrenees. It was perhaps believed that the sacred chalice, which had held the blood of Christ, could make the Third Reich omnipotent and immortal. Rahn ended up dead at a hilltop in Tyrol, Austria in 1939, with there being confusion regarding his cause of death.<ref>Dixon, J. J. (2017). Goddess and Grail: The Battle for King Arthur's Promised Land. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. Page 199. ISBN: 9781476629285</ref>

In any case, the Ahnenerbe organization was not involved in the transfer of the spear from Vienna to Nuremberg after the {{wpl|Anschluss||.}} As for the Holy Grail, in June 1944 the II SS Division "Das Reich" razed the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, massacring a large part of the population, guilty of having hidden, according to them, the relic that Hitler was desperately seeking throughout half of Europe.

==="The Pendulum Institute" and Astrology===
During the Second World War, occult practices, astrology and the like were used in Germany and Great Britain, in the belief that they could be utilized for war.<ref name="Kurlander2017">Kurlander, E. (2017). Hitler's Monsters: A Supernatural History of the Third Reich. Yale University Press. ISBN: 9780300190373</ref> In Germany, the SS hired numerous astrologers and occultists. The best known, who worked during the war for {{wpl|Walter Schellenberg}} and essentially also for Himmler himself (who, as already mentioned, had developed a real fanaticism for the subject), were {{wpl|Ludwig Straniak}} and Dr. Wilhelm Gutberlet (both experts in the use of the pendulum), as well as astrologers {{wpl|Wilhelm Wulff}} and {{wpl|Karl Ernst Krafft||.}}<ref name=hite2003 />{{rp|60-61}}

Apparently, after Hitler lost contact with [[Mussolini]] circa 1943, the former ordered the latter to be located by any means, with the "power of the pendulum" being put to use. In his book, ''"The Zodiac and the Swastika"'', Wulff claims that one of his first important assignments after being arrested by the Nazis was to locate Il Duce, who disappeared after his fall from grace in July 1943. Wulff also claims to have discovered the exact answer - about fifty miles southeast of Rome - when no one yet knew about it.<ref>Annussek, G. (2009). ''Hitler's Raid to Save Mussolini: The Most Infamous Commando Operation of World War II''. Hachette Books. Page 93-94. ISBN:9780786735716</ref><ref name=hite2003 />{{rp|60}}

The architect {{wpl|Ludwig Straniak}} was also used by the Germans. He apparently had a special gift for locating objects on maps using a pendulum. As a test, the German Navy's top brass ordered him to find the Prinz Eugen, then at sea. They were apparently particularly surprised to see the warship located, even though it was at the time engaged in a top secret mission off the coast of [[Norway]]. This episode seemed to have impressed them so much that it also convinced the SS to rely much more on the sciences of the occult.<ref name=hite2003 />{{rp|61}}

==Prominent figures==
===Heinrich Himmler===
{{main|Heinrich Himmler}}
Himmler is the most famous "occult Nazi," having been interested in the subject for most of his life. He was also the patron of almost all other occultists in the Nazi ranks. The SS symbol was derived from the {{wpl|Armanen runes||,}} and the organization itself was run like a warrior-monastic order in the vein of the Teutonic Knights (popular with German nationalists for their eastward campaigns against the Slavs which Hitler would rather unsuccessfully attempt to replicate), just with the catholic symbolism rejected in favor of Neo-pagan rituals, even going so far as to have their own [[baptism]] and funeral ceremonies. He also thought getting rid of Christianity would eventually be necessary to the successful implementation of Nazism. His ideas were not necessarily mainstream Nazi doctrine, and according to his political foe within the party, Albert Speer, Hitler himself called this sort of mysticism "nonsense."

===Herman Wirth===
A co-founder of the SS-backed "think tank" Ahnenerbe, dedicated to promoting pseudoscience about the "racial history of the Aryans" and "ancestral German heritage", Wirth was a Dutch-German historian who fell in with German nationalism. This led him to work with the Nazis, becoming an associate of Himmler who was a fan of his "research" for [[Confirmation Bias|obvious reasons]]. He claimed in his book ''Prehistory of the Atlantic Nordic Race'' that European civilization could be traced back to the lost continent of [[Atlantis]], and that the [[Abrahamic religion|Abrahamic faiths]] were "perversions" of the Atlantean religion. He would promote these ideas even after the fall of Nazism. He even nearly got a museum dedicated to his work, though public backlash quickly shut it down.<ref>[https://www.spiegel.de/politik/schenkel-der-goettlichen-a-97aaec71-0002-0001-0000-000014315413?context=issue Schenkel der Göttlichen]</ref>

===Karl Wiligut===
[[File:Schwarz SS-Totenkopfring.jpg|thumb|right|165px|An SS ''Totenkopfring'']]
One of the kookier Nazis (and oh boy is that saying something), Wiligut was a Brigadeführer in the SS. His worldview, Irminism, claimed that Germany is the heir to a civilization founded in 228,000 BCE when the [[Earth]] had three suns and was inhabited by magical creatures. His ancestors were wizard-kings who fought in a great religious war between the followers of Krist and Wotan (From whom Christ and [[Odin]] are supposedly derived). Once again, this was not mainstream Nazi thought. His ideas were only influential in the strange microcosm of the SS, where he convinced Himmler that the 17<sup>th</sup> century castle Wewelsburg was an "ancient [[cult]] site" and helped design the infamous ''Totenkopfring'' (death-head ring).

==Hitler and woo==
===During World War I===
In 1915, while serving on the Western Front with the German army, Hitler wrote, mentioning the pre-Christian Germanic deity Wotan, this esoteric poem:
{{cquote|
Sometimes on rough nights I go<br>
To the Wotan oak in the quiet grove,<br>
To weave a bond with dark powers —<br>
The moonlight conjures up the runes for me.<br>

And all those who dare during the day,<br>
They become small before the magic formula!<br>
They strip naked — but instead of fighting the battle,<br>
They freeze into stalagmite rock.<br>

This is how the false ones are separated from the real ones -<br>
I reach into the nest of fibulae<br>
And then give the good and the just<br>
Blessing and prosperity with my formula.<br>
|||Adolf Hitler (1915)<ref>John Toland, Adolf Hitler, Ballantine Books, 1986, p. 688, ISBN 0-345-33848-0.</ref>}}

Hitler claimed that while fighting in World War I, he had a religious awakening, especially while he was hospitalized and temporarily blinded by an enemy gas attack (October 1918). During this time, a famous event also occurred: a mysterious "voice" told him to leave a crowded shelter during a barrage of fire, and he did so. Moments later, a grenade fell on that spot. Hitler saw this experience as a message that made him believe he was a unique, enlightened individual, destined for a special 'mission'.{{cn}}

On September 28, 1918, Hitler came under fire from a British soldier, Henry Tandey, who chose not to shoot him because he saw that he was wounded. Ironically, Tandey became the most decorated conscript in the British Army in World War I, receiving a Victoria Cross for bravery at the Battle of Marcoing, where this encounter took place. The fact is known because Hitler later recognized Tandey in a newspaper photograph and kept it. In 1937 Hitler requested and received a copy of a Tandey painting from his regiment, along with a copy of his service file. The painting was noticed by [[Neville Chamberlain]] in Hitler's Berghof apartment when he went there for the Munich Conference.{{cn}}

===Hitler's mystical or esoteric experiences===
Hitler was inclined to reading prophecies and frequenting seers. From the first years of his entry into politics, Hitler surrounded himself with magicians, astrologers, seers, occultists, whom he did not hesitate&nbsp;— once he had risen to power&nbsp;— to eliminate from the public scene. After 1933, in fact, any divinatory and astrological activity was no longer tolerated, as it was the exclusive prerogative of the SS. The episodes of the Führer's continuous dedication to mysticism were however various and, below, the main ones are listed:
* By 1924, a list of more or less secret societies of an esoteric nature had been published ("Verschwörer. Zur Geschichte und Soziologie der deutschen nationalistischen Geheimbünde 1918 - 1924" by Emil Julius Gumbel) and among them was the Nazi Party
* Paradoxically, the occultist most followed by Hitler was a Jewish contemporary of his, one {{wpl|Erik Jan Hanussen||,}} who not only gave him lessons in oratory, but also took care of the theatricality of the gestures of the future dictator.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100829185205/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/documents/osssection1.htm A Psychological Profile of Adolph Hitler] (archived from August 29, 2010), except from ''The Mind of Adolf Hitler: The Secret Wartime Report'' by Walter C. Langer, p. 40, New American Library (1972).</ref> Starting in 1932 (although other future Nazi high-ranking officials had recourse to the medium since 1924), Hitler repeatedly resorted to Hanussen's "treatments" whenever he had to make important decisions or felt disappointed by the election results, so much so that, in 1932, the esotericist, at that time second only to [[Harry Houdini]] in fame, predicted that he would gain power the following year, which actually occurred on the scheduled date, since "…This is what the celestial powers have decided and nothing can change this verdict if it is written in destiny".{{cn}}

===Mystical bullshit about Hitler===
As in life, also in death legends and mysteries surround the figure of the German [[dictator]]. Some of these are listed below:
* Hitler having been possessed by a [[demon]] or even [[Satan]] is a common [[crank]] idea (even as good as it sounds on paper), which is believed to have been started by {{wpl|Hermann Rauschning}} and his (now thoroughly debunked) book ''"Hitler Speaks"'', which statements are also backed by Sepp Dietrich.<ref name=goodrick-clarke2001 />{{rp|110}}
* Above all, Hitler's [[suicide]], which occurred not by chance during Walpurgis Night, that is, during the hours in which the spirits and forces of [[evil]] are supposedly released.

==Subjects==
===Holy Lance and Holy Grail===
There are various sensational theories associating relics of Christ, such as the [[Holy Lance]] and [[Holy Grail]], with extraordinary amounts of mystical power, and from there it's a short step to the idea that as Nazis we should use those implements to enact a Thousand Year Reich. This is common in fiction but there have been some slightly more respectable writers on the topic.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/hitlers-hunt-for-the-holy-grail-and-the-ghent-altarpiece Hitler’s Hunt for the Holy Grail and the Ghent Altarpiece], Noah Charney, The Daily Beast, Dec. 21, 2013 (revised 2017)</ref> The Nazis did indeed take possession of one version of the alleged [[Holy Lance]], the ''Reichskleinodien'' ("imperial regalia") from Vienna, and had it moved to Nuremberg.

===Oera Linda Book===
{{main|Oera Linda Book}}

===Knights Templar===
{{main|Knights Templar}}

===Nazi UFOs===
{{main|Nazi UFOs}}

The idea that the Nazis had elite [[UFO]] technology in itself isn't related to the occult but some of the wilder theories do link with other bizarre theories about [[hollow Earth]], etc.{{cn}}

==Post-war Nazi occultism==
Following its widespread presence during [[World War II|the war]], after 1945 Germany's occult world was viewed as a legacy of the Nazi-era and was heavily demonized. Nevertheless, it received new life through the work of {{wpl|Karl Spiesberger}} and from 1955 the Armanen runic system and the use of the pendulum became even more fashionable in German salons than they had been before the conflict.<ref name=hite2003 />{{rp|52}}<ref>Schnurbein, S. v. (2016). ''Norse Revival: Transformations of Germanic Neopaganism''. Brill. Page 116. ISBN: 9789004309517</ref>

===Esoteric Neo-Nazism===
Additionally, {{wpl|Esoteric Neo-Nazism}} became a thing. Appearing sometime after World War II, it became a movement that has sought to make Hitler and Nazism a religion and not a simple political movement. It is said to have its origins in the mysticism developed by Himmler and the SS.

Notably the ''Tempelhofgesellschaft'' ("Tempelhof Society"), which was founded in Vienna in the early 1990s by Norbert Jurgen-Ratthofer and Ralft Ettl. Their aim was teaching a form of [[Gnostic]] religion called [[Marcionism]]. The group identifies the "evil creator of this world", i.e. the demiurge, with [[YHWH]], the [[god]] of the [[Jews]]. They distribute leaflets saying for example that the Aryan race first settled on [[Atlantis]], after its arrival from the star {{wpl|Aldebaran}} (information based on the reading of hypothetical "ancient [[Sumeria]]n manuscripts"). They claim that from Aldebaran the Aryans are able to obtain the "Vril" energy of the Black Sun. The basis of their teaching is the certainty that, given the extraterrestrial origins of the Aryan race, its divine mission is to dominate all the others.<ref name=goodrick-clarke2001 />{{rp|333}}

==In fiction==
{{cquote|You see, for the last two years, the Nazis have had teams of archaeologists running around the world looking for all sorts of religious artifacts. Hitler's a nut on the subject. He's crazy. He's obsessed with the occult. And right now, apparently, there is some kind of German archaeological dig going on in the desert outside Cairo. |||Major Eaton (William Hootkins), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)}}
The ''{{wpl|Indiana Jones}}'' film series is probably the best known popular example. In the first film, the Nazis are after the [[Ark of the Covenant]], and then the Holy Grail in the third one, because of these objects' supposed magical powers.

The comic book series ''{{wpl|Hellboy}}'' by Mike Mignola, features occult Nazis in a major role as opponents of the titular hero. Nazis also appear in the movie adaptation based on that comic book, which premiered in 2004.

In the 2000 PlayStation 1 first-person shooter game ''{{wpl|Medal of Honor: Underground||'',}} in which the fourth chapter of the game takes place in Wewelsburg and the player character, French resistance fighter Manon Batiste,{{efn|based on real life {{wpl|Hélène Deschamps Adams}}<ref>William Talley, "[http://powet.tv/powetblog/2008/11/16/20-game-of-the-week-lost-classics-post-veteran-day-special/ $20 Game of the Week & Lost Classics: Post Veteran Day Special]," ''POWET.TV'' (Nov.16, 2008).</ref><ref>Richard Pyle, "[http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2006/09/21/helene_deschamps_adams_85_daring_french_spy_rescuer_in_wwii/ Helene Deschamps Adams, 85, daring French spy, rescuer in WWII]," ''The Boston Globe'' (September 21, 2006).</ref><ref>[https://medalofhonor.fandom.com/wiki/Medal_of_Honor:_Underground Medal of Honor: Underground] ''Medal of Honor Wiki''.</ref>}} is sent to break in there. There she finds Himmler's occultist crap (including the apparent Knife of [[Abraham]] ({{bible|Genesis|22|6|10}}), which the player is to recover), as well as [[Mall ninja|Nazis dressed as knights]], who think they can take a fully-armed resistance fighter head on. The epilogue to the chapter recounts that "Himmler was a mentally unstable man who truly believed the crazy mythology that he and his fellow SS deviants created in their efforts to establish an independent state within Nazi Germany."

Superhumans or non-humans controlled by Nazis (or ''them'' controlling the ''Nazis'') are a recurring trope, so much that they have a name of their own (''"Ghostapo"'') on [[TV Tropes]].<ref>[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Ghostapo Ghostapo] ''TV Tropes''.</ref> One example is the comic book series {{wpl|Über (comics)|''Über''}} by Kieron Gillen.

And of course there is the ''[[Wolfenstein]]'' series, where Nazi occultism has been a recurring theme since ''Wolf 3D'' and peaked with the 2009 reboot until it took a back seat in the continuity established by the series' current developer MachineGames.<ref name="Bosman">{{Cite web |last=Bosman |first=Frank G. |date=2006-11-06 |title=Return to Castle Wolfenstein: critique of Nazi occultism |url=https://frankgbosman.wordpress.com/2006/11/06/return-to-castle-wolfenstein-critique-of-nazi-occultism/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |language=nl}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Pseudoarchaeology]]
*[[Order of Nine Angles]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Esotericism]]
[[Category:European history]]
[[Category:Pseudoarchaeology]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Pseudohistory]]
[[Category:Racism]]

Categories: Esotericism, European history, Pseudoarchaeology, Pseudoscience, Pseudohistory, Racism