Adolph Hitler - (1889-1945)

Hitler was the founder and leader of National Socialism (Nazism), and German dictator, b.
Braunau in Upper Austria.
he son of Alois Hitler (!"#$%!&'#), an Austrian customs official, Adolf Hitler dropped out
of hi(h school, and after his mother)s death in !&'$ mo*ed to +ienna. He twice failed the
admission e,amination for the academ- of arts. His *icious anti%Semitism (perhaps
influenced b- that of .arl /ue(er ) and political haran(ues dro*e man- ac0uaintances
awa-. 1n !&!# he settled in 2unich, and on the outbrea3 of 4orld 4ar 1 he 5oined the
Ba*arian arm-. 6urin( the war he was (assed and wounded7 a corporal, he recei*ed the
1ron 8ross for bra*er-. he war hardened his e,treme nationalism, and he blamed the
German defeat on betra-al b- 9ews and 2ar,ists. Upon his return to 2unich he 5oined a
handful of other nationalistic *eterans in the German 4or3ers) part-.
1n !&:' the German 4or3ers) part- was renamed the National Socialist German 4or3ers,
or Nazi, part-7 in !&:! it was reor(anized with Hitler as chairman. He made it a
paramilitar- or(anization and won the support of such prominent nationalists as ;ield
2arshal /udendorff . <n No*. ", !&:#, Hitler attempted the =beer%hall putsch,> intended to
o*erthrow the republican (o*ernment. /eadin( Ba*arian officials (themsel*es discontented
nationalists) were surrounded at a meetin( in a 2unich beer hall b- the Nazi militia, or
storm troopers, and made to swear lo-alt- to this =re*olution.> <n re(ainin( their freedom
the- used the ?eichswehr @arm-A to defeat the coup. Hitler fled, but was soon arrested and
sentenced to fi*e -ears in the /andsber( fortress. He ser*ed nine months.
he putsch made Hitler 3nown throu(hout German-. 1n prison he dictated to ?udolf Hess
the tur(id 2ein .ampf @m- stru((leA, filled with anti%Semitic outpourin(s, worship of
power, disdain for ci*il moralit-, and strate(- for world domination. 1t became the bible of
National Socialism. Under the tutela(e of Hitler and Gre(or Strasser , aided b- 9osef
Goebbels and from !&:" b- Hermann Goerin( , the part- (rew slowl- until the economic
depression, be(innin( in !&:&, brou(ht it mass support.
o Germans burdened b- reparations pa-ments to the *ictors of 4orld 4ar 1, and
threatened b- h-perinflation, political chaos, and a possible 8ommunist ta3eo*er, Hitler,
frenzied -et ma(netic, offered scape(oats and solutions. o the economicall- depressed he
promised to despoil =9ew financiers,> to wor3ers he promised securit-. He (ained the
financial support of ban3ers and industrialists with his *irulent anti%8ommunism and
promises to control trade unionism.
Hitler had a 3een and sinister insi(ht into mass ps-cholo(-, and he was a master of intri(ue
and maneu*er. After ac0uirin( German citizenship throu(h the state of Brunswic3, he ran in
the presidential elections of !&#:, losin( to the popular war hero Baul *on Hindenbur( but
stren(thenin( his position b- falsel- promisin( to support 8hancellor ;ranz *on Bapen ,
who lifted the ban on the storm troops (9une, !&#:).
4hen the Nazis were elected the lar(est part- in the ?eichsta( (9ul-, !&#:), Hindenbur(
offered Hitler a subordinate position in the cabinet. Hitler held out for the chief post and for
sweepin( powers. he chancellorship went instead to .urt *on Schleicher , who resi(ned
on 9an. :", !&##. Amid collapsin( parliamentar- (o*ernment and pitched battles between
Nazis and 8ommunists, Hindenbur(, on the ur(in( of *on Bapen, called Hitler to be
chancellor of a coalition cabinet, refusin( him e,traordinar- powers. Supported b- Alfred
Hu(enber( , Hitler too3 office on 9an. #'.
German-)s new ruler was a master of 2achia*ellian politics. Hitler feared plots, and firml-
belie*ed in his mission to achie*e the supremac- of the so%called Ar-an race, which he
termed the =master race.> Ha*in( le(all- come to power, he used brutalit- and sub*ersion to
carr- out a =creepin( coup> to transform the state into his dictatorship. He blamed the
8ommunists for a fire in the ?eichsta( on ;eb. :$, and b- fannin( anti%8ommunist h-steria
the Nazis and Nationalists won a bare ma5orit- of ?eichsta( seats in the elections of 2ar. C.
After the 8ommunists had been barred, and amid a displa- of storm trooper stren(th, the
?eichsta( *oted to (i*e Hitler dictatorial powers.
;rom the first da-s of Hitler)s =hird ?eich> (for its histor-, see German- 7 National
Socialism 7 4orld 4ar 11 ) political opponents such as *on Schleicher and Gre(or Strasser
(who had resi(ned from the Nazis) were murdered or incarcerated, and some Nazis, amon(
them Drnst ?oehm , were themsel*es pur(ed. 9ews, Socialists, 8ommunists, and others
were hounded, arrested, or assassinated. Go*ernment, law, and education became
appenda(es of National Socialism. After Hindenbur()s death in !&#E the chancellorship and
presidenc- were united in the person of the ;FFr @leaderA. Heil HitlerG became the
obli(ator- form of (reetin(, and a cult of ;FFr worship was propa(ated.
1n !&#", amid carefull- nurtured scandal, Hitler dismissed top arm- commanders and
di*ided their power between himself and faithful subordinates such as 4ilhelm .eitel . As
Hitler prepared for war he replaced professional diplomats with Nazis such as 9oachim *on
?ibbentrop . 2an- former doubters had been con*erted b- Hitler)s bold diplomatic coups,
be(innin( with German rearmament. Hitler bullied smaller nations into ma3in( territorial
concessions and pla-ed on the desire for peace and the fear of 8ommunism amon( the
lar(er Duropean states to achie*e his e,pansionist (oals. o forestall retaliation he claimed
to be merel- rectif-in( the onerous reat- of +ersailles.
Benito 2ussolini became his all- and 1tal- (raduall- became German-)s satellite. Hitler
helped ;ranco to establish a dictatorship in Spain. <n Hitler)s order the Austrian chancellor
Dn(elbert 6ollfuss was assassinated, and the Anschluss amal(amated Austria with the
?eich. Hitler used the issue of =persecuted> Germans in 8zechoslo*a3ia to push throu(h the
2unich Bact , in which Dn(land, ;rance, and 1tal- a(reed to German anne,ation of the
Sudetenland of 8zechoslo*a3ia (!&#").
Hitler)s nona((ression pact (Au(., !&#&) with Stalin allowed him to in*ade Boland (Sept.
!), be(innin( 4orld 4ar 11, while Stalin anne,ed /at*ia, /ithuania, and Dstonia to the
USS? and attac3ed eastern Boland7 but Hitler honored the pact onl- until he found it
con*enient to attac3 the USS? (9une, !&E!). 1n 6ec., !&E!, he assumed personal command
of war strate(-, leadin( to disaster. 1n earl- !&E# he refused to admit defeat at the battle of
Stalin(rad (now +ol(o(rad ), brin(in( death to *ast numbers of German troops. As the tide
of war turned a(ainst Hitler, his mass e,termination of the 9ews, o*erseen b- Adolf
Dichmann , was accelerated, and he (a*e increasin( power to Heinrich Himmler and the
dread secret police , the Gestapo and SS ( Schutzstaffel ).
B- 9ul-, !&EE, the German militar- situation was desperate, and a (roup of hi(h militar-
and ci*il officials (includin( ;ield 2arshal Drwin *on 4itzleben and .arl Goerdeler)
attempted an assassination. Hitler escaped a bomb e,plosion with sli(ht in5uries7 most of
the plotters were e,ecuted. Althou(h the war was hopelessl- lost b- earl- !&EC, Hitler
insisted that Germans fi(ht on to the death. 6urin( the final German collapse in Apr., !&EC,
Hitler denounced Nazi leaders who wished to ne(otiate, and remained in Berlin when it
was stormed b- the ?ussians.
<n Apr. :& Hitler married his lon(%time mistress, D*a Braun, and on April #' the-
committed suicide to(ether in an under(round bun3er of the chanceller- buildin(, ha*in(
ordered that their bodies be burned. Hitler left German- de*astated7 his le(ac- is the
memor- of the most dreadful t-rann- of modern times.
% Dnc-clopedia.com
Hitler's Forgotten Library
B- imoth- 4. ?-bac3 % the director of the Salzbur( Seminar, a forum for (lobal dialo(ue
on issues of contemporar- concern, and the author of The Last Survivor: Legacies of
Dachau.
he boo3s that constitute the Hitler /ibrar- were disco*ered in a salt mine near
Berchtes(aden haphazardl- stashed in schnapps crates with the ?eich 8hanceller- address
on them b- soldiers of the !'!st Airborne 6i*ision in the sprin( of !&EC. After a len(th-
initial e*aluation at the U.S. militar- Hcollectin( pointH in 2unich the boo3s, numberin(
#,''', were shipped to the United States and transferred in 9anuar- of !&C: to the /ibrar-
of 8on(ress, where an intern was assi(ned to uncrate the collection.
Hhe intern did what we call )dupin( out,)H sa-s 6a*id 2oore, a German%ac0uisition
assistant at the /ibrar- of 8on(ress. H1f a boo3 was not one hundred percent sure, if there
was no boo3plate, no inscription to the ;FFr, he didn)t 3eep it.H Accordin( to 2oore,
duplicate copies were sent to the e,chan(e%and%(ift di*ision and then either went to other
libraries or found their wa- onto the open mar3et7 the non%duplicate boo3s that could not be
full- authenticated were absorbed into the /ibrar- of 8on(ress)s (eneral collection.
he !,:'' *olumes that sur*i*ed the Hdupin( outH 5oined the rare%boo3 collection on the
third floor of the 9efferson Buildin(, where the- were unceremoniousl- identified b- a lar(e
cardboard si(ndan(lin( on a strin( from a ceilin( pipe that read, HHitler /ibrar-. his ba-
onl-. Blease replace boo3s to proper location.H
he si(n has since been remo*ed, the boo3s relocated se*eral times, and the collection
euphemisticall- renamed the hird ?eich 8ollection. he boo3s can be ordered, fi*e at a
time, from the main des3 in the rare%boo3 readin( room. 4hen 1 first *isited the collection,
in April of :''!, fewer than half of the !,:'' boo3s had /ibrar- of 8on(ress numbers, and
onl- :'' of those were listed in the online catalo(ue7 the remainin( thousand titles were
listed alphabeticall- b- author on -ellowin( cards in an old%fashioned wooden card
catalo(ue, man- still identified b- the pro*isional numbers assi(ned them in the earl-
!&C's. 9err- 4a(er, the head of the rare%boo3 readin( room, told me at the time,
HBrocessin( this collection has not been a hi(h priorit- for usH7 he also said that the boo3s
had been relocated -et a(ain in recent months.
H4e routinel- mo*e collections to ma3e better use of e,istin( space and to accommodate
new ac0uisitions,H he said. A (enteel man in his mid%fifties with a flawlessl- manicured
white beard, 4a(er is a master of discretion. 4hen 1 as3ed about the Hitler collection)s new
location, he replied, H;or securit- reasons we don)t re*eal where collections are located in
the *ault.H He is e0uall- circumspect about scholars who ha*e pre*iousl- studied the
collection, simpl- notin( that the boo3s are re0uested onl- a few times each -ear, and
(enerall- b- people loo3in( for specific *olumes rather than for an opportunit- to stud- the
collection as a whole.
Scholarl- ne(lect of the Hitler /ibrar- deri*es in (ood part from an earl- misperception
that its historical or bio(raphical importance was limited. HSpotchec3s re*ealed little in the
wa- of mar(inal notes, auto(raphs, or other similar features of interest,H an internal /ibrar-
of 8on(ress re*iew determined in 9anuar- of !&C:. H1ndeed, it seems that most of the boo3s
ha*e ne*er been perused b- their owner.H Gerhard 4einber(, a leadin( authorit- on the
Nazi era and one of the first scholars to e,plore the collection, confirms this initial
assessment. H1 was a newl- minted Bh.6., and this was m- first 5ob be-ond (raduate
school,H 4einber( told me not lon( a(o. H1 was compilin( information for the Guide to
8aptured German 4ar 6ocuments.
he boo3s had onl- recentl- been uncrated, and 1 was intri(ued b- what 1 would find
there.H o 4einber()s disappointment, the Hitler /ibrar- appeared to consist mostl- of
presentation copies from authors or publishers. Hhere were few clues that man- of these
boo3s had been part of his personal librar-, and e*en less e*idence that he had read an- of
them,H 4einber( sa-s.
1n :''' Bhilipp Gassert and 6aniel 2attern reached a similar conclusion. Be(innin( in
!&&C Gassert, an assistant professor of histor- at the Uni*ersit- of Heidelber(, and 2attern,
the senior editor at the German Historical 1nstitute, in 4ashin(ton, 6.8., s-stematicall-
re*iewed e*er- *olume in the collection. 1n the sprin( of :''! Greenwood Bress published
the results of their research, he Hitler /ibrar-, a CC'%pa(e biblio(raph- that lists each
boo3 alphabeticall-, with its author, pa(e count, and call number. Also included are
transcriptions of all handwritten dedications, some brief descriptions of mar(inalia, and an
indication of which boo3s contain the ;FFr)s boo3plate an ea(le, a swasti3a, and oa3
branches between the words DI /1B?1S and A6</; H1/D?.
he Hitler /ibrar- pro*ides the first comprehensi*e road map throu(h the collection, but at
times it leads readers astra-.
2ost si(nificant is o*erloo3ed mar(inalia. 1n one reference 2attern and Gassert note
correctl- that the Hitler /ibrar- contains two identical copies of Baul de /a(arde)s German
Dssa-s, but the- don)t mention mar(inalia, despite the fact that in one *olume fift-%ei(ht
pa(es ha*e penciled intrusions the first on pa(e !J, the last on pa(e #$'. Gi*en that
/a(arde belon(s to a circle of nineteenth%centur- German nationalist writers who are
belie*ed to ha*e had a formati*e influence on Hitler)s anti%Semitism, the mar3ed passa(es
are certainl- worth notin(.
Sometimes writin( alon( the side of a pa(e is reco(nizabl- in Hitler)s 5a((ed cursi*e hand.
;or the most part, thou(h, the mar(inalia are restricted to simple mar3in(s whose common
HauthorshipH is su((ested b- an intense *ertical line in the mar(in and double or triple
underlinin( in the te,t, alwa-s in pencil7 1 found such mar3in(s repeatedl- both in the
/ibrar- of 8on(ress collection and in a cache of ei(ht- Hitler boo3s at Brown Uni*ersit-.
Hitler)s handwritten speeches, preser*ed in the ;ederal German Archi*es, show an identical
pattern of mar3in(s. 1n one anti%Semitic rant Hitler drew three lines under the words
.lassen3ampf (Hclass stru((leH), 4eltherrschaft (Hworld dominationH), and 6er 9ude als
6i3tator (Hthe 9ew as dictatorH)7 one can almost hear his fe*ered tones.
Hitler)s habit of hi(hli(htin( 3e- concepts and passa(es is consonant with his theor- on the
Hart of readin(.H 1n 8hapter wo of 2ein .ampf he obser*ed,
A man who possesses the art of correct readin( will, in stud-in( an- boo3, ma(azine, or
pamphlet, instincti*el- and immediatel- percei*e e*er-thin( which in his opinion is worth
permanentl- rememberin(, either because it is suited to his purpose or (enerall- worth
3nowin( ... hen, if life suddenl- sets some 0uestion before us for e,amination or answer,
the memor-, if this method of readin( is obser*ed ... will deri*e all the indi*idual items
re(ardin( these 0uestions, assembled in the course of decades, @andA submit them to the
mind for e,amination and reconsideration, until the 0uestion is clarified or answered.
1n these mar(inalia one sees a man (who famousl- seemed ne*er to listen to an-one, for
whom Hcon*ersationH was little more than a torrent of monolo(ues) readin( passa(es,
reflectin( on them, and respondin( with penciled dashes, dots, 0uestion mar3s, e,clamation
points, and underscorin(sKintellectual footprints across the pa(e. Here is one of histor-)s
most comple, fi(ures reduced merel- to a reader with a boo3 and a pencil.
hou(h .ubize3)s reminiscences, first published in the !&C's, are in man- wa-s suspect,
his depiction of the future ;FFr as a bibliophile has been ampl- corroborated. <ne of
Hitler)s first cousins, 9ohann Schmidt, recounted for a Nazi Bart- histor- of the ;FFr that
when Hitler spent summers with relati*es in the tin- 4ald*iertel hamlet of Spital, he
in*ariabl- arri*ed with Hlots of boo3s in which he was constantl- bus- readin( and
wor3in(.H
Hans ;ran3, Hitler)s personal law-er and the H(o*ernorH of Nazi%occupied Boland, recalled
before his !&EJ e,ecution at Nurember( that Hitler carried a cop- of Schopenhauer)s he
4orld as 4ill and ?epresentation with him throu(hout 4orld 4ar 1. 6urin( his
incarceration after the failed !&:# 2unich putsch, Hitler was re(ularl- supplied with
readin( materials b- friends and associates. He once referred to his time in /andsber(
Brison as his Huni*ersit- paid for b- the state.H 6urin( a bout of prison blues in 6ecember
of !&:E he recei*ed a pac3a(e from 4inifred 4a(ner, the dau(hter%in%law of the composer
?ichard 4a(ner and one of the few people who addressed Hitler with the familiar du.
1t contained a boo3 of Goethe)s poetr- from the 4a(ner famil- librar-. he #C"%pa(e
*olume, now at the /ibrar- of 8on(ress, contains meditati*e classics such as HAcross All
Bea3sH and HD*enin( Son(,H accompanied b- handsome full%pa(e pen%and%in3 drawin(s.
he inside co*er bears a handwritten inscriptionL HAdolf Hitler, this picture boo3 ta3en
from the boo3 (arden of D*a 8hamberlain, for -our en5o-ment in serious lonel- hoursG
Ba-reuth, 8hristmas !&:E.H
Boo3s seem to ha*e been the (ift of choice for Hitler on *irtuall- e*er- occasion. he
Hitler /ibrar- contains scores of boo3s bearin( inscriptions for 8hristmas, his birthda-, and
other festi*e occasions. A boo3 titled 6eath and 1mmortalit- in the 4orld +iew of 1ndo%
Germanic hin3ers is inscribed for Hitler b- the SS chief Heinrich Himmler on the
occasion of H9ulfest !&#"H Nazi circumlocution for 8hristmas. 1 also disco*ered boo3s from
the contro*ersial filmma3er /eni ?iefenstahlKtwo on the Berlin <l-mpics and an ei(ht%
*olume set of the complete wor3s of the nineteenth%centur- German philosopher 9ohann
Gottlieb ;ichte in a rare first edition. Gi*en that Hitler had char(ed ?iefenstahl with
filmin( the <l-mpic Games, the presence of the first two *olumes was understandable7 the
;ichte was more puzzlin(.
4hen 1 called on ?iefenstahl, who li*es outside 2unich and had 5ust mar3ed her hundredth
birthda-, she referred me to her published memoirs, in which she de*otes a chapter to the
;ichte *olumes. Accordin( to that account, in the sprin( of !&## the thirt-%-ear%old
filmma3er approached Hitler about the pli(ht of se*eral 9ewish friends. H1 ha*e (reat
esteem for -ou as an artist, -ou ha*e a rare talent,H Hitler replied, accordin( to ?iefenstahl.
HBut 1 cannot discuss the 9ewish problem with -ou.H 2ortified b- his rebu3e (?iefenstahl
sa-s she felt herself (o faint), she later sou(ht to ma3e amends b- sendin( Hitler the ;ichte.
Bound in white leather with (old embossin(, the boo3s bear the inscription H2einem lieben
;FFr in tiefster +erehrun( @)o m- dear ;FFr with deepest admiration)A, /eni
?iefenstahl.H
;ed b- (ifts and his own ac0uisitions, Hitler)s librar- swelled dramaticall- in the late !&:'s
and earl- !&#'s. 1n his !&:C ta, declaration Hitler listed his total personal assets at a paltr-
!,''' mar3s, and claimed Hno propert-H other than Ha writin( table and two boo3cases with
boo3s.H
B- !&#', howe*er, as sales of 2ein .ampf bolstered his income, boo3 bu-in( represented
his third lar(est ta, deduction (after (eneral tra*el and transportation)L !,J&: mar3s in
!&#', with similar deductions in the two -ears followin(. 2ore tellin( still is the fi*e%-ear
insurance polic- Hitler too3 out in <ctober of !&#E, with the Gladbacher ;ire 1nsurance
8ompan-, on his si,%room apartment on the Brinzre(entenplatz, in downtown 2unich.
1n the letter of a(reement accompan-in( the polic- Hitler *alued his boo3 collection, said
to consist of J,''' *olumes, at !C',''' mar3s half the *alue of the entire polic-. he other
half represented his art holdin(s.
B- the late !&#'s Hitler had three separate libraries for his e*er%e,pandin( collection. At
his apartment he remo*ed a wall between two rooms and installed boo3shel*es. ;or the
Ber(hof, his Alpine retreat near Berchtes(aden, Hitler built a second%floor stud- with
handmade boo3cases7 color photo(raphs of the finished space show an ele(ant settin( with
<riental carpets, two (lobes, and boo3cases fitted with (lass doors and brass loc3s.
Herbert 6FFn(, who mana(ed the Ber(hof from !&#J to !&E#, told me that the librar-
could accommodate no more than C'' or J'' *olumes. HHe reser*ed this space for the
boo3s he reall- cared about,H sa-s 6FFn(, who helped Hitler to sort the boo3s. HHe used
to ha*e me send the rest to a stora(e facilit- in 2unich or to the new ?eich 8hanceller- in
Berlin.H
;or his official Berlin residence Hitler had his architect, Albert Speer, desi(n a *ast librar-
that occupied the entire west win(. H1n*entor- records of the ?eich 8hanceller- that we
found at the Hoo*er 1nstitution at Stanford su((est that b- the earl- !&E's Hitler was
recei*in( as man- as four thousand boo3s annuall-,H 6aniel 2attern told me. 1n 2unich,
Gassert and 2attern also disco*ered architectural s3etches for a librar- anne, to the
Ber(hof that was intended to accommodate more than J',''' *olumes. Hhis was a man
with a lot of boo3s,H 2attern sa-s.
Unfortunatel-, Hitler ne*er in*entoried his boo3s, and the onl- detailed accountin( of his
libraries comes courtes- of the former United Bress correspondent ;rederic3 <echsner, who
met Hitler repeatedl- and was e*identl- able to ac0uaint himself intimatel- with the
;FFr)s boo3 collections. H1 found that his personal librar-, which is di*ided between his
residence in the 8hanceller- in Berlin and his countr- home on the <bersalzber( at
Berchtes(aden, contains rou(hl- !J,#'' boo3s,H <echsner wrote in his best%sellin( boo3
his 1s the Dnem- (!&E:).
Accordin( to <echsner, the bi((est sin(le share of Hitler)s librar-, some $,''' boo3s, was
de*oted to militar- matters, in particular Hthe campai(ns of Napoleon, the Brussian 3in(s7
the li*es of all German and Brussian potentates who e*er pla-ed a militar- role7 and boo3s
on *irtuall- all the well%3nown militar- campai(ns in recorded histor-.H
Another !,C'' *olumes concerned architecture, theater, paintin(, and sculpture. H<ne boo3
on the Spanish theater has porno(raphic drawin(s and photo(raphs, but there is no section
on porno(raph-, as such, in Hitler)s /ibrar-,H <echsner wrote. he balance of the collection
consisted of clusters of boo3s on di*erse themes ran(in( from nutrition and health to
reli(ion and (eo(raph-, with Hei(ht hundred to a thousand boo3sH of Hsimple, popular
fiction, man- of them pure trash in an-bod-)s lan(ua(e.H
B- his own admission, Hitler was not a bi( fan of no*els, thou(h he once ran3ed Gulli*er)s
ra*els, ?obinson 8rusoe, Uncle om)s 8abin, and 6on Mui,ote (he had a special affection
for the edition illustrated b- Gusta*e 6or amon( the world)s (reatest wor3s of literature.
he one no*elist we 3now Hitler lo*ed and read was .arl 2a-, a German writer of cheap
American%st-le westerns. 1n the sprin( of !&##, 5ust months after the Nazis seized power,
<s3ar Achenbach, a 2unich%based 5ournalist, toured the Ber(hof in the ;FFr)s absence
and disco*ered a shelf of .arl 2a- no*els at Hitler)s bedside. Hhe bedroom of the ;FFr is
of spartan simplicit-,H Achenbach reported in the Sonnta( 2or(enpost. HBrass bed, closet,
toiletries, a few chairs, those are all the furnishin(s. <n a boo3shelf are wor3s on politics
and diplomac-, a few brochures and boo3s on the care of German shepherds, and then pa-
attention -ou German bo-sG hen comes an entire row of boo3s b- .arl 2a-G 4innetou,
<ld Surehand, Bad Gu-, all our dear old friends.H 6urin( the war Hitler reportedl-
admonished his (enerals for their lac3 of ima(ination and recommended that the- all read
.arl 2a-. Albert Speer recounted in his Spandau diaries,
Hitler was wont to sa- that he had alwa-s been deepl- impressed b- the tactical finesse and
circumspection that .arl 2a- conferred upon his character 4innetou ... And he would add
that durin( his readin( hours at ni(ht, when faced b- seemin(l- hopeless situations, he
would still reach for those stories, that the- (a*e him coura(e li3e wor3s of philosoph- for
others or the Bible for elderl- people.
No one 3nows the e,act e,tent of Hitler)s librar-. hou(h <echsner estimated the ori(inal
collection at !J,''' *olumes, Gassert and 2attern assert that it is impossible to determine
the actual dimensions, especiall- since the ma5orit- of the boo3s were either burned or
plundered in the final wee3s of the war an assumption confirmed in part b- ;lorian Beierl,
the head of the Archi*e for the 8ontemporar- Histor- of the <bersalzber(, in
Berchtes(aden.
Accordin( to Beierl, Hitler)s Ber(hof e,perienced successi*e wa*es of lootersL first local
residents, then ;rench and American soldiers, and e*entuall- members of the U.S. Senate.
Beierl showed me archi*al film foota(e (ta3en b- the le(endar- 4orld 4ar 11 photo(rapher
4alter ?osenblum) of a dele(ation of American senators Burton 4heeler, Homer 8apehart,
and Drnest 2c;arland emer(in( from the Ber(hof ruins with boo3s under their arms. H1
doubt if the- were ta3in( them to the /ibrar- of 8on(ress,H Beierl said.
1 ha*e also been told that a portion of the Hitler /ibrar- ma- ha*e been seized b- the ?ed
Arm-. HStalin was so paranoid about Hitler that he sent troph- bri(ades to search for
an-thin( connected with him,H sa-s .onstantin A3insha, a former researcher for the
Bresidential Ad*isor- 8ommission on Holocaust Assets in the United States. HHis s3ull, his
uniforms, D*a Braun)s dresses, her underwearKthe- are all in 2oscow.H A3insha told me
recentl- that in the earl- !&&'s he heard rumors about a depositor- in an abandoned church
in Uz3oe, a suburb of 2oscow, that alle(edl- contained a hu(e 0uantit- of Htroph- boo3s,H
includin( some that had belon(ed to Hitler.
Gri(or- .ozlo*, another Htroph-H sleuth, confirms that a Hsecret depositor-H did indeed
e,ist in Uz3oe for more than four decades, with tens of thousands of boo3s stac3ed from
floor to ceilin(. HAt the be(innin( of !&&C there was a bi( discussion about troph- boo3s,H
.ozlo* told me. Hhe- decided to remo*e these boo3s from Uz3oe and destro- all traces
that showed there had been some sort of secret depositor- there.H Now, he sa-s, the boo3s
ha*e been dispersed anon-mousl- in libraries and archi*es across ?ussia. H1 don)t 3now
what)s true or not,H .ozlo* told me. HBoo3s were e*acuated without records, confiscated
without records. 1 don)t 3now if an-one is read- to tal3.H
he !,:'' of Hitler)s boo3s in the /ibrar- of 8on(ress most li3el- represent less than !'
percent of the ori(inal collection. Ne*ertheless, when 1 first *isited the Hitler /ibrar-, in
April of :''!, 1 was surprised to disco*er that despite the incompleteness of the collection,
1 could easil- discern the collector preser*ed within his boo3s. 1n more than :'' 4orld 4ar
1 memoirs, includin( Drnst 9FFr)s ;ire and Blood, with a personal inscription to Hthe
;FFr,H 1 encountered Hitler the HAustrian corporal,H with his bush- moustache, his somber
demeanor, and his battlefield ser*ice, durin( which he was twice wounded and for which he
was twice decorated, once with the 1ron 8ross first class.
1n two oli*e%drab paperbac3s, (uideboo3s to the cultural monuments of Brussels and
Berlin, published b- Seemann +erla( and costin( three mar3s each, 1 (limpsed Hitler the
aspirin( ;rontsoldat%cum%artist. he Berlin (uide has Hitler)s si(nature in faded purple in3
on the inside front co*er, with the place and month of purchaseL H;ournes, :: No*ember
!&!C.H 1n the Brussels (uide Hitler simpl- scrawled HA. HitlerH in pencil7 the last three
letters trail downward li3e unspoolin( ribbon. A chapter on ;rederic3 the Great is especiall-
worn, its pa(es tattered, mar3ed with fin(erprints, and smeared with red candle wa,.
uc3ed in the crease between pa(es !J: and !J# 1 found a three%0uarter%inch strand of stiff
blac3 hair.
1n dozens of boo3s, with salutations from the li3es of Brince Au(ust 4ilhelm son of the last
German .aiser and the heirs of the Bechstein piano d-nast-, 1 saw Hitler the prot of
German-)s financial, social, and cultural elite. <ne boo3 on ;FFrtum HleadershipH was
presented to Hitler b- the industrialist ;ritz h-ssen, who had introduced him to some of
German-)s leadin( businessmen at a decisi*e meetin( in 6FFldorf in 9anuar- of !&#:.
Ho the ;FFr, Adolf Hitler, in memor- of his presentation to the 6FFldorf 1ndustrial
8lub,H h-ssen wrote on the inside co*er. Se*eral boo3s are inscribed to Hitler from
?ichard 4a(ner)s -oun(est dau(hter, D*a, who had married Houston Stewart 8hamberlain.
8hamberlain was an anti%Semitic Dn(lishman best 3nown for his boo3 he ;oundations of
the !&th 8entur-, in which he ad*anced the thesis that 9esus was of Ar-an rather than
Semitic blood. Hitler read 8hamberlain durin( his +ienna period, and had a brief audience
with the a(in( anti%Semite at the 4a(ner estate shortl- before bein( sent to /andsber(
Brison. HNou 3now Goethe)s differentiation between force and force,H 8hamberlain wrote
Hitler in <ctober of !&:#. Hhere is force which comes from chaos and leads to chaos, and
there is force which is destined to create a new world.H 8hamberlain credited Hitler with
the latter.
1n a ;rench *e(etarian coo3boo3 with an inscription from its author, 2a8harpentier, 1
encountered 2onsieur Hitler * tarien. And 1 found hints of Hitler the future mass
murderer in a !&#: technical treatise on chemical warfare that e,plores the *ar-in(
0ualities of poison (as, from chlorine to prussic acid (Blaus e). he latter was produced
commerciall- as O-3lon B, which would be notorious for its use in the Nazi e,termination
camps.
1 also found, howe*er, a Hitler 1 had not anticipatedL a man with a sustained interest in
spiritualit-. Amon( the piles of Nazi tripe (much of it printed on hi(h%acid paper that is
rapidl- deterioratin() are more than !#' boo3s on reli(ious and spiritual sub5ects, ran(in(
from <ccidental occultism to Dastern m-sticism to the teachin(s of 9esus 8hrist boo3s with
titles such as Sunda- 2editations7 <n Bra-er7 A Brimer for ?eli(ious Muestions, /ar(e and
Small7 /ar(e ruths About 2an3ind, the 4orld and God.
Also included were a German translation of D. Stanle- 9ones)s !&#! best seller, he 8hrist
of the 2ount7 and a C''%pa(e wor3 on the life and teachin(s of 9esus, published in !&#C
under the title he SonL he D*an(elical Sources and Bronouncements of 9esus of Nazareth
in heir <ri(inal ;orm and 4ith the 9ewish 1nfluences. Some *olumes date from the earl-
!&:'s, when Hitler was an obscure rabble%rouser on the frin(e of 2unich political life7
others from his last -ears, when he dominated Durope.
<ne leather%bound tome with 4<?D 8H?1S1, or H4ords of 8hrist,H embossed in (old
on the co*er was well worn, the sil3-, supple leather peelin( upward in (entle curls alon(
the ed(es. Human hands had ob*iousl- spent a lot of time with this boo3. he inside co*er
bore a dedicationL Ho our belo*ed ;FFr with (ratitude and profound respect, 8lara *on
Behl, born *on 9ansen *on den <sten. 8hristmas !&#C.H
4orte 8hristi was so fra(ile that when the attendant brou(ht it to me, he placed it on a red%
*el*et pad in a wooden readin( stand, a beautifull- finished oa3 contraption with two
supports that could be ad5usted with small brass pe(s to fit the dimensions of the boo3. No
more than a foot wide and ei(hteen inches lon(, the stand had a sacred air, as if it belon(ed
on an altar.
1 re*iewed the table of contents HBelief and Bra-er,H HGod and the .in(dom of God,H
HBriests and heir ?eli(ious Bractices,H Hhe 4orld and 1ts BeopleH and s3immed the
introduction7 then 1 scanned the boo3 for mar(inalia that mi(ht su((est a close stud- of the
te,t. A white%sil3 boo3mar3, preser*ed in its ori(inal perfection between pa(es :: and :#
(onl- the portion e,posed to the air had deteriorated), la- across a description of the /ast
Supper as related b- Saint 9ohn. A series of pa(es that followed contained onl- a sin(le
aphorism eachL HBelie*e in GodH (pa(e #!), HHa*e no fear, 5ust belie*eH (pa(e C:), H1f -ou
belie*e, an-thin( is possibleH (pa(e C#), and so on, all the wa- to pa(e &C, which offers the
solemn wisdom H2an- are called but few are chosen.H
<n pa(e :E! appears the passa(e HNou should lo*e God, -our /ord, with all -our heart,
with all -our soul, with all -our spiritL this is the foremost and (reatest commandment.
Another is e0uall- importantL /o*e -our nei(hbor as -ou would lo*e -ourself.H Beside this
passa(e is one brief penciled line, the onl- mar3 in the entire boo3.
Gi*en Hitler)s le(endar- disdain for or(anized reli(ion in (eneral and 8hristianit- in
particular, 1 didn)t e,pect him to ha*e de*oted much time to the teachin(s of 8hrist, let
alone to ha*e mar3ed this 0uintessential 8hristian *irtue. Had this in fact been made b- the
pencil of Hitler)s -oun(er sister, Baula, who occasionall- *isited her brother at the Ber(hof
and remained a de*out 8atholic until her d-in( da-P 2i(ht some other Ber(hof (uest ha*e
responded to this hol- ScriptureP
Bossibl- but thou(h most of the spirituall- oriented boo3s in the Hitler /ibrar- were (ifts
sent to the ;FFr b- distant admirers, se*eral, li3e 4orte 8hristi, were ob*iousl- well read,
and some contained mar(inalia in Hitler)s hand that su((ested a serious e,ploration of
spiritual matters. 1f Hitler was as deepl- en(a(ed with spiritual issues as his boo3s and their
mar(inalia su((est, then what was the purpose of this pursuitP
1n the sprin( of !&E#, while the outcome of 4orld 4ar 11 hun( in the balance, the U.S.
<ffice of Strate(ic Ser*ices forerunner to the 81A commissioned 4alter /an(er, a Boston%
based ps-choanal-st, to de*elop a Hps-cholo(ical profileH of Adolf Hitler. As /an(er later
recalled, this was the first time the U.S. (o*ernment had attempted to ps-choanal-ze a
world leader in order to determine Hthe thin(s that ma3e him tic3.H
<*er the course of ei(ht months, assisted b- three field researchers and ad*ised b- three
other e,perts in ps-cholo(-, /an(er compiled more than a thousand t-pewritten, sin(le%
spaced pa(es of material on his HpatientHL te,ts from speeches, e,cerpts from 2ein .ampf,
inter*iews with former Hitler associates, and *irtuall- e*er- printed source a*ailable.
/an(er wrote,
A sur*e- of all the e*idence forces us to conclude that Hitler belie*es himself destined to
become an 1mmortal Hitler, chosen b- God to be the New 6eli*erer of German- and the
;ounder of a new social order for the world. He firml- belie*es this and is certain that in
spite of all the trials and tribulations throu(h which he must pass he will finall- attain that
(oal. he one condition is that he follow the dictates of the inner *oice that ha*e (uided and
protected him in the past.
1n his summar- /an(er outlined ei(ht possible scenarios for Hitler)s course of action in the
face of defeat. he most li3el- scenario, he su((ested in a prescient moment, was that
Hitler)s belief in di*ine protection would compel him to fi(ht to the bitter end, Hdra(@(in(A a
world with us a world in flames,H and that ultimatel- he would ta3e his own life.
/an(er based his assessment not onl- on Hitler)s repeated references to Hdi*ine
pro*idence,H both in speeches and in pri*ate con*ersations, but also on reports from some
of Hitler)s most intimate associates that Hitler trul- belie*ed he was HpredestinedH for
(reatness and inspired b- Hdi*ine powers.H After the war ;ield 2arshal Albert .esselrin(,
one of Hitler)s chief militar- ad*isers, seemed to confirm the /an(er thesis. H/oo3in(
bac3,H he said, H1 am inclined to thin3 he was literall- obsessed with the idea of some
miraculous sal*ation, that he clun( to it li3e a drownin( man to a straw.H
D,perts since then ha*e been of two minds on the matter of Hitler)s spiritual beliefs. 1an
.ershaw ar(ues that Hitler consciousl- constructed an ima(e of himself as a messianic
fi(ure, and e*entuall- came to belie*e the *er- m-th he had helped to fashion. Hhe more
he succumbed to the allure of his own ;FFr cult and came to belie*e in his own m-th, the
more his 5ud(ment became impaired b- faith in his own infallibilit-,H .ershaw writes in
he Hitler 2-th (!&"$). But belie*in( in a messianic m-th is not the same as belie*in( in
God.
4hen 1 as3ed .ershaw in :''! whether he thou(ht Hitler actuall- belie*ed in di*ine
pro*idence, he dismissed the notion. H1 don)t thin3 that he had an- real belief in a deit- of
an- sort, onl- in himself as a )man of destin-) who would brin( about German-)s
)sal*ation,)H he declared. Gerhard 4einber(, who helped sort throu(h the Hitler /ibrar-
bac3 in the !&C's, li3ewise dismisses the notion of Hitler as a reli(ious belie*er, insistin(
that he was dri*en b- the twin passions of Blut und Boden racial purit- and territorial
e,pansion. HHe didn)t belie*e in an-thin( but himself,H 4einber( told me last summer.
2ost historians tend to a(ree.
Some non%historians, howe*er, ha*e different *iews. 1n the !&J's ;riedrich Heer, a
prominent and contro*ersial +iennese theolo(ian, identified Hitler as a mis(uided
HAustrian 8atholic,H a man whose faith was disastrousl- misplaced but ne*ertheless
sincere. 1n a dense, $C'%pa(e treatise Heer saw Hitler the Austrian 8atholic at e*er- turnL
the nine%-ear%old choirbo- catchin( his first (limpse of a swasti3a in the coat of arms at the
/ambach 2onaster-7 the beer%hall orator whose speeches resound with biblical allusions7
the ;FFr of the ?eich who re%created the splendor of the 8atholic mass at the annual
Nurember( rall-.
D*en his *irulent hatred of 9ewr- found sustenance in those roots. ;ritz ?edlich, an eminent
Nale ps-chiatrist, asserts in his boo3, HitlerL 6ia(nosis of a 6estructi*e Brophet, that Hitler
acted from a profound belief in God. Notin( Hitler)s own words H2an 3ommt um den
Gottesbe(riff nicht umH (HNou cannot (et around the concept of GodH), ?edlich told me last
summer that he was certain Hitler belie*ed in a Hdi*ine creature.H He re5ected su((estions
that Hitler)s in*ocations of the di*ine were little more than c-nical public posturin( and
insisted that we ou(ht to ta3e Hitler at his wordL H1n a wa-, Hitler was a terrible liar, but he
was a tactical liar. 1n his essential line of thin3in( he was honest.H
raudl 9un(e, Hitler)s former secretar-, would not (o so far as to sa- that Hitler belie*ed in
God, but she did belie*e that Hitler)s repeated references to the di*ine were more than 5ust
for show. 9un(e who died of cancer in ;ebruar- of last -ear told me the pre*ious summer
that Hitler spo3e of such thin(s in pri*ate as well as in public. After two and a half -ears of
dail- contact with Hitler, she was con*inced that he belie*ed in some form of di*ine
protection, especiall- after sur*i*in( a dramatic assassination attempt in !&EE. HAfter the
9ul- !&EE attac3,H she told me, H1 belie*e he felt himself to be an instrument of pro*idence,
and belie*ed he had a mission to fulfill.H
1n m- hands 1 hold a boo3 about Nostradamus, the si,teenth%centur- ;rench m-stic whose
predictions of epic calamities ha*e fascinated (enerations, and whose stanza H;rom poor
people a child will be bornQ who with his ton(ue will seduce man- peopleH has been
interpreted as prophes-in( the rise of Adolf Hitler.
Brinted on hi(h%acid paper, this *olume, with its !#$ brittle, crumblin( pa(es, bears a
publication date of !&:! but feels centuries older.
he boo3 promises to Hdec-pher and re*eal for the first time the prophesies on the future of
Durope and the rise and fall of ;rance from !CCC to ::''.H 1ts final pa(es offer additional
m-stical edification in a series of ad*ertisements for related te,tsL 2emoirs of a Spiritualist,
he 4anderin( Soul, How 8an 1 Brotect 2-self ;rom Su((estion and H-pnosisP, Soul and
8osmos, he ?ealm of the 1n*isible, and Human 6estin- and the 8ourse of the Stars.
Basted inside this molderin( *olume is one of Adolf Hitler)s boo3plates.
The Predictions of Nostradamus belon(s to a cache of occult boo3s that Hitler ac0uired in
the earl- !&:'s and that were disco*ered in the pri*ate 0uarters of his Berlin bun3er b-
8olonel Albert Aronson in 2a- of !&EC. As part of the Allied occupation forces, Aronson
was amon( the first Americans to enter Berlin after the collapse of the Nazi resistance.
H4hen m- uncle arri*ed, the ?ussians too3 him on a tour of Hitler)s bun3er,H one of
Aronson)s nephews recalls. HHe said that the ?ussians had prett- much pic3ed the place
clean, but there were some pictures and a pile of boo3s the- let him ta3e.H Accordin( to the
nephew, the boo3s remained in Aronson)s attic until his death, at which point the- were
be0ueathed to his nephew, who donated them to Brown Uni*ersit- in !&$&.
oda- the ei(ht- *olumes are housed in the basement *ault of Brown)s rare%boo3 collection
at the 9ohn Ha- /ibrar-, where the- share shelf space with 4alt 4hitman)s personal cop-
of a first edition of /ea*es of Grass and 9ohn 9ames Audubon)s ori(inal folios of Birds of
America. Accordin( to Samuel Streit, the associate librarian for special collections, the
Hitler boo3s ha*e attracted *irtuall- no attention from scholars. Streit himself has e,amined
the collection onl- once, and his most *i*id recollection was the Hitler boo3plate. H1 3now
this sounds stran(e,H sa-s Streit, an amiable man in his mid%fifties, Hbut from the standpoint
of boo3plate desi(n, it is 0uite tastefull- done.H
/i3e the /ibrar- of 8on(ress collection, Brown)s ei(ht- Hitler boo3s constitute a
hod(epod(eL picture boo3s, art 5ournals, an 1talian libretto of 4a(ner)s 4al3FF a !&#$
edition of 2ein .ampf, and two editions of Alfred ?osenber()s he 2-th of the wentieth
8entur-.
he more than a dozen boo3s on the occult include se*eral de*oted to Nordic runes, amon(
them a !&:: histor- of the swasti3a, richl- illustrated with nearl- C'' di*erse renderin(s in
D(-ptian hiero(l-phics, Gree3 potter-, 2a-an temples, and 8hristian crosses.
The Dead Are Alive deli*ers Hincontro*ertible e*idence on occultism, somnambulism,
spiritualism, with si,teen photo(raphs of (hosts.H Amon( the photo(raphic ima(es that fill
the final pa(es of the *olume is one of fi*e people le*itatin( a table at an !"&: s ce in
Genoa and another alle(edl- showin( the (host of a fifteen%-ear%old Bolish (irl, Stasia,
bein( consumed b- a Hluminous, mist- substance.H A picture of a rather statel-%loo3in(
Dn(lishman is captioned Hhe Bhantom of the Dn(lish writer 8harles 6ic3ens who died in
!"$! and is buried in 4estminster Abbe-. He appeared in !"$# and was photo(raphed.H
he canon of Hitler historio(raph- declares that Hitler flirted with occultism in the earl-
!&:'s, and that he recruited some of his closest ideolo(ical lieutenants ?udolf Hess, 2artin
Bormann, Alfred ?osenber(, and Heinrich HimmlerKfrom the hule Societ- and similar
Nordic cults. H4hen 1 first 3new Adolf Hitler in 2unich, in !&:! and !&::, he was in touch
with a circle that belie*ed firml- in the portents of the stars,H .arl 4ie(and, a former Hitler
associate, recalled in an article for 8osmopolitan in !&#&.
Hhere was much whisperin( about the comin( of )another 8harlema(ne and a new ?eich.)
How far Hitler belie*ed in these astrolo(ical forecasts and prophesies in those da-s 1 ne*er
could (et out of the ;FFr. He neither denied nor affirmed belief. He was not a*erse,
howe*er, to ma3in( use of the forecasts to ad*ance popular faith in himself and his then
-oun( and stru((lin( mo*ement.H
2ost scholars dismiss the notion that Hitler seriousl- entertained the ideas of these cults,
but the mar(inalia in se*eral of his boo3s confirm at least an intellectual en(a(ement in the
substance of 4eimar%era occultism. he Brown collection contains boo3s b- such fi(ures
as Adamant ?ohm, a Hma(netopathic doctorH from 4iesbaden7 8arl /udwi( Schleich, a
Berlin ph-sician who pioneered the use of local anesthesia7 and 9oseph Anton
Schneiderfran3en, who wrote numerous boo3s on reincarnation and otherworldl-
phenomena under the pseudon-m BFFn ?F
<ne of the most hea*il- mar3ed boo3s is 2a(icL Histor-, heor- and Bractice (!&:#), b-
Drnst Schertel. 4hen 1 t-ped the author)s name into one 1nternet search en(ine, 1 scored
ei(ht hits, includin( sites on Satanism, eroticism, sadomasochism, and fla(ellation. 4hen 1
t-ped his name into Goo(le, 1 scored twent-%si, hits, includin( sites on paraps-cholo(-,
astrolo(-, and di*erse se,ual practices. Accordin( to a 4eb site for German-)s
sadomasochistic communit-, Schertel wrote numerous boo3s on fla(ellation and eroticism,
and was Ha central fi(ureH in the German nudist mo*ement of the !&:'s and !&#'s.
Hitler)s cop- of 2a(ic bears a handwritten dedication from Schertel, scrawled on the title
pa(e in pencil. A !$'%pa(e softco*er in lar(e format, the boo3 has been thorou(hl- read,
and its mar(ins scored repeatedl-. 1 found a particularl- thic3 pencil line beside the passa(e
HHe who does not carr- demonic seeds within him will ne*er (i*e birth to a new world.H
<ne of the oldest *olumes of literature still in the Hitler /ibrar- is a !&!$ German edition
of Beer G-nt, Henri3 1bsen)s epic of a HNordic ;austH who cuts a swath of human
sufferin(Kbetra-in( friends, abandonin( women, tradin( in sla*es, and committin( cold%
blooded murderKon his wa- to becomin( Hemperor of the whole world.H 4hen challen(ed
to account for his sundr- trespasses, G-nt declares that he would rather burn in hell for
e,cessi*e sins than simmer in obscurit- with the rest of humanit-. Dd*ard Grie( set this
cruel pla- to beautiful music. Hitler)s cop- of Beer G-nt handsomel- illustrated b- <tto
Sa(er bears a simple inscription b- its German translatorL H1ntended for his dear friend
Adolf Hitler. 6ietrich Dc3art. 2unich, <ctober ::, !&:!.H
;ew people could call Hitler H;reund,H and fewer still Hlieber ;reund.H ;or Hitler, Dc3art
was both friend and famil-, a mentor and a father fi(ure. 4hen the two men first met, late
in !&!&, Hitler was a thirt-%-ear%old political upstart a little more than a -ear out of the
trenches, without a penn- to his name. Dc3art was a fift-%one%-ear%old pla-wri(ht with a
runawa- hit (his adaptation of Beer G-nt), a paintbrush moustache, a morphine addiction,
and a le(endar- hatred of 9ews7 one 2unich newspaper described him as a Hra(in( anti%
SemiteH who would Hideall- li3e to consume a half dozen 9ews dail- with his sauer3raut.H
After wor3in( with Hitler at an earl- Nazi Bart- e*ent, Dc3art be(an (roomin( him for
political life. He bou(ht Hitler his first trench coat, (a*e him instruction in public spea3in(,
and introduced him to members of 2unich societ-, often with the icebrea3er Hhis is the
man who will one da- liberate German-.H Hitler once called Dc3art the Hpolar starH of the
Nazi mo*ement, and dedicated the first *olume of 2ein .ampf to him. H;ollow HitlerGH
Dc3art alle(edl- e,horted on his deathbed, in !&:#. HHe will dance, but the music to which
he dances was composed b- me.H
;or all the *itriol Hitler spewed upon 9udaism, he came to hold 8hristianit- in e0ual
disdain. H8hristianit- is the worst thin( that e*er happened to man3ind,H he declared durin(
an after%dinner rant in 9ul- of !&E!. HBolshe*ism is the ille(itimate child of 8hristianit-.
Both are an out(rowth of the 9ew.H
Hitler was the classic apostate. He rebelled a(ainst the established theolo(- in which he
was born and bred, all the while see3in( to fill the resultin( spiritual *oid. As the Hitler
/ibrar- su((ests, he found no shorta(e of latter%da- prophets peddlin( alternati*e
theolo(ies. 2athilde *on .emnitz, the wife of Drich /udendorff, the *enerated 4orld 4ar 1
(eneral who 5oined Hitler in the 2unich putsch, promoted a neo%eutonic pa(an cult that
called for the destruction of churches and the creation of forest temples and places of
sacrifice. A !&:: *olume of her writin(s, riumph of the 4ill to 1mmortalit-, bears a
bizarre and cr-ptic inscription to Hitler.
Now don)t for(et -ou -oun(, blessed soul,
1f -ou ne*er lea*e the afterlife
Nou will thus be a perfect God
;or as lon( as -ou li*e.
Hitler tolerated .emnitz)s neo%pa(an looniness until /udendorff)s death, in 6ecember of
!&#$. 1n the autumn of !&#& the Nazi (o*ernment, in*o3in( wartime rationin(, terminated
paper supplies for .emnitz)s publication At the Hol- 4ell (Am Heili(en Muell), effecti*el-
silencin( her mo*ement. .emnitz, who sur*i*ed the war, ne*er for(a*e Hitler the betra-al.
Guida 6iehl, a prolific 4eimar writer who fancied herself the Hfemale ;FFr,H showered
Hitler with titles, includin( BurnG Hol- ;lameG and he 4ill of the German 4oman. 1n a
handboo3 on how to conduct a German 8hristmas in Htimes of need and stru((le,H 6iehl
wrote to Hitler, H4e stru((le for the German soul, which fashioned the German 8hristmas
from 8hrist himselfG Sie( heilGH here is no indication that Hitler e*er opened, let alone
read, an- of 6iehl)s boo3s.
Un0uestionabl- the most si(nificant unread *olume in the Hitler collection is a !&E'
edition of Alfred ?osenber()s he 2-th of the wentieth 8entur-, the Nazi classic that,
with more than a million copies in print at the time, was second onl- to 2ein .ampf for the
Nazi mo*ement.
1n the course of its "'' pa(es ?osenber( deli*ered the theolo(ical framewor3 for a National
German 8hurch intended to subsume Hthe best of the protestant and catholic churchesH and
eliminate the H9ew%infested <ld estament.H 6enouncin( the Gospels of 2atthew, 2ar3,
/u3e, and 9ohn as a Hcounterfeit of the (reat ima(e of 8hrist,H ?osenber( en*isioned a
Hfifth (ospelH depictin( 9esus as an Ar-an supermanKHhe powerful preacher and the ra(in(
prophet in the temple, the man who inspired, and whom e*er-one followed, not the
sacrificial lamb of the 9ewish prophets, not the man on the cross.H
his particular edition of ?osenber()s le(endar- anti%Semitic screed has a handsome dar3%
blue linen co*er and contains a full%pa(e blac3%and%white photo(raph of ?osenber(
standin( before a shelf of leather%bound boo3s. 6ressed in a three%piece suit, he loo3s more
li3e a Boston ban3er than the ideolo(ical fanatic who wrote some of the most offensi*e and
impenetrable prose of the Nazi era before bein( han(ed in Nurember( in !&EJ. he boo3
bears the Hitler boo3plate but is in mint condition7 the bindin( crac3ed when 1 opened the
co*er.
6espite ?osenber()s repeated attempts to establish his 2-th as official part- doctrine,
Hitler insisted that the boo3 was a Hpri*ate publicationH that represented ?osenber()s
personal opinions. 1n con*ersations Hitler admitted that he had read onl- Hsmall portionsH
of it and described it as unreadable. 9oseph Goebbels concurred, callin( he 2-th an
Hintellectual belch.H
Hitler)s selecti*e readin( or nonreadin( of the pseudo%theolo(ical te,ts in his librar- ma3es
those boo3s he did read, and especiall- those in which he left mar(inalia, all the more
si(nificant. Here is where the Hitler /ibrar- is most useful. 1n the ;ichte *olumes (i*en to
him b- ?iefenstahl, 1 encountered a *eritable blizzard of underlines, 0uestion mar3s,
e,clamation points, and mar(inal stri3es that sweeps across a hundred printed pa(es of
dense theolo(ical prose.
4here ;ichte peeled awa- the spiritual trappin(s of the Hol- rinit-, positin( the ;ather as
Ha natural uni*ersal force,H the Son as the Hph-sical embodiment of this force,H and the
Hol- Ghost as an e,pression of the Hli(ht of reason,H Hitler not onl- underlined the entire
passa(e but placed a thic3 *ertical line in the mar(in, and added an e,clamation point for
(ood measure.
As 1 traced the penciled notations, 1 realized that Hitler was see3in( a path to the di*ine that
led to 5ust one place. ;ichte as3ed, H4here did 9esus deri*e the power that has held his
followers for all eternit-PH Hitler drew a dense line beneath the answerL Hhrou(h his
absolute identification with God.H At another point Hitler hi(hli(hted a brief but re*ealin(
para(raphL HGod and 1 are <ne. D,pressed simpl- in two identical sentences His life is
mine7 m- life is his. 2- wor3 is his wor3, and his wor3 m- wor3.H
Amon( the numerous *olumes dealin( with the spiritual, the m-stical, and the occult 1
found a t-pewritten manuscript that could well ha*e ser*ed as a blueprint for Hitler)s
theolo(-. his bound :#'%pa(e treatise is titled he /aw of the 4orldL he 8omin(
?eli(ion and was written b- a 2unich resident named 2a,imilian ?iedel. 6urin( the first
wee3 of Au(ust !&#& the manuscript was hand%deli*ered to Anni 4inter, Hitler)s lon(time
2unich house3eeper, with the re0uest that it be passed to Hitler personall-. An
accompan-in( letter read,
2ein ;FFrG
Based on a new disco*er- 1 ha*e been able to pro*e, with incontro*ertible scientific
e*idence, the concept of the trinit- of God as a natural law. <ne of the results of this
disco*er- is, amon( other thin(s, the seamless relationship between the termsL ruth%/aw%
6ut-%Honor. 1n essence, the ori(ins of all science, philosoph- and reli(ion. he
si(nificance of this disco*er- has led me to as3 ;rau 4inter to hand to -ou personall- the
enclosed manuscript.
Heil mein ;FFrG
2a, ?iedel
GrFFld
<berhachin(erwe( !
?iedel made a smart tactical mo*e in deli*erin( his manuscript to Hitler)s 2unich
residence. 4hereas at the Ber(hof, Hitler recei*ed hundreds of boo3s, and at the ?eich
8hanceller- all such correspondence went throu(h secretaries) hands, in 2unich the onl-
filter was Hitler)s house3eeper. Based on the mar(inalia, it seems that Hitler not onl-
recei*ed the ?iedel manuscript but also read it carefull- with pencil in hand. 1ndi*idual
sentences and entire para(raphs are underlined, sometimes twice or e*en three times.
1n this densel- written treatise ?iedel established the (roundwor3 for his Hnew reli(ion,H
replacin( the rinit- of the ;ather, Son, and Hol- Ghost with a new tripartite unit-, the
H.FFr, Geist und SeeleH % Hbod-, mind, and soul.H
?iedel ar(ued that traditionall- man3ind has reco(nized fi*e senses, which relate onl- to
the ph-sical aspects of our e,istence, and that this hinders our abilit- to percei*e the true
nature of our relationship to God and the uni*erse. He offered se*en additional HsensesH
that e*er- human bein( possesses, which are related to the sub5ecti*e perception of the
world7 amon( them ?iedel included our inherent sense of what is ri(ht and wron(, our
emotional sense of another person, our sense of self%preser*ation. <n a two%pa(e centerfold
he illustrated his theor- with a circular dia(ram in which *arious conceptsKHsoul,H Hspace,H
Hrealit-,H Hpresent,H Hpast,H Hpossibilit-,H Htransformation,H Hculture,H Hafterlife,H
Hhumanit-,H Hinfinit-H are connected b- a spider web of lines. Hhe bod-, mind and soul do
not belon( to the indi*idual, the- belon( to the uni*erse,H the author e,plained.
?iedel)s Htrinit-H seems to ha*e attracted Hitler)s particular attention. A dense penciled line
parallels the followin( passa(eL Hhe problem with bein( ob5ecti*e is that we use ob5ecti*e
criteria as the basis for human understandin( in (eneral, which means that the ob5ecti*e
criteria, that is, the rational criteria, end up ser*in( as the basis for all human
understandin(, perception and decision%ma3in(.H B- usin( the fi*e traditional senses to
achie*e this Hob5ecti*it-,H ?iedel declared, human bein(s e,clude the possibilit- of
percei*in(Kthrou(h the additional se*en senses he identifiedKthe deeper forces of the world,
and are thus unable to achie*e that unit- of bod-, mind, and soul. Hhe human mind ne*er
decides thin(s on its own, it is the result of a discourse between the bod- and the soul,H he
claimed.
he sentence not onl- cau(ht Hitler)s attention beneath it is a thic3 line, and beside it in the
mar(in are three parallel pencil mar3s but was echoed two -ears later in one of his
monolo(ues. H2ind and soul ultimatel- return to the collecti*e bein( of the world,H Hitler
told some (uests in 6ecember of !&E!. H1f there is a God, then he (i*es us not onl- life but
also consciousness and awareness. 1f 1 li*e m- life accordin( to m- God%(i*en insi(hts,
then 1 cannot (o wron(, and e*en if 1 do, 1 3now 1 ha*e acted in (ood faith.H
As 1 sat in the rarefied seclusion of the 9efferson Buildin()s second%floor readin( room one
da-, listenin( to the muffled roar of traffic and the distant wail of police sirens in late%
summer 4ashin(ton, 1 attempted to comprehend the full si(nificance of this sentence to
which Hitler seems to ha*e responded so emphaticall-. Bac3 in !&E# 4alter /an(er had
concluded correctl-, to m- mind that in order to understand Hitler one had to understand his
profound belief in di*ine powers.
But Hitler belie*ed that the mortal and the di*ine were one and the sameL that the God he
was see3in( was in fact himself.
Adolph Hitler
The Unno!n Hitler" #a$i %oots in the &''(lt
<n April J, !&!&, in Ba*aria, left win( socialists and anarchists proclaimed the Ba*arian
So*iet ?epublic. he brains of the re*olution were a (roup of writers who had little idea of
administration. /ife in munich (rew chaotic. he counter%re*olutionar- forces, the whites,
composed of *arious (roups of decommissioned soldiers 3nown as H;rei 8orpsH, e0uipped
and financed b- the m-sterious hule Societ-, defeated the Ba*arian So*iet within a matter
of wee3s.
2an- other decommissioned soldiers waited out the turbulence in barrac3s, pfc Adolph
Hitler amon( them. After the Ba*arian ?epublic had been defeated b- the 4hites, in 2a-,
Hitler)s superiors put him to wor3 in the post re*olution in*esti(atin( commission. His
indictments in5ected ruthless efficienc- into the 3an(aroo courts as he fin(ered hundreds of
noncommissioned officers and enlisted men who had s-mpathized with the communist and
anarchists. He was subse0uentl- sent to attend special anticommunist trainin( courses and
seminars at the Uni*ersit- which were financed b- the ?eichswehr administration and b-
pri*ate donors from the hule Societ-. his led to an assi(nment in the intelli(ence di*ision
of the postwar German arm-, to infiltrate (roups that could or(anize the wor3in( classes
while the communists were wea3. <n a September e*enin(, !&!&, Hitler turned up in the
Sternec3er Beer Hall where members and friends of the buddin( German 4or3ers Bart-
had (athered.
He 0uietl- listened to the presentation b- en(ineer Gottfried ;eder, a hule Societ-
member, who tal3ed about 5ewish control o*er lendin( capital. 4hen one of the other (roup
members called for Ba*aria to brea3 awa- from the rest of German-, Hitler spran( into
action. he astonished audience stood b- while his hi(hl- a((ressi*e remar3s and
compellin( orator- swept throu(h the room. After Hitler had finished his haran(ue, part-
chairman and founder, Anton 6re,ler, immediatel- as3ed him to a meetin( of the part-)s
steerin( committee held a few da-s later. He was as3ed to 5oin the committee as its se*enth
member, responsible for ad*ertisin( and propa(anda.
Bac3 in !&!:, se*eral German occultists with radical anti%semitic inclinations decided to
form a Hma(icH lod(e, which the- named the <rder of eutons. the main founders were
heodor ;ritsch, a publisher of an anti%semitic 5ournal7 Bhilipp Stauff, pupil of the racist
Guido +on /ist, and Hermann Bohl, the order)s chancellor. (Bohl would drop out three -ears
later to found his own bizarre lod(e, the )4al*ater eutonic <rder of the Hol- Grail).)
he <rder of eutons was or(anized alon( the lines of the ;ree 2asons or the ?osicrucians,
ha*in( differin( de(rees of initiation, onl- persons who could full- document that the-
were of pure Har-anH ancestr- were allowed to 5oin.
1n !&!C, Bohl was 5oined b- ?udolf Blauer, who held a ur3ish passport and practiced sufi
meditation. He also dabbled in astrolo(- and was an admirer of /anz +on /iebenfels and
Guido +on /ist, both patholo(icall- anti%semitic. Blauer went b- the name of ?udolf
;reiherr +on Seboottendorf. He was *er- wealth-, althou(h the ori(in of his fortune is
un3nown. He became the Grand 2aster of the Ba*arian <rder and he founded the hule
Societ-, with Bohl)s appro*al, in !&!".
After the Ba*arian communist re*olution of !&!", the hule Societ- became a center of
thea counterre*olutionar- subculture. An espiona(e networ3 and arms caches were
or(anized. he hule 8lub rooms became a nest of resistance to the re*olution and the
2unich So*iet ?epublic.
9ournalist .arl Harrer was (i*en the 5ob of foundin( a political Hwor3er circleH. He realized
that the wor3ers would re5ect an- pro(ram that was presented to them b- a member of the
conser*ati*e Hpri*ile(edH class. Harrer 3new that the mechanic Anton 6re,ler, who was
wor3in( for the railroads, was a well%3nown anti%semite, chau*inist and proletarian. 4ith
dre,ler as nominal chairman, Harrer founded the German 4or3ers Bart- in 9anuar- !&!&
he German 4or3ers Bart- was onl- one of man- associations founded and controlled b-
the hule Societ-. he hule was the HmotherH to the German Socialist Bart-, led b- 9ulius
Streicher, and the ri(ht%win( radical <berland ;ree 8orps. 1t published the 2unich
obser*er, which later became the National <bser*er. Hitler became the most prominent
personalit- in the part-. He caused Harrer to drop out, and he pushed 6re,ler, the nominal
chairman, to the sidelines. He filled 3e- positions with his own friends from the hule
Societ- and the Arm-. 6urin( the summer of !&:', upon his su((estion, the part- was
renamed the National Socialist German 4or3er Bart- (NAS6AB). he new name was
intended to e0uall- attract nationalists and proletarians.
o (o alon( with the new name his mass mo*ement also re0uired a fla( with a powerful
s-mbol. Amon( man- desi(ns under consideration, Hitler pic3ed the one su((ested b-
hule member 6r. .rohnL a red cloth with a white circle in the middle containin( a blac3
swasti3a.
Hitler wanted to turn the German 4or3ers Bart- into a mass%conscious fi(htin( part-, but
Harrer and 6re,ler were hesitant, due in part to their woeful financial situation. he hule
Societ- was not -et suppl-in( *er- much mone- and no one seemed to 3now how to build
up a mass part-. Hitler arran(ed two public meetin(s in obscure beer halls, and he drafted
leaflets and posters, but there was no real brea3throu(h.
All of this chan(ed dramaticall- at the end of the !&!& when Hitler met 6ietrich Dc3art.
2ost bio(raphers ha*e underestimated the influence that Dc3art e,erted on Hitler. He was
the wealth- publisher and editor%in%chief of an anti%semitic 5ournal which he called 1n Blain
German. Dc3art was also a committed occultist and a master of ma(ic. As an initiate, Dc3art
belon(ed to the inner circle of the hule Societ- as well as other esoteric orders.
Briefl-, the creed of the hule Societ- inner circle is as followsL hule was a le(endar-
island in the far north, similar to Atlantis, supposedl- the center of a lost, hi(h%le*el
ci*ilization. But not all secrets of that ci*ilization had been completel- wiped out. hose
that remained were bein( (uarded b- ancient, hi(hl- intelli(ent bein(s (similar to the
H2astersH of heosoph- or the 4hite Brotherhood). he trul- initiated could establish
contact with these bein(s b- means of ma(ic%m-stical rituals. he H2astersH or HAncientsH
alle(edl- would be able to endow the initiated with supernatural stren(th and ener(-. 4ith
the help of these ener(ies the (oal of the initiated was to create a race of Supermen of
HAr-anH stoc3 who would e,terminate all HinferiorH races.
here can be no doubt that Dc3art % who had been alerted to Hitler b- other hulists %
trained Hitler in techni0ues of self confidence, self pro5ection, persuasi*e orator-, bod-
lan(ua(e and discursi*e sophistr-. 4ith these tools, in a short period of time he was able to
mo*e the obscure wor3ers part- from the club and beer hall atmosphere to a mass
mo*ement. he emotion char(ed la- spea3er became an e,pert orator, capable of
mesmerizin( a *ast audience.
<ne should not underestimate occultism)s influence on Hitler. His subse0uent re5ection of
;ree 2asons and esoteric mo*ements, of heosoph-, of Anthrosoph-, does not necessaril-
mean otherwise. <ccult circles ha*e lon( been 3nown as co*ers for espiona(e and
influence peddlin(. Hitler)s sp- apparatus under 8anaris and He-drich were well aware of
these conduits, particularl- from the direction of Britain which had within its 21C
intelli(ence a(enc- a department 3nown as the <ccult Bureau. hat these potential sources
of trouble were pur(ed from Nazi life should not be ta3en to mean that Hitler and the Nazi
secret societies were not influenced b- m-stical and occult writers such as 2adame
Bla*ats3-, Houston Stewart 8hamberlain, Guido +on /ist, /anz +on /iebenfels, ?udolf
Steiner, Geor(e Gurd5ieff, .arl Haushofer and heodor ;ritsch. Althou(h Hitler later
denounced and ridiculed man- of them, he did dedicate his boo3 2ein .ampf to his teacher
6ietrich Dc3art.
A fre0uent *isitor to /andsber( Brison where Hitler was writin( 2ein .ampf with the help
of ?udolf Hess, was General .arl Haushofer, a uni*ersit- professor and director of the
2unich 1nstitute of Geopolitics. Haushofer, Hitler, and Hess had lon( con*ersations
to(ether. Hess also 3ept records of these con*ersations. Hitler)s demands for German
H/i*in( SpaceH in the east at the e,pense of the Sla*ic nations were based on the
(eopolitical theories of the learned professor. Haushofer was also inclined toward the
esoteric. as militar- attache in 9apan, he had studied Oen%Buddhism. He had also (one
throu(h initiations at the hands of ibetan /amas. He became Hitler)s second Hesoteric
mentorH, replacin( 6ietrich Dc3art.
1n Berlin, Haushofer had founded the /uminous /od(e or the +ril Societ-. he lod(e)s
ob5ecti*e was to e,plore the ori(ins of the Ar-an race and to perform e,ercises in
concentration to awa3en the forces of H+rilH. Haushofer was a student of the ?ussian
ma(ician and metaph-sician Gre(or 1*ano*ich Gurd-e* (Geor(e Gurd5ieff).
Both Gurd5eiff and Haushofer maintained that the- had contacts with secret ibetan /od(es
that possessed the secret of the HSupermanH. he lod(e included Hitler, Alfred ?osenber(,
Himmler, Gorin(, and Hitler)s subse0uent personal ph-sician 6r. 2orell. 1t is also 3nown
that Aleister 8rowle- and Gurd5ieff sou(ht contact with Hitler.
Hitler)s unusual powers of su((estion become more understandable if one 3eeps in mind
that he had access to the HsecretH ps-cholo(ical techni0ues of the esoteric lod(es.
Haushofer tau(ht him the techni0ues of Gurd5ieff which, in turn, were based on the
teachin(s of the Sufis and the ibetan /amas% and familiarized him with the Oen teachin(
of the 9apanese Societ- of the Green 6ra(on.
;rom The Unknown Hitler b- 4ulf Schwartzwaller, Ber3ele- Boo3s, !&&'
The en !ehind Hitler % e,cerpts from the boo3 b- Bernard Schreiber
homas ?obert 2althus (!$JJ%!"#E) was an Dn(lish political economist and historian who
in !$&J published a boo3 called HAn Dssa- on the Brinciple of BopulationH in which he said
that po*ert-, and thereb- *ice and miser-, are una*oidable because population (rowth
alwa-s e,ceeds food production. 8hec3s on population (rowth were wars, famine, and
diseases.
2althus)s ideas had (reat impact, onl- a few as3ed on what his claims were actuall- based.
Net neither 2althus nor his later disciples e*er mana(ed to put forward an- scientific proof
for his theor-. 2an- scientists ha*e dispro*ed 2althus) theor- and the ideolo(- resultin(
from it.
Howe*er, with the boo3, 2althus created an atmosphere which mo*ed his adherents in
!"#E to pass a new law pro*idin( for the institution of wor3% houses for the poor, in which
the se,es were strictl- separated to curb the otherwise ine*itable o*erbreedin(. his 3ind of
philosoph- ur(ed the callin( forth of drastic measures. he full title of 8harles 6arwin)s
famous boo3 is not so famousL The "rigin of S#ecies !$ eans of Natural Selection or the
Preservation of %avoured &aces in the Struggle for Life. 1n it he e,plains the de*elopment
of life%forms as a stru((le for e,istence. he result of this stru((le would be a natural
selection of those species and races who were to triumph o*er those wea3er ones who
would perish.
;rancis Galton (!"::%!&!!) was an en(lish ps-cholo(ist and a half%cousin of 6arwin.
Galton e,tended 6arwin)s theor- into a concept of deliberate social inter*ention, which he
said was a lo(ical application of e*olution to the human race. He called his theor-
HDu(enicsH, the principle of which was that b- encoura(in( better human stoc3 to breed
and discoura(in( the reproduction of less desirable stoc3, the whole race could be
impro*ed.
2odern racism reall- be(an with Arthur 8ount de Gabon (!"!J%!"":) who published his
'ssa$ on the (ne)ualit$ of Human &aces. He wrote in of a fair%haired Ar-an race that was
superior to all the others whose remnants constituted a tin- racial aristocrac- deca-in(
under the o*erwhelmin( wei(ht of inferior races. A re*i*al of his wor3 in German- be(an
ten -ears after his death b- the Ban%Germans, an e,tremel- nationalistic and anti%5ewish
(roup.
1n !"&&, Gabon)s disciple, Houston Stewart 8haimberlain (!"EE%!&:$), an Dn(lishman,
published The %oundations of the Nineteenth *entur$, in German-. He upheld the German
race to be the purest and damned the inferior races, the 5ews and ne(roes, as de(enerate.
;rom this point on, Du(enics, Social 6arwinism and racial h-(iene fused into a sin(le
concept.
1n !&'E the first chairs in Du(enics were instituted at Uni*ersit- 8olle(e, /ondon, followed
b- the establishment of the Galton /aborator- for National Du(enics in !&'$. 1n !&!' the
Du(enic ?ecord <ffice was founded in the United States, both institutes used the research
results of the Galton /aborator- of National Du(enics to propose practical applications.
Du(enics was used an the HscientificH basis upon which racism was fused to politics.
Du(enicists belie*ed that the child of a mentall-%ill person and a mentall- heath- person
would be a mentall-%ill offsprin(. his led to a series of escalatin( re(imensL separation
from societ-, restraint, separation of the se,es in defecti*e)s colonies, and sterilizations.
1n Great Britain one of the leaders of the mental h-(iene mo*ement was 2iss D*el-n ;o,.
She had been an acti*e member of the Du(enics Societ- before the foundation of the
National 8ouncil for 2ental H-(iene, of which she was an officer and founder. amon( the
board members was Sir 8-ril Burt, who later founded 2ensa, a hi(h i.0. (roup which
espoused eu(enic principles. he mental h-(iene mo*ement drew stron(l- from the
eu(enic mo*ements of whate*er countr- the- were in.
Shortl- after the turn of the centur- eu(enic or(anizations were set up throu(hout the
world. 4hile the whole world was bein( prepared b- propa(anda for the sterilization of the
insane, the adherents of mental h-(iene and eu(enics were preparin( their ne,t step,
euthanasia.
1n the U.S.A., 6r. Ale,is 8arrel, a nobel prize winner who had been on the staff of the
?oc3efeller 1nstitute since its inception, published his boo3an the Unknown in !&#C. 1n it
he su((ests the remo*al of the mentall- ill and the criminal b- small euthanasia institutions
e0uipped with suitable (ases.
1n !&## the Nazi part- rapidl- consolidated its power. 1n 9une of that -ear, 2inister of the
1nterior 4ilhelm ;ric3 put in motion the passa(e of the H/aw for the Bre*ention of
Hereditar- 6iseases in Bosterit-H% the sterilization law. Architect of the law was Drnst
?udin, professor of ps-chiatr- at the 2unich Uni*ersit-, director of the .aiser%4ilhelm
1nstitute for Genealo(, and of the ?esearch 1nstitute for Bs-chiatr-. A separate le(al s-stem
was set up consistin( of HHereditar- Health 8ourtsH, which could decree sterilization
a(ainst a person)s will. B- !&#C the HNurembur( /awsH intended to insure the racial purit-
of the nation and was aimed specificall- at the 9ews.
1n !&#E the 1nstitute for Heredit-, Biolo(- and ?acial ?esearch was founded at ;ran3furt
Uni*ersit- b- professor Drnst ?udin)s collea(ue at the .aiser 4ilhelm 1nstitute, 6r. <tmar
;reiherr +on +erscheur. +on +erscheur)s assistant there was 6r. 9oseph 2en(ele.
1n Dn(land, 6r. 8harles .illic3 2illard, president of the Societ- of 2edical <fficers of
Health, brou(ht up in !&#! the 0uestion of *oluntar- euthanasia and proposed a suitable
law. /ater he became fellow founder of the +oluntar- Duthanasia /e(islation Societ-. 1n
!&#C /ord 2o-nihan, president of the ?o-al 8olle(e of Sur(eons, founded the Duthanasia
Societ- .
Sterilization and euthanasia were not the ideas of the Nazis and ne*er had been. he- were
ideas which were supported and promoted throu(hout the world b- (roups with an interest
in the de*elopment of mental h-(iene. German-, howe*er, was the onl- countr- in which
the political climate allowed materialization of the final (oal of sterilization and euthanasia.
here is not a (reat deal 3nown about HEH compared to other aspects of Nazi German-. E
was the ;uhrer 8hanceller- and the initials came from the full address which was
ier(artenstrasse E, Berlin. HBro5ect EH was full- inte(rated into the or(anizational
structure of the ?eich and fell under section !!b. (Hmerc-%deathH) of the 8hanceller- of the
;uhrer. ;our co*er or(anizations safe(uarded the pro5ect EL the ?ealms 4or3 8ommittee
in char(e of collectin( information on candidates for euthanasia from 0uestionnaires sent to
hospitals, the ?ealms 8ommittee for Scientific Approach to Se*ere 1llness 6ue to Heredit-
set up e,clusi*el- to appl- euthanasia to children, the charitable compan- for the transport
of the sic3 which transported patients to the 3illin( centers, and the 8haritable ;oundation
for 1nstitutional 8are, in char(e of final disposition of the *ictims) remains.
At the time the 0uestionnaires went out a number of mental hospitals were bein( con*erted
for use as 3illin( centers and schools for murder. 6eath chambers were built dis(uised as
shower%baths and crematoriums, which were identical to those later to be established in the
death camps in Boland.
Schoolin( of the personnel at Hadamar 2ental 1nstitution produced perfect murderers who
were used to the smell of burnt flesh, had been tau(ht to tric3 people bein( led to their
death and to steel themsel*es a(ainst the cr-in( and pleadin( of the *ictims. <n arri*al, the
*ictims were stripped, dressed in paper shirts and forthwith ta3en to a (as chamber where
the- were murdered with h-droc-anic acid (as, and the bodies mo*ed to crematoriums b-
con*e-er belts, si, bodies to a furnace. he ps-chiatrist in char(e at Hadamar was 6r.
Adolf 4ahlmann, an acti*e member of the German 2ental H-(iene 2o*ement.
After the state had been relie*ed of the burden of these undesireables, the operation, still
under the direction of eminent mental health ps-chiatrists in E, was e,panded under the
code of !E;!#. ;rom bein( limited to mental hospitals and institutions, it now embraced
German and Austrian inmates and 9ews in concentration camps who were sic3 or in*alid.
At 6achau at the end of !&E! a commission composed of E ps-chiatrists under professor
6r. 4erner He-de, SS Standartenfuhrer and lecturer in neurolo(- and ps-chiatr- at
4urzbur( Uni*ersit-, arri*ed at the camp and selected hundred of patients incapable of
wor3 who were transported to the (as chambers and disposed of.
he e,termination camps had followed a separate e*olution from the concentration camps
that were opened a few months after the Nazi rise to power. hese death camps had their
head0uarters, not in Himmler)s SS or(anization, but in the ;uhrer)s 8hancellor- (E). ;ranz
Stan(l (Austrian Gestapo) said at the Nurember( trials that his pro(ression to builder and
commander of the Sobibor D,termination 8amp went throu(h the Hartheim and Bernber(
euthanasia centers. he ori(inal staff at Sobibor was ta3en from Hartheim.
6urin( the war eu(enics became associated with the Nazis and afterwards a (lobal
whitewashin( be(an. he first step was the reconstitution of the man- National 8ouncils of
2ental H-(iene. he first was the British Association for 2ental Health. /ad- Brescilla
Norman, wife of 2onta(u Norman, (o*ernor of the Ban3 of Dn(land, had been wor3in( in
the mental h-(iene mo*ement since the :')s. 1n !&EE the- sponsored a con(ress held at the
2inistr- of Health in /ondon where the- established the 4orld ;ederation of 2ental
Health%4;2H.
he first elected president of the 4;2H was 6r. 9ohn ?awlin(s ?ees, a British ps-chiatrist
associated with the a*istoc3 1nstitute. 1n !&E" the 4;2H was formall- inau(urated at the
hird 1nternational 8on(ress of 2ental Health. A *ice%president of the 8on(ress was 6r.
8arl G. 9un( who was described b- fellow *ice%president 6r. 8onti as Hrepresentin(
German ps-chiatr- under the NazisH. 6r. 9un( had been co%editor of the 9ournal for
Bs-chotherap- with 6r. 2. H. Goerin(, the cousin of 2arshal Hermann Goerin(.
1t ma- be that the real 3e- to the hird ?eich lies buried in the histor- of ibet, for it was
here that .arl Haushofer, the initiate who tau(ht the -outhful Hitler, first met in literal fact
the Superman of Nazi le(end.
<ri(ins of the swasti3a
B- !&EC the housand Near ?eich had become a smo3in( ruin. ?ussian soldiers pressed
throu(h the rubble, fi(htin( from house to house, from street to street in order to lin3 up
with their British and American allies who also pressed in ine,orabl- on the heart of the
d-in( capital. Before the- o*erran the eastern sector of Berlin, these ?ussian troops came
across somethin( *er- stran(eL *ast numbers of ibetan corpses. he fact is mentioned b-
2aurice Bess- and a(ain b- Bauwels and Ber(ier, who set the actual number of bodies at a
thousand. he- wore German uniform, but without the usual insi(nia of ran3.
he reli(ion of ibet is Buddhism, but li3e the Oen of 9apan, it is a brand of Buddhism far
di*orced from the 1ndian ori(inal. 2an- scholars prefer the term H/amaismH to distin(uish
between ibetan Buddhism and its parent root. he reli(ious life of the countr- is
concentrated in a multitude of monasteries, man- of them built in almost inaccessible
mountain re(ions. Side b- side with the state reli(ion of /amaism, and flourishin(
particularl- in the rural districts, is ibet)s abori(inal reli(ion of Bon. he Bon%Bas follow a
primiti*e, animistic creed, full of dar3 rituals and spells. 1f the hol- /amas of the Buddhist
sects were loo3ed on as personifications of spiritual wisdom, the priests of Bon had a potent
reputation with the common people as ma(icians.
he Nazi leaders were attracted to ibet b- those of its secret doctrines which filtered
throu(h to the west. he- belie*ed, those members of the hule (roup, the /uminous
/od(e, and the *arious other occult or(anizations which helped shape the hird ?eich, in
an esoteric histor- of man3ind. And it was in the archi*es of ibetan monasteries that this
histor- was preser*ed in its purest form.
Alread-, in the latter half of the pre*ious centur-, intri(uin( hints about ibetan secret
teachin(s had been carried to the west b- Helena Bla*ats3-, who claimed initiation at the
hands of the Hol- /amas themsel*es. Bla*ats3- tau(ht that her HHidden 2astersH and
HSecret 8hiefsH had their earthl- residence in the Himala-an re(ion. As soon as the Nazi
mo*ement had sufficient funds, it be(an to or(anize a number of e,peditions to ibet and
these succeeded one another practicall- without interruption until !&E#. <ne of the most
tan(ible e,pressions of Nazi interest in ibet was the part-Rs adoption of its deepest and
most m-stical of s-mbols%the swasti3a.
he swasti3a is one of man3ind)s oldest s-mbols, and apart from the cross and the circle,
probabl- the most widel- distributed. 1t is shown on potter- fra(ments from Greece datin(
bac3 to the ei(hth centur- B8. 1t was used in ancient D(-pt, 1ndia and 8hina. he Na*aho
indians of North America ha*e a traditional swasti3a pattern. Arab%1slamic sorcerers used it.
1n more recent times, it was incorporated in the fla(s of certain baltic states.
he idea for the use of the swasti3a b- the Nazis came from a dentist named 6r. ;riedrich
.rohn who was a member of the secret Germanen order. .rohn produced the desi(n for the
actual form in which the Nazis came to use the s-mbol, that is re*ersed, spinnin( in an anti%
cloc3wise direction. As a solar s-mbol, the swasti3a is properl- thou(ht of as spinnin(, and
the Buddhists ha*e alwa-s belie*ed the s-mbol attracted luc3. he Sans3rit word Hs*asti3aH
means (ood fortune and well bein(. Accordin( to 8abbalistic lore and occult theor-,
chaotic force can be e*o3ed b- re*ers% in( the s-mbol. And so the s-mbol appeared as the
fla( of Nazi German- and the insi(nia of the Nazi part-, an indication for those who had
e-es to see, as to the occult nature of the hird ?eich.
The *ontrovers$ off the "ccult &eichB- 9ohn ?oemer
<ne hundred -ears after Adolf Hitler)s birth near /inz in Austria on April :' !""&, and
decades after his mali(n empire metastasized in Ba*aria in Ba*aria, the Hitler phenomenon
remains to mainstream historians lar(el- ine,plicable, or at least une,plained. he man and
his awful wor3 seem to stand outside histor- loo3in( in. Berhaps our human fear of the
irrational is so (reat that we instincti*el- hold Hitler at a (reat remo*e in order that we need
not admit him to our compan-.
1n li(ht of this it isn)t *er- surprisin( that an e,tensi*e literature e,ists see3in( an occult
rationale for the otherwise bafflin( catastrophe Hitler represents. As /ouis Bauwels and
9ac0ues Ber(ier point out in the orning of the agicians(!&J'), the Nazi era simpl-
defies con*entional anal-sisL
A self tau(ht madman, surrounded b- a handful of me(alomaniacs,re5ects 6escartes, spurns
the whole humanist culture, tramples on reason, in*o3es /ucifer, con0uers Durope, and
nearl- con0uers the world. he historian be(ins to feel an,ious and to wonder whether his
art is *iable.
Bauwels and Ber(ier were amon( the first postwar proponents of a blac3 ma(ical
e,planation for the hird ?eich. About a 0uarter of their boo3 is de*oted to a re(ion the-
call Hhe Absolute Dlsewhere,H a ne*erland where Nazi pseudosciences and occult
methodolo(- held official swa-. he- 0uote a Hitlerian pronouncement to demonstrate that
the ;uhrer)s intellectual de*elopment was on a le*el wholl- different from that understood
b- the 4estern traditionL Hthere is a Nordic and National Socialist science which is opposed
to 9ewish%/iberal scienceH.: ?ealit- was defined b- politics.
Nazi HscienceH has brou(ht hoots of derision from those who hold to the 8artesian model.
1n place of ps-cholo(- there was an occult frappe composed of the m-sticism of Gurdi5eff,
the theosoph- of 2adame Bla*ats3- and the archet-pes of Nordic m-tholo(-. 1n place of
Newtonian ph-sics stood the cosmic force called *ril, the bizarre (eolo(- 3nown as the
hollow earth theor-, and the fri(id cosmolo(- of Hans Horbi(er)s 4elteislehre, the doctrine
of eternal ice.
Nazi thou(ht e,cluded ps-choanal-sis, which has in fact been not *er- helpful in
e,plainin( the etiolo(- of (reat e*il, althou(h ?obert G./. 4aite)s effort, 0uoted abo*e and
published in !&$$ b- Basic Boo3s, is (ood on se*eral pro*ocati*e sub5ectsL Hitler)s
sadomasochistic se, life7 the possibilit- he had a 9ewish (randfather7 and his +iennese
mentors, who are described at (reater len(th b- the authors about to be mentioned.
Nazism officiall- re5ected the theor- of relati*it- as H9ewish scienceH. Not onl- ;reud but
Dinstein too was forced to flee Hitler)s Durope. He and other ph-sicists e*entuall- were
able to ensure that atomic secrets remained in the hands of the allies until the- could be
used spectacularl- to clima, the Bacific war.
Horbi(er)s ph-sics deri*ed from an intuiti*e flash he e,perienced late in the nineteenth
centur-. H As a -oun( en(ineer,H he wrote, H1 was watchin( one da- some molten steel
poured on wet (round co*ered with snowL the (round e,ploded after some dela- and with
(reat *iolence.H
his conflict of opposites, of fire and ice, is a theme that inspired Horbi(er and resonated
for German nationalists because it recurs in the 1celandic Dddas, the sourceboo3s of
eutonic m-tholo(-. 1t all ma3es (ood sense in 1celand, since that island)s peculiar (eolo(-
feature numerous *olcanic rifts in the permafrost7 fire and ice are commonl- 5u,taposed all
o*er the landscape. As (rounds for a cosmolo(-% the word implies uni*ersalit-% it is at best
dubious. 1t would be a hard sell in Hawaii.
Ne*ertheless, Nazi science was influential out of all proportion to its ob5ecti*e *alidit-.
Hoerbi(er was immensel- influential in the hird ?eich. His followers numbered in the
tens of thousands. here were scores of Horbi(erian boo3s, hundreds of 4elteislehre
pamphlets, and a monthl- ma(azine called The +e$ to ,orld 'vents.
<ur Nordic ancestors (rew stron( amidst the ice and snow, and this is wh- a belief in a
world of ice is the natural herita(e of Nordic men. 1t was Austrian, Hitler, who dro*e out
the 9ewish politicians, and another Austrian, Horbi(er, (who) will dri*e out the 9ewish
scientists. B- his own e,ample Hitler has shown that an amateur to (i*e us a thorou(h
understandin( of the Uni*erse.
Hitler)s fatal confidence in the success of his troops on the ?ussian front durin( the !&E! % :
winter is (enerall- belie*ed to ha*e been a result of his misplaced faith in Horbi(er)s
weather forecasts. 6espite such setbac3s, the 4elteislehre mana(ed to thri*e e*en after the
war. he popular speculations of 1mmanuel +eli3o*s3- deri*e in part from Horbi(er. 1n
!&C# a sur*e- conducted b- 2artin Gardner showed that more than a million people in
German-, Dn(land, and the U.S. belie*ed that Horbi(er was ri(ht.
he Horbi(erian cosmolo(- posited an earl- epoch, some fifteen million -ears a(o, durin(
which a hu(h moon mo*ed across the s3- *er- near the earth. 1ts (ra*itational attraction
(a*e rise to a race of our ancestors, the (iants. hese (iants, which appear in the ancient
Norse and 1celandic sa(as, sleep, -et the- are ali*e. o the Nazis, the- were Supermen. 1n
one set of m-ths, contained in the Nibelun(enlied, the- li*ed beneath eutonic mountains.
1n another the- were protot-pe Ar-ans from the Dast, inhabitin( *ast ibetan ca*erns.
hree other boo3s that in*esti(ate hidden influences on Gerald Suster)s Hitler: The "ccult
essiah7 9ean%2ichel An(ebert)s The "ccult and the Third &iech and Nicholas Goodric3%
8lar3e)s The "ccult &oots of Na-ism.
Suster)s boo3 lar(el- rehashes Bauwels and Ber(ier. An(ebert (actuall- a pen name for two
;rench writers) interestin(l- lin3s Hitler to an ancient dualist tradition he traces from
2anichaenism in Bersia throu(h the Dssenes, 9esus)s Balestinian forebears, to the 8athars in
the south of ;rance in the 2iddle A(es. 1t)s philosoph- in which, in its Nazi incarnation,
solar forces of li(ht represented b- blond, fair%s3inned Ar-ans stri*e a(ainst the e*il forces
of dar3ness, who are of course dar3 s3inned Semites.
Both boo3s, but especiall- Suster)s are written in prose that stops 5ust this side of tabloid
5ournalese. his is too bad for two reasons. <ne, the authors diminish some important
material b- this 3ind of presentation. wo, the lessons we ha*e to learn about mass
ps-chopatholo(- and about the histor- of fascism are too important to be tri*alized in this
wa-.
Goodric3%8lar3)s is a serious and compellin( historical loo3 at ariosoph-, a dan(erous
amal(am of Ar-an racism, pan%German nationalism, and occultism that flourished in
Austria and German- from around !"&' well into the era when Himmler)s 6eath)s Head SS
was or(anized. Himmler is said b- Bauwels and Ber(ier to ha*e ta3en the 9esuits for his
model, and to ha*e installed a re(ular hierarch- ran(in( from la- brothers to father
superior, and to ha*e used this Blac3 <rder in horrific rites."
The "ccult &oots of Na-ismidentifies wide circle of proto%Nazi philosophers, pre*iousl-
almost un3nown, who saw in the chaos that beset German- after the reat- of +ersailles the
wor3in( out of ancient Ar-an prophecies. Amon( them was ?udolf 9ohn Gorsleben, who
interestin( career Goodric3%8lar3e sums up in a sentenceL Hon the basis of the runes,
occultism, and the Ddda, Gorsleben created an ori(inal racist m-ster-%reli(ion which
illuminated the priceless ma(ical herita(e of the Ar-ans and 5ustified their spiritual and
political world%supremac-.H
Gorsleben was acti*e in ri(ht%win( politics in Ba*aria in the -ears Hitler was formin( his
political con*ictions there, and he lectured to the hule Societ-, a 2unich club thou(ht to
ha*e (reatl- influenced Nazism in its infanc-. He also edited a wee3l- newspaper called
German ;reedom7 in !&:$ he chan(ed the name to Ar-an ;reedom.
He deri*ed the word )race) from rata, an <ld Norse term meanin( )root), in order to conclude
that God and race were identical. He maintained that racial mi,in( was alwa-s detrimental
for the raciall- superior partner, since his purit- was debased in the pro(en-, and he
repeated the common *ol3isch @fol3ishA con*iction that woman could be )impre(nated) b-
intercourse, e*en when no conception occurred, so that her subse0uent offsprin( bore the
characteristics of her first lo*er. Gi*en these o*erwhelmin( pressures towards the
increasin( bastardization of the German descendants of the Ar-an race, onl- the strict
practice of se(re(ation and eu(enics could (uarantee the re*ersal of racial contamination in
the world.
Another boo3 which hold that Hitler learned man- of his occult lesson from a*atars in
+ienna and 2unich ma- well be the best 3nown blac3 ma(ical e,planation of Nazism to
ha*e been put forth so far. re*or ?a*enscroft)s The S#ear of Destin$ was published b- that
famous British house of occultism, the aptl- named Ne*ille Spearman /td,.in !&$:, and has
since (one throu(h man- edition.
Spear of 6estin-
?a*enscroft is intri(uin( because instead of reportin( historical influences on Hitler, he
presents secret histor- in a narrati*e form that purports to be factual and that%if true ma-be
e*en if onl- poeticall- HtrueH%(oes a lon( wa- toward findin( a con*incin( occult
e,planation for the Nazi phenomenon.
wo challen(es to ?a*enscroft)s facts, discussed below, ha*e led some readers to conclude
his boo3 is more nearl- a no*el than strict histor-. Nonetheless, its pro*ocati*e premise and
fluent s-nthesis of blac3 ma(ical thematics will 3eep it on occult boo3lists until a better
effort at e,plainin( Hitler comes alon(.
?a*enscroft, a British 5ournalist, historian, and 4orld 4ar 11 commando officer, spent four
-ears in Nazi prison camps after he was captured attemptin( to assassinate General Drwin
?ommel in North Africa in !&E!. His personal perspecti*e on the Hitler era is based on
material he sa-s he (ot in a state of transcendent consciousness while imprisoned. He
introduces his methodolo(- b- spea3in( ofL m- own e,perience of hi(her le*els of
consciousness whilst in a Nazi 8oncentration 8amp durin( the war, and how the nature of
this transcendent e,perience had (uided me to a stud- of the Spear of /on(inus and the
le(end of world destin- which had (rown up around it.
/ater, in /ondon, his intuiti*e suspicions about certain (rail relics and their importance in
occult Hitlerian histor- were confirmed b- a +iennese e,ile called 6r. 4alter 9ohannes
Stein who died in !&C$.
6r. Stein spent much of the war as a British secret a(ent, but before that time he was a
scholar who emplo-ed white ma(ical means to clair*o-antl- in*esti(ate historical e*ents. 1t
was his boo3 on the (rail m-thos published in Stutt(art in !&:" and titled The Ninth
*entur$: ,orld Histor$ in the Light of the Hol$ .railthat attracted ?a*enscroft to him.
The S#ear of Destin$focuses first on Hitler)s lost -ears in +ienna from !&'& to !&!#.
6urin( that time, ?a*enscroft writes, 6r. Stein was pursuin( his occult researches as a
student at the Uni*ersit- of +ienna and (ettin( to 3now Hitler, then a dropout li*in( in a
flophouse.
+ienna was durin( Hitler)s -ears there a *orte, of modern thin3in(. ;reud was in practice at
Ber((asse7 /udwi( 4itt(enstein was in residence ponderin( a*ant (arde philosoph- and
metaph-sics7 Gusta* 2ahler had returned home to die and to name his prote(e, Arnold
Schonber(. 1n contrast there persisted the deep anti%Semitic currents that had caused
2ahler to con*ert to 8atholicism, that forced ;reud e*entuall- to flee to /ondon and that
informed the ancient pan%German fol3oric nostal(ia espoused b- Guido *on /ist.
his old blac3 ma(ician, whose occult lod(e ?a*enscroft sa-s substituted the swasti3a for
the cross in per*ersion and the practice of medie*al thaumatur(-, loo3ed li3e a wizard in
flopp- cap and lon( white beard. His lin3 to Hitler was alle(edl- throu(h an occult
boo3seller, Drnst Bretzche, in whose shop the future ;uhrer found a second home.
1n the shop 6r. Stein found a cop- of 4olfram *on Dschenbach)s Par-ival, the medie*al
(rail romance that 6r. Stein was himself researchin( for his wor3 on the ninth centur-. 1n
the boo3)s mar(ins were handwritten annotations7 loo3in( them o*er 6r.Stein was
fascinated and repelledL
his was no ordinar- commentar- but the wor3 of somebod- who had achie*ed more than
a wor3in( 3nowled(e of the blac3 artsG he un3nown commentator had found the 3e- to
un*eilin( man- of the deepest secrets of the Grail, -et ob*iousl- spurned the 8hristian
ideals of the .ni(hts and deli(hted in the de*ious machinations of the Anti%8hrist. 1t
suddenl- dawned on him that he was readin( the footnotes of SatanG
he footnotes, of course, pro*ed to ha*e been Hitler)s. Soon afterward, 6r.Stein and Hitler
saw the ?eich)s lance to(ether in the 1mperial 2useum at the Hofbur(. 6r. Stein had been
there before and had ne*er failed to be mo*ed b- the si(ht of the old relic, supposed to ha*e
been mo*ed b- the ori(inal spear with which the ?oman centurion, /on(inus, pierced the
side of 8hrist durin( the crucifi,ation. /on(inus was a German, and his Hspear of destin-H
was fated to pla- a ma(ical role in the careers of German leaders li3e 8harlema(ne, <tto
the Great, and ;rederic3 Barbarossa. 6r. Stein said the spear inspired in him the emotion
e,pressed in the motto of the 3ni(hts of the hol- (railL 6urch 2itleid wissen, Hthrou(h
compassion to self 3nowled(e.H
hen he (lanced at HitlerL
4alter Stein found he was not the onl- one mo*ed b- the si(ht of this historic spearhead.
Adolf Hitler stood beside him, li3e a man in a trance, a man o*er whom some dreadful
ma(ic spell had been cast... he *er- space around him seemed enli*ened with some subtle
irradiation, a 3ind of (hostl- ectoplasmic li(ht. His whole ph-sio(nom- and stance
appeared transformed as if some mi(ht Spirit now inhabited his *er- soul, creatin( within
and around him a 3ind of e*il transfi(uration of its own nature and power.
/atter Hitler too3 6r. Stein up the 6anube to *isit his m-stic teacher, a rustic woodcutter
and herbalist named Hans /odz Hwho retained in his peasant)s blood the last traces of the
ata*istic clair*o-ance of the ancient Germanic tribesH and who Hresembled a mischie*ous
-et male*olent dwarf from the pa(es of Grimm)s ;air- ales or an illustration from a boo3
on ancient Germanic fol3loreH.!J he men too3 a swim in the ri*er at which 6r. Stein
noticed that Hitler had onl- one testicle.
1t was /odz, 6r.Stein learned, who had prepared for Hitler a pe-ote concoction that
afforded him ps-chedelic insi(ht into his past li*es. he pe-ote itself had come from
Bretzche, who had li*ed for a time in the German colon- in 2e,ico. Hitler had hoped that
his former e,istences, *iewed in his dru( trance, would include an earl- incarnation as a
powerful eutonic ruler, but it was not to be.
1nstead his ps-chedelic perception re*ealed non Dschenbach)s Barzi*al to ha*e been
prophetic of e*ents that would ta3e place a thousand -ears after it was written, i.e. in the
present. And it showed Hitler to ha*e been the historical persona(e behind the e*il sorcerer
.lin(sor, the *er- spirit of the anti%8hrist and the *illain of Barzi*al.
Accordin( to 6r. Stein)s wor3 .lin(sor was in fact /andulf 11 of 8apua, the traitorous
confidant of the Hol- ?oman Dmperor who betra-ed 8hristianit- to the 2oslem in*aders
of 1tal- and Spain.
Armed with the 3nowled(e of his blac3 spiritual ancestr-, ?a*enscroft writes, Hitler mo*ed
to German-, 5oined the Ba*arian Arm-, sur*i*ed the hellish trench warfare on the western
front, won the 1ron 8ross, second class, and (ot dischar(ed in 2unich where he
encountered the men who were to in*ent National Socialism.
+irtuall- e*er- stud- of Hitler)s time in 2unich mentions the hule Societ- as superficiall-
a 3ind of Dl3)s 8lub of German m-tholo(- which met often and openl- at a fanc-
metropolitan hotel and for a time counted Hitler as a member. Behind the scenes, howe*er
the societ- seems to ha*e been considerabl- more sinister.
?obert Ba-ne whose e,cellent Hitler bio(raph- contains no occult e,planations, describes
the hule Societ- as the center of the ri(ht win( opposition to the brief Ba*arian postwar
socialist coup under the 9ewish intellectual .urt Disner.
he reaction set in swiftl-, as the e,treme ri(ht (athered its forces. he head0uarters of the
reaction was the Hotel +ier5ahreszeiten, where se*eral floors were (i*en o*er to the hule
Societ-, ostensibl- a literar- club de*oted to the stud- of Nordic culture but in fact a secret
political or(anization de*oted to *iolent anti%Semitism and rule b- an aristocratic elite. he
name of the or(anization deri*ed from ultima hule, the un3nown northern land belie*ed to
be the ori(inal home of the German race.
he s-mbol of the hule Societ- was a swasti3a with a da((er enclosed in laurel lea*es.
2ost of the occult historians of the era belie*e the hule Societ- operated on a deeper le*el
still, a le*el headed b- a m-sterious fi(ure called 6ietrich Dc3art. Goodric3%8lar3e calls
Dc3art Hitler)s mentor in the earl- da-s of the Nazi Bart-, alon( with ?udolf Hess and
Alfred ?osenber(.!"
Accordin( to ?a*enscroft, Dc3art, li3e Hitler, first achie*ed transcendence throu(h
ps-chedelic dru(s. ?esearch on pe-ote b- the German pharmacolo(ist /udwi( /ewin had
been published in !""J, leadin( to widespread popular e,perimentation. /ater a heroin
addict, in earlier da-s Dc3art used pe-ote in the practice on neo% pa(an ma(ic in Berlin. He
came to belie*e that he, too was the reincarnation of ninth centur- character. 1n his case it
was Bernard of Barcelona, a notorious betra-er of 8hristianit- to the Arabs and a blac3
ma(ician who used thaumatur(- to hold off 8arolin(ian armies in Spain.
Dc3art assertedl- or(anized .urt D1sner)s assassination and personall- chose Hitler%b- then
a battle%scarred *eteran of the horrors of trench warfare and a fer*ent critic of the armistice%
to lead the Ar-an race bac3 to supremac-.
?a*enscroft writes that Hitler had been prepared for satanic initiation b- his e,periences in
+ienna with pe-ote and with the spear and b- his mustard (assin( in !&!", which left him
blind and in a state of enforced trance for se*eral da-s.
He also sa-s that the techni0ues 6ietrich Dc3art used were in part deri*ed from the se,ual
ma(ic of Aleister 8rowle-. 1n !&!: this famed British ma(ician was named 1I British head
of a secret Berlin lod(e called <rdo empli <rientis which practiced *arious forms of
se,ual ma(ic.!&
?a*enscroft writes Hthere can be little doubtH that both 8rowle- and Dc3art conducted deep
studies of the Arabian astrolo(ical ma(ic performed b- .lin(sor)s real life counterpart,
/andulf 11. 1t was to Sicil-%then a 2oslem stron(hold%that /andulf fled after his traitorous
lin3s to 1slam were disclosed. And it was in a dar3 tower in the mountains of the southwest
corner of that island that his e*il soul festered with additional bitterness o*er his castration
b- the relati*es of a noblewoman he had raped. here he practiced sadistic satanism of a
nature that foreshadowed the horrors of Nazi concentration camps.
1f the le(ends that ha*e come down from these dar3 centuries of Duropean histor- are true,
these rituals carried out at .alot Dnbolot included terrible tortures such as the slittin( open
of the stomach of sacrificial *ictims and the slow drawin( open of the stomach of sacrificial
*ictims and the slow drawin( of their entrails, the dri*in( of sta3es throu(h the orifices of
their bodies before disembowellin( them, and the in*o3in( of Spirits of 6ar3ness (incubis)
to rape -oun( *ir(ins 3idnapped from their families.
1t was from his studies of the power a*ailable to practitioners of such per*ersities that
Dc3art de*ised the rituals he used when he Hopened the centers of Adolf Hitler to (i*e him a
*ision of and a means of communication with the Bowers.H ?a*enscroft concludes, thou(h
he declines to furnish the full detailsL HSuffice it to sa- that the- were indescribabl- sadistic
and (hastl-.H
Ha*in( done his worst, Dc3art soon died, proudl- ad*isin( those around himL
;ollow HitlerG he will dance, but it is 1 who ha*e called the tuneG
1 ha*e initiated him into theSecret Doctrine, opened his centers of *ision and (i*en him the
means to communicate with the Bowers. 6o not mourn for meL 1 shall ha*e influenced
histor- more than an- other German.
Not unnaturall- the 0uestion rises whether an- of The S#ear of Destin$is true. 1t)s certainl-
a (reat stor-, one which ?a*enscroft elaborates with a len(th- in*esti(ation of Hitler)s se,
life, in which he ma3es a case for associatin( the reports of the ;uehrer)s missin( testis to
the per*ersities resultin( from /andulf)s castration.
he problem lies with ?a*enscroft)s primar- source, 6r. 4alter 9ohannes Stein. And the
problem with 6r.Stein is reall- two problemsL one his method of historical researchL and
two, the fact that he is dead and unable to spea3 for himself.
Gi*en his method, of course, this second problem should not be insurmountable. Had we
the techni0ue, 6r. Stein could presumabl- *erif- each of ?a*enscroft)s assertion for us from
be-ond the (ra*e. ;or 6r. Stein is alle(ed to ha*e studied histor- not in the libraries and
archi*es that are the usual haunt of the historian but in an arena called the 8osmic
8hronicle where, accordin( to ?a*enscroft, past present and future were united in a hi(her
dimension of time.
4hat)s more ?a*enscroft re*eals in his introduction, 6r.Stein tau(ht the same techni0ues to
him.
1t is, howe*er, undeniabl- difficult, if not unprecedented, to footnote clair*o-ance. 4e ha*e
to ta3e on faith that the The S#ear of Destin$ is what 6r.Stein told ?a*enscroft. his is not
to sa- that all of his information came from the 8osmic 8hronicle7 6r. Stein as we ha*e
seen is purported to ha*e been present in +ienna durin( Hitler)s lost -ears there. Nor did
their close association end in Austria. ?a*enscroft sa-s 6r. Stein Hwatched at close
0uartersH the foundin( of the Nazi part- and Hitler)s association with Dc3art and other
sinister mentors.
4hen ?eichsfuehrer SS Heinrich Himmler ordered 6r.Stein)s arrest in Stutt(art in !&## in
order to press him into ser*ice with the SS <ccult Bureau, he escaped from German- and
brou(ht with him to Britain the most authoritati*e 3nowled(e of the occultism of the Nazi
Bart-.
Nowhere does ?a*enscroft made it clear whether he)s tal3in( about e-ewitness 3nowled(e
on 6r.Stein)s part or about the sort of information to be (leaned from the 8osmic 8hronicle.
But two critics of the The S#ear of Destin$do cast doubt on se*eral of the factual assertions
upon the factual assertions upon which ?a*enscroft)s ar(ument is built.
<ne is Nicholas Goodric3%8lar3e, whose boo3 on the occult roots of Nazism is 0uoted
abo*e. 1n an appendi, called The odern $tholog$ of Na-i "ccultism, Goodric3%8lar3e
ta3es ?a*enscroft to tas3 for the stor- about Hitler)s relations with the occult boo3seller in
+ienna and for his claim that Guido +on /ist was forced to flee from outra(ed +iennese
8atholics in !&'& after the se,ual rites of his blood brotherhood were e,posed. he writes
flatl-,
here is not a shred of e*idence for such rituals. /ist was ne*er obli(ed to lea*e +ienna and
he en5o-ed the patrona(e of prominent +ienna fi(ures...he fictional nature of the whole
episode surroundin( the annotated cop- of cop- of Barzi*al is su((ested b- the similarit- of
Bretzsche)s obscure boo3shop to the one described b- Sir Ddward Bulwer%/-tton in /anoni,
(!"E:), which probabl- ser*ed ?a*enscroft as a literar- model.
Goodric3%8lar3e also criticizes 9ean 2ichael An(ebert)s boo3, The "ccult and the Third
&eich, cited abo*e. He brands as ima(inar- An(ebert)s account of the -oun( Hitler)s
association with /anz *on /ebenfels.
As noted earlier, Goodric3%8lar3e)s boo3 is an important and serious piece of research on
Guido *on /ist and /anz *on /ie*enfels. But the author seems a little o*er%sensiti*e toward
other writers who in*o3e his two sub5ects. Ne*ertheless, his criti0ue of An(ebert and
?a*enscroft, thou(h brief, does offer a (limpse of the mis(i*in(s that professional
historians feel re(ardin( such material.
2ore e,tensi*e criticisms ha*e been offered b- 8hristoph /indenber( in his re*iew of HD
The S#ear of Destin$ in the German 5ournal 6ie 6rie. /indenber( has done some effecti*e
di((in( at the +ienna ?ecords office. ?a*enscroft has Hitler sittin( hi(h up in the cheap
seats of the +ienna <pera House in the winter of !&!' % ! watchin( 4a(ner)s Barzifal and
s-mpathizin( with .lin(sor. his pro*es to ha*e been impossible, because /indenber(
learned that the first performance of 4a(ner)s opera too3 place three -ears later, on 9anuar-
!E,!&!E.
?a*enscroft)s second mista3e was to name the +iennese boo3seller who introduced Hitler
to dru(s. HNo better name occurred to him than Bretsche, popular amon( Dn(lish writers of
fiction for German malefactors,H /indenber( writes scornfull- before re*ealin( that
e,tensi*e chec3s of +ienna cit- and business directories and police records for the -ears
!"&: throu(h !&:' were ne(ati*e for the name in 0uestion.
Ne,t, /indenber( ta3es issue with ?a*enscroft)s description of the 6anube trip Hitler and
6r. Stein too3 in 2a- !&!#, to *isit the m-stic woodcutter, Hands /odzL
4e can o*erloo3 ?a*enscroft)s mista3e of spea3in( of H4achauH as a place and not of the
re(ion which reall- it is. But the details do not fitL the snow meltin( in 2a-, the steamer
runnin( in spite of the floods, bathin( in the ri*er% it ma3es no sense. 8ertainl- wron( is the
statement that Hitler had onl- one testicle... all this has been completel- refuted b- 4erner
2aser.
?a*enscroft)s account of Hitler)s circumstances in +ienna also come in for some hea*-
criticism. 6r. Stein reportedl- sat in a window seat in 6emel)s 8afe, readin( the anon-mous
mar(inalia in the cop- of Barzi*al he)d found and concludin( the- were Hthe footnotes of
SatanH when he loo3ed throu(h the (lass and beheld Hthe most arro(ant face and demonical
e-es he had e*er seenH. his was of course the future ;uehrer in his le(endar- (uise as an
impo*erished pa*ement artist, sellin( homemade postcards, dressed in a bi( blac3 Hsleaz-H
coat, his toes *isible throu(h the crac3s in his shoes. 4hen in Au(ust, !&!:, he sou(ht
Hitler out at the HflophouseH he li*ed in , in 2eldemannstrasse, he was told Hitler was awa-
at Spittal%an%der%6rau collectin( a le(ac- left him b- an aunt. hereafter, Hitler dressed
well.
Hitler did recei*e a le(ac- from his aunt, 9ohanna Boelzl, /indenber( reports. But this
happens in 2arch, !&!!, and the aunt li*ed in Spital%with%one%t, not on the 6rau but in
southern Austria. ;urthermore,
At no time of life did Hitler li*e in impo*erished conditions, rather he had alwa-s sufficient
mone-. 1n the 2eldenmannstrasse, a 3ind of lar(e hotel, Hitler paid a rent of !C .ronen a
month. So he could afford a fairl- e,pensi*e room and had no need to sell his pictures,
which in an- case were no postcards. So this scene too, that impo*erished Hitler dressed in
an o*ersized blac3 coat sellin( water colors in front of the 8afe 6ehmel does not a(ree with
the facts either (cf. the two wor3s b- 4erner 2aser who with incredible care collected all
ascertained facts of Hitler)s -outh).
1n his discussion of the hol- lance)s power to e*o3e transcendent e,perience, ?a*enscroft
has a scene in which the chief of the German (eneral staff, Helmut *on 2olt3e, *isited the
relic in the compan- of 8onrad *on Hoetzendorf, an Austrian (eneral, shortl- before the
outbrea3 of 4orld 4ar 1. he spear)s presence led *on 2olt3e to ha*e a trance *ision of
himself incarnated as Bope Nicolas 1, a ninth centur- pontiff concerned, li3e *on 2olt3e,
with the balance of (eopolitical power between east and west.
Untrue protests /indenber(. H;or 2olt3e *isited +ienna neither in !&!# nor in !&!E.
8onrad and 2olt3e met on 2a- !:, !&!E at .arlsbad, from September $ % !', !&!#, in
Silesia, and at /eipzi( on <ctober !" at the 8entenar- of the Battle of /eipzi(. he- had no
other meetin(.H
/indenber( has se*eral other criticisms to ma3e, such as the assertion that HA number of
people who intimatel- 3new 4alter 9ohannes Stein in the last -ears of his life state that
Stein ne*er met Hitler.H Unfortunatel- ?a*enscroft)s a*ersion to footnotes has also afflicted
his critic, and /indenber( nowhere names these people nor does he document his other
assertions.
/indenber( doesn)t li3e ?a*enscroft)s boo37 he calls it H a pollution of our spiritual
en*ironment.H And it is manifestl- difficult for him or an-one to rebut research done on the
cosmic le*el.
4hat, in the end, was Hitler all aboutP Berhaps no better e,planation can be found than
4.H. Auden)s su((estions, made in his poem HSeptember !,!&#&H and printed as an
epi(ram to ?obert G./. 4aite)s boo3. he date is the be(innin( of Hitler)s Blitz3rie(
a(ainst BolandL
Accurate scholarship can Unearth the whole offence ;rom /uther until now hat has dri*en
a culture mad, ;ind what occurred at /inz, 4hat hu(e ima(o made A ps-chopathic (odL 1
and the public 3now 4hat all schoolchildren learn, hose to whom e*il is done 6o e*il in
return.
?eferenceL Hitler % Dnc-clopedia Britannica
)pear o* +estiny
Hitler)s successes as Nazi dictator ha*e (i*en wa- to a number of occult theories. <ne of
the most common of these is the stor- of the Spear of 6estin-.
Also called the Hol- /ance, this spear was belie*ed to ha*e been the weapon used to pierce
the side of 9esus 8hrist at the 8rucifi,ion.
/e(end has it that whoe*er possesses the lance will rule the world.
he lance appears both in factual histor- and in fiction.
1n the 4a(ner opera Barsi*al, .lin(sor was a despicable ad*ersar- of the .ni(hts of the
Hol- Grail.
he fiend sou(ht to capture the Spear of 6estin- from them and use it in his practice of
blac3 ma(ic.
1n histor-, no fi(ure was more feared than the blac3 ma(ician /andulph 11 of 8apua. He,
too, was obsessed with the power of the Spear of 6estin-.
Hitler identified the similarities between 4a(ner)s character and the ma(ician. He saw their
stru((les as parallel to his own 0uest for the hol- icon.
o Hitler, the blood purit- of the Grail .ni(hts and the maniacal 0uest of .lin(sor and
/andulph for the spear was the blueprint for world con0uest b- Nazi power.
Hitler belie*ed he would one da- fulfill a historic destin-. How he would do this was not
clear until he was :!.
4hile in the Hapsbur( reasure House in +ienna, Austria, Hitler heard the words which he
said were to chan(e his whole life.
A museum tour (uide stopped in front of a displa- of an ancient spear and told of a le(end
that whoe*er possessed it would hold the destin- of the world.
he (uide said the spear was supposedl- the one which a ?oman 8enturion thrust into the
side of 9esus 8hrist at the 8rucifi,ion. After the (roup departed, Hitler stepped forward for
a closer loo3.
H1 3new with immediac- that this was an important moment in m- life, and -et 1 could not
di*ine wh- an outwardl- 8hristian s-mbol should ma3e such an impression on me,H he said
later.
After his initial e,perience with the Spear of 6estin-, Hitler studied the histor- of the
ancient relic. He was intri(ued and amazed at its incredible stor-.
;or more than !,''' -ears, the spear had been a s-mbol of power to the emperors of the
Hol- ?oman Dmpire. 8entur- after centur-, the le(end of the Spear had been fulfilled for
(ood or e*il.
8onstantine the Great claimed the spear (uided him throu(h pro*idence.
he ;ran3ish General .arl 2artel used the spear in battle.
Dmperor 8harlema(ne li*ed and slept within reach of the spear, and attributed E$ battle
*ictories to its powers.
1n all, EC emperors o*er !,''' -ears claimed the Spear of 6estin- as a possession.
Hitler decided he had to possess it.
<*er the ne,t three -ears, he made countless trips to the museum to (aze in awe at the
spear.
He recalled that one da- as he stood in front of the displa-, he went into a trance.
H1 slowl- became aware of a mi(ht- presence around it %% the same awesome presence
which 1 had e,perienced inwardl- on those rare occasions in m- life when 1 had sensed that
a (reat destin- awaited me.H
1n !&##, when Hitler rose to power, his :C%-ear obsession to possess the spear could be
realized.
1n April, !&#", he marched his arm- into +ienna and too3 possession of the spear and too3
it to Nurember(. <ne -ear later, he in*aded Boland.
<n April #', !&EC, the same da- Hitler supposedl- 3illed himself, the American arm-
in*aded Nurember( and too3 possession of the spear.
1n the months that followed, America unleashed the most destructi*e force e*er 3nown to
manL the atomic bomb.
4hile in possession of the Spear of 6estin-, America became the undisputed ruler of the
world.
he spear now once a(ain resides in the Hapsbur( reasure House 2useum in +ienna.
Th(le )o'iety
he hule%Gesellschaft (hule Societ-) was founded Au(ust !$, !&!", b- ?udolf *on
Sebottendorff. He had been schooled in occultism, 1slamic m-sticism, alchem-,
?osicrucianism and much else, in ur3e-, where he had also been initiated into
;reemasonr-.
1ts ori(inal name was Studiengru##e f00ermanisches Altertum (Stud- Group for German
Anti0uit-), but it soon started to disseminate anti%republican and anti%Semitic propa(anda.
A mo*ement to promote hulian ideas amon( industrial wor3ers and to offset 2ar,ism,
was formed in Au(ust !&!" % the 4or3ers) Bolitical 8ircle with hulist .arl Harrer as
chairman.
;rom this came the German 4or3ers) Bart- in !&!&.
A -ear later this became the NS6AB under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. 1t had members
from the top echelons of the part-, includin( ?udolf Hess and Alfred ?osenber(, thou(h not
Adolf Hitler. Serbottendorff stated, Hhule members were the people to whom Hitler first
turned and who first allied themsel*es with Hitler.H
he swasti3a fla( adopted b- the NS6AB was the brain%child of another hulist, 6r .rohn.
1ts press or(an was the 2FFener Beobachter (2unich <bser*er) which later became the
+FFscher Beobachter (Beople)s <bser*er). he hule Societ- is 3nown to be closel-
connected to the ,er-anenorden se'ret so'iety.
he Germanenorden was a secret societ- in German- earl- in the :'th centur-. ;ormed b-
se*eral prominent German occultists in !&!:, the order, whose s-mbol was a swasti3a, had
a hierarchical fraternal structure similar to freemasonr-. 1t tau(ht to its initiates nationalist
ideolo(ies of nordic race superiorit-, antisemitism as well as occult, almost ma(ical
philosophies. Some sa- that the 6eutsche Arbeiter%Bartei (later the Nazi Bart-) when under
the leadership of Adolf Hitler was a political front, and indeed the or(anisation reflected
man- ideolo(ies of the part-, includin( the swasti3a s-mbol. he hule Societ-, another
secret societ- with similar ideolo(ies and s-mbols was also closel- lin3ed to this.
4ith the *ictor- of the Nazi Bart-, the occult tradition was carried on in the hird ?eich
mainl- b- the SS, who ?eichsfuhrer, Himmler, was an a*id student of the occult. An SS
occult research department, the Ahnernerbe (Ancestral Herita(e) was established in !&#C
with SS 8olonel 4olfram *on Sie*ers at its head. <ccult research too3 SS researchers as
far afield as ibet. Sie*ers had the antri3 pra-er, the Bardo hodol, read o*er his bod-
after his e,ecution at Nurember(.
National Socialism and the hird ?eich represented a ma5or attempt b- hi(h esoteric
Adepts to re%establish a 8ulture based on the /aws of Nature, a(ainst the entrenched forces
of anti%/ife. Nothin( that ambitious had been tried since the foundin( of the American
?epublic b- 2asonic adepts.
The Th(le )o'iety inner 'ir'le belie*s ...
hule was a le(endar- island in the far north, similar to Atlantis, supposedl- the
center of a lost, hi(h%le*el ci*ilization. But not all secrets of that ci*ilization had
been completel- wiped out. hose that remained were bein( (uarded b- ancient,
hi(hl- intelli(ent bein(s (similar to the H2astersH of heosoph- or the 4hite
Brotherhood).
he trul- initiated could establish contact with these bein(s b- means of ma(ic%
m-stical rituals.
he H2astersH or HAncientsH alle(edl- would be able to endow the initiated with
supernatural stren(th and ener(-.
4ith the help of these ener(ies the (oal of the initiated was to create a race of
Supermen of HAr-anH stoc3 who would e,terminate all HinferiorH races.
<n April J, !&!&, in Ba*aria, left win( socialists and anarchists proclaimed the Ba*arian
So*iet ?epublic. he brains of the re*olution were a (roup of writers who had little idea of
administration. /ife in munich (rew chaotic. he counter%re*olutionar- forces, the whites,
composed of *arious (roups of decommissioned soldiers 3nown as H;rei 8orpsH, e0uipped
and financed b- the m-sterious hule Societ-, defeated the Ba*arian So*iet within a matter
of wee3s.
2an- other decommissioned soldiers waited out the turbulence in barrac3s, pfc Adolph
Hitler amon( them. After the Ba*arian ?epublic had been defeated b- the 4hites, in 2a-,
Hitler)s superiors put him to wor3 in the post re*olution in*esti(atin( commission. His
indictments in5ected ruthless efficienc- into the 3an(aroo courts as he fin(ered hundreds of
noncommissioned officers and enlisted men who had s-mpathized with the communist and
anarchists. He was subse0uentl- sent to attend special anticommunist trainin( courses and
seminars at the Uni*ersit- which were financed b- the ?eichswehr administration and b-
pri*ate donors from the hule Societ-.
his led to an assi(nment in the intelli(ence di*ision of the postwar German arm-, to
infiltrate (roups that could or(anize the wor3in( classes while the communists were wea3.
<n a September e*enin(, !&!&, Hitler turned up in the Sternec3er Beer Hall where
members and friends of the buddin( German 4or3ers Bart- had (athered. He 0uietl-
listened to the presentation b- en(ineer Gottfried ;eder, a hule Societ- member, who
tal3ed about 5ewish control o*er lendin( capital. 4hen one of the other (roup members
called for Ba*aria to brea3 awa- from the rest of German-, Hitler spran( into action. he
astonished audience stood b- while his hi(hl- a((ressi*e remar3s and compellin( orator-
swept throu(h the room. After Hitler had finished his haran(ue, part- chairman and
founder, Anton 6re,ler, immediatel- as3ed him to a meetin( of the part-)s steerin(
committee held a few da-s later. He was as3ed to 5oin the committee as its se*enth member,
responsible for ad*ertisin( and propa(anda.
Bac3 in !&!:, se*eral German occultists with radical anti%semitic inclinations decided to
form a Hma(icH lod(e, which the- named the <rder of eutons. the main founders were
heodor ;ritsch, a publisher of an anti%semitic 5ournal7 Bhilipp Stauff, pupil of the racist
Guido +on /ist, and Hermann Bohl, the order)s chancellor. (Bohl would drop out three -ears
later to found his own bizarre lod(e, the 4al*ater eutonic <rder of the Hol- Grail.) he
<rder of eutons was or(anized alon( the lines of the ;ree 2asons or the ?osicrucians,
ha*in( differin( de(rees of initiation, onl- persons who could full- document that the-
were of pure Har-anH ancestr- were allowed to 5oin.
1n !&!C, Bohl was 5oined b- ?udolf Blauer, who held a ur3ish passport and practiced sufi
meditation. He also dabbled in astrolo(- and was an admirer of /anz +on /iebenfels and
Guido +on /ist, both patholo(icall- anti%semitic. Blauer went b- the name of ?udolf
;reiherr +on Seboottendorf. He was *er- wealth-, althou(h the ori(in of his fortune is
un3nown. He became the Grand 2aster of the Ba*arian <rder and he founded the hule
Societ-, with Bohl)s appro*al, in !&!".
After the Ba*arian communist re*olution of !&!", the hule Societ- became a center of the
counterre*olutionar- subculture. An espiona(e networ3 and arms caches were or(anized.
he hule 8lub rooms became a nest of resistance to the re*olution and the 2unich So*iet
?epublic.
9ournalist .arl Harrer was (i*en the 5ob of foundin( a political Hwor3er circleH. He realized
that the wor3ers would re5ect an- pro(ram that was presented to them b- a member of the
conser*ati*e Hpri*ile(edH class. Harrer 3new that the mechanic Anton 6re,ler, who was
wor3in( for the railroads, was a well%3nown anti%semite, chau*inist and proletarian. 4ith
dre,ler as nominal chairman, Harrer founded the German 4or3ers Bart- in 9anuar- !&!&
he German 4or3ers Bart- was onl- one of man- associations founded and controlled b-
the hule Societ-. he hule was the 2other to the German Socialist Bart-, led b- 9ulius
Streicher, and the ri(ht%win( radical <berland ;ree 8orps. 1t published the 2unich
obser*er, which later became the National <bser*er. Hitler became the most prominent
personalit- in the part-. He caused Harrer to drop out, and he pushed 6re,ler, the nominal
chairman, to the sidelines. He filled 3e- positions with his own friends from the hule
Societ- and the Arm-. 6urin( the summer of !&:', upon his su((estion, the part- was
renamed the National Socialist German 4or3er Bart- (NAS6AB). he new name was
intended to e0uall- attract nationalists and proletarians.
o (o alon( with the new name his mass mo*ement also re0uired a fla( with a powerful
s-mbol. Amon( man- desi(ns under consideration, Hitler pic3ed the one su((ested b-
hule member 6r. .rohnL a red cloth with a white circle in the middle containin( a blac3
swasti3a.
Hitler wanted to turn the German 4or3ers Bart- into a mass%conscious fi(htin( part-, but
Harrer and 6re,ler were hesitant, due in part to their woeful financial situation. he hule
Societ- was not -et suppl-in( *er- much mone- and no one seemed to 3now how to build
up a mass part-. Hitler arran(ed two public meetin(s in obscure beer halls, and he drafted
leaflets and posters, but there was no real brea3throu(h.
All of this chan(ed dramaticall- at the end of the !&!& when Hitler met 6ietrich Dc3art.
2ost bio(raphers ha*e underestimated the influence that Dc3art e,erted on Hitler. He was
the wealth- publisher and editor%in%chief of an anti%semitic 5ournal which he called 1n Blain
German. Dc3art was also a committed occultist and a master of ma(ic. As an initiate, Dc3art
belon(ed to the inner circle of the hule Societ- as well as other esoteric orders.
here can be no doubt that Dc3art % who had been alerted to Hitler b- other hulists %
trained Hitler in techni0ues of self confidence, self pro5ection, persuasi*e orator-, bod-
lan(ua(e and discursi*e sophistr-. 4ith these tools, in a short period of time he was able to
mo*e the obscure wor3ers part- from the club and beer hall atmosphere to a mass
mo*ement. he emotion char(ed la- spea3er became an e,pert orator, capable of
mesmerizin( a *ast audience.
<ne should not underestimate occultism)s influence on Hitler. His subse0uent re5ection of
;ree 2asons and esoteric mo*ements, of heosoph-, of Anthrosoph-, does not necessaril-
mean otherwise. <ccult circles ha*e lon( been 3nown as co*ers for espiona(e and
influence peddlin(. Hitler)s sp- apparatus under 8anaris and He-drich were well aware of
these conduits, particularl- from the direction of Britain which had within its 21C
intelli(ence a(enc- a department 3nown as the <ccult Bureau. hat these potential sources
of trouble were pur(ed from Nazi life should not be ta3en to mean that Hitler and the Nazi
secret societies were not influenced b- m-stical and occult writers such as 2adame
Bla*ats3-, Houston Stewart 8hamberlain, Guido +on /ist, /anz +on /iebenfels, ?udolf
Steiner, Geor(e Gurd5ieff, .arl Haushofer and heodor ;ritsch. Althou(h Hitler later
denounced and ridiculed man- of them, he did dedicate his boo3 2ein .ampf to his teacher
6ietrich Dc3art.
A fre0uent *isitor to /andsber( Brison where Hitler was writin( 2ein .ampf with the help
of ?udolf Hess, was General .arl Haushofer, a uni*ersit- professor and director of the
2unich 1nstitute of Geopolitics. Haushofer, Hitler, and Hess had lon( con*ersations
to(ether. Hess also 3ept records of these con*ersations. Hitler)s demands for German
H/i*in( SpaceH in the east at the e,pense of the Sla*ic nations were based on the
(eopolitical theories of the learned professor.
Haushofer was also inclined toward the esoteric. as militar- attache in 9apan, he had studied
Oen%Buddhism. He had also (one throu(h initiations at the hands of ibetan /amas. He
became Hitler)s second Hesoteric mentorH, replacin( 6ietrich Dc3art. 1n Berlin, Haushofer
had founded the /uminous /od(e or the +ril Societ-. he lod(e)s ob5ecti*e was to e,plore
the ori(ins of the Ar-an race and to perform e,ercises in concentration to awa3en the forces
of H+rilH. Haushofer was a student of the ?ussian ma(ician and metaph-sician Gre(or
1*ano*ich Gurd-e* (Geor(e Gurd5ieff).
Both Gurd5eiff and Haushofer maintained that the- had contacts with secret ibetan /od(es
that possessed the secret of the HSupermanH. he lod(e included Hitler, Alfred ?osenber(,
Himmler, Gorin(, and Hitler)s subse0uent personal ph-sician 6r. 2orell. 1t is also 3nown
that Aleister 8rowle- and Gurd5ieff sou(ht contact with Hitler. Hitler)s unusual powers of
su((estion become more understandable if one 3eeps in mind that he had access to the
HsecretH ps-cholo(ical techni0ues of the esoteric lod(es. Haushofer tau(ht him the
techni0ues of Gurd5ieff which, in turn, were based on the teachin(s of the Sufis and the
ibetan /amas% and familiarized him with the Oen teachin( of the 9apanese Societ- of the
Green 6ra(on.
in the latter half of the pre*ious centur-, intri(uin( hints about ibetan secret teachin(s had
been carried to the west b- Helena /la0atsy1 who claimed initiation at the hands of the
Hol- /amas themsel*es.
Bla*ats3- tau(ht that her Hidden 2asters and )e'ret 3hie*s had their earthl- residence in
the Himala-an re(ion.
As soon as the Nazi mo*ement had sufficient funds, it be(an to or(anize a number of
e,peditions to ibet and these succeeded one another practicall- without interruption until
!&E#. <ne of the most tan(ible e,pressions of Nazi interest in ibet was the part-Rs
adoption of its deepest and most m-stical of s-mbols % the s!astia.
he swasti3a is one of man3ind)s oldest s-mbols, and apart from the cross and the circle,
probabl- the most widel- distributed. 1t is shown on potter- fra(ments from Greece datin(
bac3 to the ei(hth centur- b.c. 1t was used in ancient D(-pt, 1ndia and 8hina. he Na*aho
indians of North America ha*e a traditional swasti3a pattern. Arab%1slamic sorcerers used it.
1n more recent times, it was incorporated in the fla(s of certain baltic states.
he idea for the use of the swasti3a b- the Nazis came from a dentist named 6r. ;riedrich
.rohn who was a member of the secret Germanen order. .rohn produced the desi(n for the
actual form in which the Nazis came to use the s-mbol, that is re*ersed, spinnin( in an anti%
cloc3wise direction. As a solar s-mbol, the swasti3a is properl- thou(ht of as spinnin(, and
the Buddhists ha*e alwa-s belie*ed the s-mbol attracted luc3.
he Sans3rit word s0astia means (ood fortune and well bein(. Accordin( to 8abbalistic
lore and occult theor-, chaotic force can be e*o3ed b- re*ers% in( the s-mbol. And so the
s-mbol appeared as the fla( of Nazi German- and the insi(nia of the Nazi part-, an
indication for those who had e-es to see, as to the occult nature of the hird ?eich.
% The Unknown Hitler 4ulf Schwartzwaller
A%4A 51....,%&&2 LA54....+%4A2LA#+
Area C! is a parcel of U.S. militar-%controlled land in southern Ne*ada, apparentl-
containin( a secret aircraft testin( facilit-. 1t is also 3nown as 4atertown, 6reamland,
Baradise ?anch, he ;arm, he Bo,, and he 6irectorate for 6e*elopment Blans Area, and
simpl- Groom /a3e. 1t is also famed as the sub5ect of man- U;< conspirac- theories.
,eography
Area C! is a section of land of appro,imatel- J' s0. mi. Q !CC 3mS in /incoln 8ount-,
Ne*ada, USA. 1t is part of the *ast (EJ"$ s0. mi. Q !:!#& 3mS) Nellis ?an(e 8omple,
(N?8). he area consists lar(el- of the wide Dmi(rant +alle-, framed b- the Groom and
Bapoose mountain ran(es. Between the two ran(es lies Groom 6r- /a3e (#$T!J :'C #N
!!CE$ :C" #4!), a dr- al3ali la3e bed rou(hl- three miles (C 3m) in diameter. A lar(e air
base e,ists on the southwest corner of the la3e (#$ !E : N !!C E& : 4) with two concrete
runwa-s, at least one of which e,tends onto the la3e bed, and two unprepared runwa-s on
the la3e bed itself.
Area C! shares a border with the Nucca ;lats re(ion of the Ne*ada est Site (NS), the
location of man- of the U.S. 6epartment of Dner(-)s nuclear weapons tests. he Nucca
2ountain nuclear stora(e facilit- is appro,imatel- E' miles (JE3m) southwest of Groom
/a3e.
he desi(nation HArea C!H is somewhat contentious, appearin( on older maps of the NS
and not newer ones, but the same namin( scheme is used for other parts of the Ne*ada est
Site.
he area is connected to the internal NS road networ3, with pa*ed roads leadin( both to
2ercur- to the Northwest and 4est to Nucca ;lats. /eadin( northeast from the la3e, Groom
/a3e ?oad (a wide, well%conditioned dirt road) runs throu(h a pass in the 9umbled Hills.
Groom /a3e ?oad was formerl- the trac3 leadin( to mines in the Groom basin, but has
been impro*ed since their closure. 1ts windin( course ta3es it past a securit- chec3point,
but the restricted area around the base e,tends further east than this (*isitors foolhard-
enou(h to tra*el west on Groom /a3e ?oad are usuall- obser*ed first b- (uards located on
the hills surroundin( the pass, still se*eral miles from the chec3point). After lea*in( the
restricted area (mar3ed b- numerous warnin( si(ns statin( that Hphoto(raph- is prohibitedH
and that Huse of deadl- force is authorizedH) Groom /a3e ?oad descends eastward to the
floor of the i3aboo +alle-, passin( the dirt%road entrances to se*eral small ranches, before
5oinin( with State Hi(hwa- #$C south of ?achel.
&perations at ,roo- Lae
Groom /a3e is not a con*entional airbase, and front%line units are not normall- deplo-ed
there. 1t appears, rather, to be used durin( the de*elopment, test and trainin( phases for new
aircraft. <nce those aircraft ha*e been accepted b- the USA;, operation of that aircraft is
(enerall- shifted to a normal airforce base. Groom is reported, howe*er, to be the
permanent home for a small number of aircraft of So*iet desi(n (obtained b- *arious
means). hese are reportedl- anal-sed and used for trainin( purposes.
So*iet sp- satellites obtained photo(raphs of the Groom /a3e area durin( the hei(ht of the
8old 4ar, but these support onl- modest conclusions about the base. he- depict a
nondescript base, airstrip, han(ars, etc., but nothin( that supports some of the wilder claims
about under(round facilities. /ater commercial satellite ima(es show the base has (rown,
but remains superficiall- une,ceptional.
)enior Trend 6 U-7 progra-
Groom /a3e was used for bombin( and artiller- practice durin( 4orld 4ar 11, but was then
abandoned until !&CC, when it was selected b- /oc3heed)s s3un3wor3s team as the ideal
location to test the forthcomin( U%: sp-plane. he la3ebed made for an ideal strip to
operate the troublesome test aircraft from, and the Dmi(rant +alle-)s mountain ran(es and
the NS perimeter protected the secret plane from curious e-es.
/oc3heed constructed a ma3eshift base at Groom, little more than a few shelters and
wor3shops and a small constellation of trailerhomes to billet its small team in. he first U%:
flew at Groom in Au(ust of !&CC, and U%:s under the control of the 81A be(an o*erfli(hts
of So*iet territor- b- mid%!&CJ.
6urin( this period, the NS continued to perform series of atmospheric nuclear e,plosions.
U%: operations throu(hout !&C$ were fre0uentl- disrupted b- the Blumbbob series of
atomic test, which e,ploded two dozen de*ices at the NS. he Blumbbob%Hood e,plosion
scattered fallout across Groom and forced its (temporar-) e*acuation.
As U%:)s primar- mission was to o*erfl- the So*iet Union, it operated lar(el- from airbases
near the So*iet border, includin( 1ncirli3 in ur3e- and Beshawar in Ba3istan.
/la'bird (&83A%T 6 A-19 6 A-11 6 A-17 6 )%-:1) progra-
D*en before U%: de*elopment was complete, /oc3heed be(an wor3 on its successor, the
81A)s <I8A? pro5ect, a 2ach%# hi(h altitude reconnaissance aircraft later 3nown as the
S?%$! Blac3bird. he blac3bird)s fli(ht characteristics and maintenance re0uirements
forced a massi*e e,pansion of facilities and runwa-s at Groom /a3e. B- the time the first
A%!: Blac3bird protot-pe flew at Groom in !&J:, the main runwa- had been len(thened to
"C'' ft (:J'' m) and the base boasted a complement of o*er !''' personnel. 1t had fuelin(
tan3s, a control tower, and a baseball diamond. Securit- was also (reatl- enhanced, the
small ci*ilian mine in the Groom basin was closed, and the area surroundin( the *alle- was
made an e,clusi*e militar- preser*e (where interlopers were sub5ect to Hlethal forceH).
Groom saw the first fli(ht of all ma5or Blac3bird *ariantsL A%!', A%!!, A%!:, ?S%$!
(renamed S?%$! b- USA; 8hief of Staff 8urtis /e2a- and not b- a presidential error as
popularl- belie*ed), the aborti*e N;%!:A stri3e%fi(hter *ariant, and the disastrous 6%:!
Blac3bird%based drone pro5ect.
Ha0e /l(e 6 F-11: progra-
he first Ha*e Blue protot-pe stealth fi(hter (a smaller cousin of the ;%!!$) first flew at
Groom in late !&$$. estin( of a series of ultra%secret protot-pes continued there until mid%
!&"!, when testin( transitioned to the initial production of ;%!!$ Ni(hthaw3 stealth
fi(hters. 1n addition to fli(ht testin(, Groom performed radar profilin(, ;%!!$ weapons
testin(, and was the location for trainin( of the first (roup of frontline USA; ;%!!$ pilots.
Subse0uentl- acti*e%ser*ice ;%!!$ operations (still hi(hl- classified) mo*ed to the nearb-
onopah est ?an(e, and finall- to Holloman Air ;orce Base.
Later operations
Since the ;%!!$ became operational in !&"#, operations at Groom /a3e ha*e continued
unabated. he base and its associated runwa- s-stem ha*e been e,panded, and dail- fli(hts
brin(in( ci*ilian commuters from /as +e(as continue. Some commentators, after
e,aminin( recent satellite photos of the base, estimate it to ha*e a li*e%in complement of
o*er !''' people, with a similar number commutin( from /as +e(as. 1n !&&C the federal
(o*ernment e,panded the e,clusionar- area around the base to include nearb- mountains
that had hitherto afforded the onl- decent o*erloo3 of the base.
?umored aircraft that ha*e supposedl- been tested at Groom include the 6%:! a(board
drone, a small stealth- +</ troop%transport aircraft, a stealth- cruise missile, and the
h-pothetical Aurora h-personic sp-plane.
Area 51 3o--(ters
6efense contractor DGUG maintains a pri*ate terminal at 2c8arran 1nternational Airport
in /as +e(as. A number of unmar3ed aircraft operate dail- shuttle ser*ices from 2c8arran
to sites operated b- DGUG in the e,tensi*e federall-%controlled lands in southern Ne*ada.
hese aircraft reportedl- use 9AND radio callsi(ns (e.(. H9AND JH), said to be an
acron-m for H9oint Air Networ3 for Dmplo-ee ransportationH or, (perhaps as a 5o3e) H9ust
Another Non%D,istent erminalH. DGUG ad*ertises in the /as +e(as press for e,perienced
airline pilots, sa-in( applicants must be eli(ible for (o*ernment securit- clearance and that
successful applicants can e,pect to alwa-s o*erni(ht at /as +e(as. hese aircraft, painted
white with a red trim, include Boein( $#$s and se*eral smaller e,ecuti*e 5ets. heir tail
numbers are re(istered to se*eral une,ceptional ci*il aircraft leasin( corporations. he- are
reported to shuttle to Groom, onopah est ?an(e, to other locations in the NA;? and
NS, and reportedl- to Na*al Air 4eapons Station 8hina /a3e. <bser*ers countin(
departures and cars in the pri*ate DGUG par3in( lot at 2c8arran estimate se*eral thousand
people commute on 9AND each da-.
A chartered bus (reportedl- with whited%out windows) runs a commuter ser*ice alon(
Groom /a3e ?oad, caterin( to a small number of emplo-ees li*in( in se*eral small desert
communities be-ond the NS boundar- (althou(h it is not clear whether these wor3ers are
emplo-ed at Groom or at other facilities in the NS).
The ,o0ern-ent's position on Area 51
he U.S. Go*ernment does not e,plicitl- ac3nowled(e the e,istence of the Groom /a3e
facilit-, nor does it den- it. Unli3e much of the Nellis ran(e, the area surroundin( the la3e
is permanentl- off%limits both to ci*ilian and normal militar- air traffic. he area is
protected b- radar stations, buried mo*ement sensors, and unin*ited (uests are met b-
helicopters and armed (uards. Should the- accidentall- stra- into the e,clusionar- Hbo,H
surroundin( Groom)s airspace, e*en militar- pilots trainin( in the NA;? are reportedl-
(rilled e,tensi*el- b- militar- intelli(ence a(ents.
he base does not appear on public US (o*ernment maps7 the USGS topolo(ical map for
the area onl- shows the lon(%disused Groom 2ine, and the ci*il a*iation chart for Ne*ada
shows a lar(e restricted area, but defines it as part of the Nellis restricted airspace.
Similarl- the National Atlas pa(e showin( federal lands in Ne*ada doesn)t distin(uish
between the Groom bloc3 and other parts of the Nellis ran(e. Althou(h officiall-
declassified, the ori(inal film ta3en b- US 8orona sp- satellite in the !&J's ha*e been
altered prior to declassification7 in answer to freedom of information 0ueries, the
(o*ernment responds that these e,posures (which map to Groom and the entire NA;?)
appear to ha*e been destro-ed (8orona ima(e). erra satellite ima(es (which were publicl-
a*ailable) were remo*ed from webser*ers (includin( 2icrosoft)s Herraser*erH) in :''E
( erraser*er ima(e), and from the monochrome !m resolution USGS datadump made
publicall- a*ailable. NASA /andsat $ ima(es are still a*ailable (these are used in the
NASA 4orld 4ind pro(ram and are displa-ed b- Goo(le 2aps). 1n Non%US ima(es,
includin( hi(h%resolution photo(raphs from ?ussian satellites and the commercial
1.<N<S s-stem are also easil- a*ailable (and abound on the 1nternet).
1n response to en*ironmental and emplo-ee lawsuits (includin( a class%action lawsuit
brou(ht b- emplo-ees of the base for to,ic waste e,posure), a Bresidential 6etermination is
issued annuall-, e,emptin( the Air ;orce)s <peratin( /ocation Near Groom /a3e, Ne*ada
from en*ironmental disclosure laws (:'': determination, :''# determination). his (albeit
tacitl-) constitutes the onl- formal reco(nition the US Go*ernment has e*er (i*en that
Groom /a3e is more than simpl- another part of the Nellis comple,.Ne*ada)s state
(o*ernment, reco(nisin( the fol3lore surroundin( the base mi(ht afford the otherwise
ne(lected area some tourism potential, officiall- renamed the section of Ne*ada Hi(hwa-
#$C near ?achel Hhe D,traterrestrial Hi(hwa-H, and posted fancifull-%illustrated si(ns
alon( its len(th.1nterlopers disco*ered on (or, some sa-, near) the restricted area are
(enerall- detained b- armed pri*ate securit- (uards (reportedl- emplo-ees of defence
contractor DGUG) and are then handed o*er to the /incoln 8ount- sheriff.
2odest fines (of around VJ'') seem to be the norm, althou(h some *isitors and 5ournalists
report recei*in( follow%up *isits from ;B1 a(ents.Althou(h federal propert- within the base
is e,empt from state and local ta,es, facilities owned b- pri*ate contractors are not. <ne
researcher has reported that the base onl- declares a ta,able *alue of V: million to the
/incoln 8ount- ta, assessor, who is unable to enter the area to perform an assessment.
Some /incoln 8ount- residents ha*e complained that the base is an unfair burden on the
count-, pro*idin( few local 5obs (as most emplo-ees appear to li*e in or near /as +e(as) an
ini0uitous burden of land%se0uestration and law%enforcement costs.
UF& and 'onspira'y theories 'on'erning Area 51
the stora(e, e,amination, and re*erse%en(ineerin( of crashed alien spacecraft
(includin( material supposedl- reco*ered at ?oswell), the stud- of their occupants
(li*in( and dead), and the manufacture of aircraft based on alien technolo(-. Bob
/azar claimed to ha*e been in*ol*ed in such acti*ities.meetin(s or 5oint
underta3in(s with e,tra%terrestrials.the de*elopment of e,otic ener(- weapons (for
S61 applications or otherwise) or means of weather control.acti*ities related to a
supposed shadow- world (o*ernment.Some claim an e,tensi*e under(round facilit-
has been constructed at Groom /a3e (or nearb- Bapoose /a3e) in which to conduct
these acti*ities.
meetin(s or 5oint underta3in(s with e,tra%terrestrials
the de*elopment of e,otic ener(- weapons (for S61 applications or otherwise) or
means of weather control
acti*ities related to a supposed shadow- world (o*ernment
Some claim an e,tensi*e under(round facilit- has been constructed at Groom /a3e (or
nearb- Bapoose /a3e) in which to conduct these acti*ities.
8ontinued 4i3ipedia
#4;) A%T<3L4)
'Area 51' Last o* the )e'ret 2ilitary /ases
Scripps Howard News Ser*ice % 9anuar- :'''
2an- people who belie*e in U;<)s also belie*e HArea C!H is where the Air ;orce 3eeps its
stoc3pile of captured fl-in( saucers. And ma-be an autopsied alien bod- or two. <thers
belie*e the militar- base in the southern Ne*ada desert is the testin( (rounds for America)s
most secret militar- machines, e*er-thin( from the ;%!!$ stealth fi(hter to electroma(netic
pulse weapons that would ma3e Buc3 ?o(ers ner*ous.
4hat is certain is that there is somethin( out there in that moonscape propert- north of /as
+e(as. <fficiall- desi(nated the HNellis Air ;orce Bombin( and Gunner- ?an(eH on
Ne*ada maps, the federall- protected territor- in N-e, /incoln and 8lar3 counties co*ers an
area e0ual to ?hode 1sland and 8onnecticut combined.
4hat also is certain is that more than !,"C' federal ci*ilian wor3ers are emplo-ed in mostl-
well%compensated 5obs at se*eral ultra%hi(h%securit- facilities in and near the ran(e,
accordin( to a Scripps Howard News Ser*ice anal-sis of (o*ernment pa-roll records
maintained b- the U.S. <ffice of Bersonnel 2ana(ement. Hhis reall- is one of the last bi(
secret militar- bases in the United States.
1n !&&$ the Air ;orce last -ear conceded the e,istence of the base and its position alon(
dried%up Groom /a3e when it released a publication that su((ested e,perimental 8old 4ar%
era aircraft could ha*e been mista3en for fl-in( saucers. At a Benta(on press briefin(, Air
;orce 8ol. 9ohn Hanes was as3ed about Area C!. 4hate*er the- do in the Nellis Bombin(
?an(e, the- continue to do it under the 8linton administration.
here were e,actl- :,''' ci*ilian emplo-ees of the departments of 6efense, Arm-, Na*-,
Air ;orce and Dner(- in the Nellis Bombin( ?an(e area as of Sept. #', !&&:. ;i*e -ears
later, and despite massi*e 5ob la-offs ordered b- Bresident 8linton as part of his
(o*ernment rein*ention policies, there were !,"C! emplo-ees still wor3in( there.
he pa-roll records show that the 6epartment of Der(-, which has control of the nation)s
stoc3pile of nuclear bombs, emplo-s #: people in the town of 2ercur-, Ne*., the onl- cit-
inside the bombin( ran(e. his town can be found on most maps but is not counted in the
U.S. 8ensus. Some or all of these people ma- be emplo-ed as part of Dner(-)s Nucca
2ountain pro5ect, a plan to open an under(round repositor- to deposit America)s used
nuclear fuel.
Non%(o*ernment militar- obser*ers for se*eral -ears ha*e s aid the- belie*e that hundreds,
or thousands, of militar- and ci*ilian wor3ers who are emplo-ed in the desert facilities ta3e
dail- fli(hts from /as +e(as airfields into the base. he computer records appear to confirm
this.
he 6epartment of Dner(- officiall- emplo-s a total of EE" people in the /as +e(as area,
e*en thou(h there are no 3nown federal pro5ects in the cit- that could 5ustif- such
emplo-ment. he Air ;orce has !,'J" ci*ilian emplo-ees there, some of whom certainl-
wor3 at Nellis Air ;orce Base.
But more suspect are the !JJ ci*ilian emplo-ees of the departments of 6efense and Arm-,
the !CJ Dn*ironmental Brotection A(enc- wor3ers, the !' ;ederal Dmer(enc- 2ana(ement
A(enc- emplo-ees and at least two representati*es of the Nuclear ?e(ulator- 8ommission
staff. Some of these people wor3 in the still classified operations conducted inside the
bombin( ran(e. Amon( the most popular occupations for this wor3force are Hmiscellaneous
administration,H Hsecretar-,H H(eneral en(ineerin(,H H(eneral ph-sical sciencesH and
Hmana(ement pro(rammin(.H
he a*era(e salar- for the 6epartment of Dner(- personnel last -ear was nearl- VC&,''' a
-ear, well abo*e a*era(e for a federal emplo-ee. he pa-roll for all of the ci*ilian wor3ers
in the area totaled V"'.J million. he anal-sis found that federal cutbac3s that ha*e
remo*ed nearl- !J percent of the ci*ilian federal wor3force and about :' percent of the
militar- durin( the 8linton administration has been especiall- mild in the area around
Groom /a3e. Sli(htl- more than $ percent of this ci*ilian federal wor3force in southern
Ne*ada declined from !&&: to !&&$.
;or the past se*eral decades, the Air ;orce has officiall- denied the e,istance of Area C!. A
recent statement reads as followsL Hhere are a *ariet- of facilities throu(hout the Nellis
?an(e 8omple,. 4e do ha*e faciliities within the comple, near the dr- la3e bed of Groom
/a3e. he facilities of the Nellis ?an(e 8omple, are used for testin( and trainin(
technolo(ies, operations, and s-stems critical to their effecti*eness of U.S. militar- forces.
Specific acti*ities conducted at Nellis cannot be discussed an- further than that.H
Area C! is a secret Air ;orce base secluded deep within a wide%ran(in( tract of restricted
(o*ernment land in the remote Ne*ada desert. 1t is !'' miles north%northwest of /as +e(as.
o dri*e there one must dri*e on 1nterstate Hi(hwa- #$C now renamed HD,traterrestrial
Hi(hwa-H.
here is a famous blac3mail bo, on the road. 1t loo3s li3e an- ordinar- mailbo,. 1t mar3s
the crossroads that lead to a lar(e secret militar- comple,. Beople come from all o*er to
watch pecular li(hts strea3in( across the s3ies li3e nothin( the- ha*e e*er seen before.
Some report craft fl-in( at appro,imatel- !',''' miles per hour, that suddenl- stop dead.
he alle(ed source of these U;<)s is hidden behind the mountains alon( a dr- la3e bed. A
top secret base 3nown as 6reamland or Area C!. 1t has a fi*e mile lon( runwa-. D*er- da-
at least !,''' wor3ers commute to the base from /as +e(as on it)s own pri*ate airline.
Some report that Hblac3 pro5ectsH are wor3ed on there. HBlac3 pro5ectH means Hblac3
bud(etH % the public does 3now about this spendin(....or these pro5ects. 1 ha*e also read that
much of the mone- comes from dru( trafficin( from South America.
he super secret S? $! sp- plane and the stealth fi(hter were reportedl- de*eloped and
tested here. Some people contend the militar- uses the base to stud- downed and captured
alien craft, e*en aliens themsel*es, e*entuall- usin( the alien technolo(- in American
militar- pro5ects.
4hat scares man- people and in*esti(ators is that the (o*ernment can use this blan3et
claim of national securit- to hide an-thin( and e*er-thin( which is what the- ha*e been
doin( in Area C!.
he secrets of Area C! are increasin(l- well protected. he Air ;orce (ained control of the
best *anta(e points o*er loo3in( the base and closed them to the public. Hea*il- armed
men in white 5eeps and camoufla(ed uniforms dri*e well be-ond the boundaries of the base
onto public land reported detainin( and intimidatin( an-one who (ets too close. 2an-
people ha*e been harassed some e*en arrested apparentl- with no le(al authorit- because
these people won)t sa- who the- are. As usual the (o*ernment has nothin( to sa-G
2ost +etailed <-ages 40er o* Top-)e'ret U.). Air /ase )ho! 2a=or 4>pansion
April :#, :''' % space.com
6etailed ima(es of Area C! 5ust released ma- not show e*idence of little (reen men, but
the- do show that the super%secret Air ;orce base has (rown si(nificantl- o*er the -ears.
H1 want to see fl-in( saucers as much as an-one,H said ;ederation of American ScientistWs
9ohn Bi3e, who ordered the !%meter (#.:%foot) ima(es, the most detailed to date, from
horton, 8olorado%compan- Space 1ma(in(. 1nstead, the photos %% captured o*er the past
few months %% show that the area has si(nificantl- e,panded since the first ima(es were
snapped of the infamous site o*er #' -ears a(o.
H1tWs interestin( to contemplate what is (oin( on there. 1t seems as thou(h there is tons of
mone- (oin( in there and nothin( is (oin( out,H he said.
?unwa- at Area C!
n particular, the photos show a runwa- that is about #,"'' meters (:.#J miles), or about E:
football fields, lon(. hatWs e*en lon(er than the runwa-s for the worldWs lar(est
commercial aircraft.
he barrac3s % home of people who li*e on the base
he ima(es also show a bur(eonin( (rowth in the area, includin( a complete rebuildin( and
e,pansion in size of the housin( comple, for base personnel o*er the past #' -ears. 1n
addition, there are new support facilities.
he munitions stora(e area
A (eometricall-%shaped munitions stora(e area is also identified.
he aircraft han(ar
And four aircraft han(ars are *isible off the runwa-. 8onspirac- theorists ha*e lon(
belie*ed that one of these han(ars, dubbed Han(ar !", is the holdin( area for the alien
bodies and captured alien technolo(- ta3en from crash sites.
hese hi(h%resolution ima(es, captured b- Space 1ma(in(Ws 1.<N<S satellite on April :,
were released less than a wee3 after ?alei(h, North 8arolina%based Aerial 1ma(es unfolded
its series of J.J%foot (:%meter) photos of the m-steriousl- secreti*e area o*er the 4eb,
crashin( the site for da-s.
hou(h the public)s ra*enous appetite for these ima(es was made ob*ious this past wee3,
Bi3eWs purpose for (ettin( these photos was different.
Bi3e said the re0uest was a test to see how lon( it would ta3e to (ain access to these ima(es
and how the- ma- be used b- militar- a(encies around the world.
Hhis is an interestin( case stud- that enables us to e,plore in practical rather than
theoretical terms 5ust what is this )Bra*e New 4orld) weW*e entered into.H
his so%called #.#%foot (!%meter) resolution technolo(- once was a*ailable onl- to
intelli(ence a(encies throu(h their own sp- satellites. But it has been estimated that b- the
-ear :''#, at least !! companies in fi*e countries will ha*e hi(h%resolution, remote%sensin(
cameras in orbit.
hat sort of commercial technolo(- in space worries (o*ernment officials because the-
belie*e such detailed ima(er- could encoura(e industrial espiona(e, terrorism or more
cross%border militar- attac3s in the de*elopin( world.
But Bi3e seemed unfazed b- the impact of this ima(er- on national securit-.
Because it too3 : months to (et the ima(es, he said the technolo(- would onl- be useful
durin( peacetime for monitorin( specific re(ions instead of durin( wartime, when the
militar- ma- need to tar(et a strate(ic area.
Hhe war ma- alread- be o*er before -ou (et -our picture,H Bi3e said.
Space 1ma(in()s 2ar3 Brender ar(ued that obtainin( ima(es doesn)t alwa-s ta3e so lon(.
H4e can turn stuff around in :E hours,H he said. 4hen twin tornadoes touched down in
e,as on 2arch :", for e,ample, Brender sa-s that within a few hours the- were e*aluatin(
the ima(es and read- to release them to the public within :E hours.
H4e can produce ima(es *er- shortl- for natural disasters and crisis, H he said.
Area C! %% $C miles (!:! 3ilometers) northwest of /as +e(as occupies about !C' s0uare
miles (#&' s0uare 3ilometers) of a dried up la3ebed in the Great Basin 6esert, Ne*ada. 1t
was named after the (rid it occupies on an old Ne*ada map and came into e,istence in !&CC
when aerospace compan- /oc3heed 2artin landed there to test the U :, a hi(h%altitude
sur*eillance plane.
he top%secret base later became a pro*in( (round for se*eral (enerations of hi(h%tech
protot-pes, includin( the ; !!$%A Stealth fi(hter.
he shroud of secrec- thic3ened once the Air ;orce bou(ht up about &,''' acres of land
around the base to pre*ent the public from (ettin( too close. 1n Au(ust !&&E, an Air ;orce
official admitted the base e,isted, sa-in( the Air ;orce has Hfacilities within the comple,
near the dr- la3ebed of Groom /a3eXused for testin(, trainin( technolo(ies, operations and
s-stems critical to the effecti*eness of U.S. militar- forces.H
Ufolo(ists ha*e lon( belie*ed that unidentified fl-in( ob5ects from other planets are
entrenched in under(round bases in the re(ion and insist alien autopsies are bein(
conducted there. But, con*entional wisdom sa-s the base is li3el- a center for super%secret
operations dealin( with sophisticated militar- aircraft.
T4UT&#<3 5#<,HT)
he eutonic <rder (usuall-, hospitale sancte 2arie heutonicorum 9erosolimitanum % the
Hospital of St. 2ar- of the Germans of 9erusalem or der orden des 6FFen huses % the
order of the German houses, in the sources) was one of the three ma5or 3ni(htl- or militar-
orders that ori(inated and e*ol*ed durin( the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. he emplars
and Hospitallers are the other ma5or orders.
The 3astle
he militar- orders were Htrue ordersH of the ?oman church (o*erned b- re(ulations
similar to those (o*ernin( mon3s, (enerall- *ariants of the Benedictine or Au(ustinian
?ules. ;or most purposes, the- were technicall- answerable onl- to the pope. he- did
ha*e some feudal responsibilities to la- and other clerical entities as dictated b-
circumstances of place and time. /ar(e numbers of 3ni(hts became mon3s but often were
found in militar- fortifications rather than monasteries. he members of most orders too3
*ows of po*ert-, chastit-, and obedience.
&rigins o* the Te(toni' &rder
Accordin( to tradition, earl- in the twelfth centur- a wealth- German couple built a
hospital in 9erusalem at their own e,pense to care for poor and sic3 pil(rims who spo3e
German. he hospital and an accompan-in( chapel were dedicated to the +ir(in 2ar-. his
stor- is similar to the traditions of the ori(in of the Hospital of St. 9ohn of 9erusalem
founded b- Amalfitans. he German hospital apparentl- was affiliated with the Hospital of
St. 9ohn, at least, in the obser*ance of the rule of St. Au(ustine. After Saladin)s con0uest of
9erusalem in !!"$, there are no more records of the German hospital there. here was no
indication that the German hospital e*er had a militar- mission.
6urin( the sie(e of Acre durin( the hird 8rusade (probabl- !!&'), Germans from /FF3
and Bremen established a field hospital for German soldiers reportedl- usin( ships) sails as
co*er from the elements. 6u3e ;rederic3 of Swabia placed his chaplain 8onrad in char(e
of the hospital and soon transformed the or(anization into a reli(ious order responsible to
the local /atin bishop. Althou(h some scholars 0uestion its authenticit-, Bope 8lement 111
(!!"$% %!!&!) apparentl- appro*ed the <rder on ;ebruar- J, !!&!. he <rder was ta3en
under Bope 8elestine 111)s (!!&!%%!!&") protection on 6ecember :!, !!&J, with the name of
the HHospital of St. 2ar- of the Germans in 9erusalem.H he name is possibl- the onl-
connection with the earlier German hospital althou(h some ar(ue a more direct relationship
with the earlier hospital.
A ceremon- purportedl- held on 2arch C, !!&", altered the <rder)s raison d)etre. he
patriarch of 9erusalem, the 3in( of 9erusalem, the head of the crusadin( arm-, and the
masters of the emplars and the Hospital of St. 9ohn attended the celebration establishin(
the eutonic .ni(hts as a militar- order. A bull b- Bope 1nnocent 111 (!!&"%%!:!J) dated
;ebruar- !&, !!&&, confirmed the e*ent and specified the <rder would care for the sic3
accordin( to the rule of the Hospitallers. 1t would conduct its other business b- followin(
the emplar rule and would wear the emple)s distincti*e white cloa3. 1ts blac3 cross would
differentiate the eutonic <rder from the emple.
<nternal )tr('t(re
6urin( the first twent- -ears of its e,istence, the institutional structure of the <rder
de*eloped and stabilized. he eutonic <rder followed the lead of the emplars and
Hospitallers b- creatin( a s-stem of pro*inces. Unli3e monastic orders composed of
independent abbe-s, the eutonic .ni(hts had a hierarchical chain of command with
commanderies (house, .ommende) at the lowest le*el. Bro*inces or bailiwic3s (Ballei,
.omturei) were parts of HcountriesH that composed the <rder as a whole. 1ts first
independent rule was adopted in !:JE.
he officials (o*ernin( the eutonic <rder at the *arious le*els were commander (.omtur,
preceptor) at the local le*el, pro*ince commander (/and3omtur), national commander
(/andmeister), and (rand master (Hochmeister, ma(ister). he hi(hest leadership positions
(includin( (rand master, (rand commander @Gross3omturA, marshal @<rdensmarschallA,
draper or 0uartermaster @rapierA, hospitaller @SpittlerA, and treasurer @resslerA) were
elected b- the (eneral chapter.
2embership of this mostl- German%spea3in( order was composed of *arious, distinct
classesL 3ni(hts, priests, and other brothers (la- brothers, sisters, and HfamiliarsH). here
was a lar(e number of people who supported the professed members of the <rder, ran(in(
from au,iliar- 3ni(hts to sla*es. he hi(hest ran3in( were secular 3ni(hts, ser*in( for free.
urcopoles (Gree3 for Hson of ur3H) were ori(inall- probabl- li(htl-%armed, half%breed
ca*alr- whose name applied to ur3ish mercenaries emplo-ed in the B-zantine arm-, later
the term was adopted b- the militar- orders. here were attendants called s0uires (3nechte),
and ser(eants%at%arms. ;ootsoldiers were usuall- coerced from the local peasantr-. Sister%
aids (halpswesteren) were emplo-ed as domestics as were halpbrFFen7 the- too3 reli(ious
*ows. 2arried and sin(le la- domestics also were emplo-ed b- the <rder. Artisans and
laborers (e.(., (ardeners, carpenters, masons) wor3ed for charit- or wa(es. 2an- serfs and
sla*es were owned b- the <rder.
%apid 4>pansion
;rom the outset, the possessions and wealth of the eutonic <rder (rew astoundin(l- fast
and its numbers s3-roc3eted, especiall- under Grand 2aster Hermann *on Salza (c. !:!'%%
!:#&). +on Salza was successful in (ainin( man- fa*ors for the <rder because he was a
confidante to both the German emperor ;rederic3 11 (!:!!%%!:C') and the popes. His
immediate successors also did well. Between !:!C and !#'', one or more commanderies
were founded each -ear, usuall- throu(h (ifts.
he eutonic <rder was in*ited into Greece (!:'&), Hun(ar- (!:!!), and Brussia (!::J) b-
secular rulers to perform militar- duties on their behalf. 1n the Beloponnesus the ;ran3ish
Brince of Achaia pro*ided fiefs near .alamata for the eutonic .ni(hts in return for
militar- ser*ice7 there are traces of the <rder)s continuous ser*ice there until !C''. he
Hun(arian .in( Andrew 11 (!:'C%%!:#C) e,pelled the <rder in !::C when it became stron(
and ma- ha*e threatened his rule. he con0uest of Brussia be(an in !:#' (after the <rder)s
Grand 2aster was named prince of the Hol- ?oman Dmpire) and lasted until !:"#.
1n addition to the Hol- /and and these other Htheaters of war,H the order)s members could
be found elsewhere in the 2editerranean and western DuropeL Armenia, 8-prus, Sicil-,
Apulia, /ombard-, Spain, ;rance, Alsace, Austria, Bohemia, the /owlands, German-, and
/i*onia. <nl- in the frontier areas (the Hol- /and, Armenia, Greece, Hun(ar-, Brussia,
Spain, and /i*onia) was militar- ser*ice re0uired of members.
B- !::! the German <rder was (i*en the same pri*ile(es as the emplars and Hospitallers
b- Bope Honorius 111 (!:!J%%!::$). Both senior orders fou(ht the autonom- of the eutonic
<rder until about !:E'. he German <rder ma- not ha*e 0uite e0ualed in wealth and
possessions the other two militar- orders which were more than "' -ears older, but it
became the onl- other order to ri*al them in international influence and acti*it-.
The /alti'
After the crusaders were defeated at Acre in !:&!, the eutonic <rder mo*ed its
head0uarters to +enice, a lon(%time all-. 1n !#'&, the <rder mo*ed a(ain, this time to
2arienbur( in Brussia. Here the <rder had subdued the pa(an inhabitants and established a
theocratic form of (o*ernment.
he position of the 3ni(hts in the Baltic re(ion had been stren(thened in !:#$ when a
3ni(htl- order in /i*onia, the Brothers of the Sword (Schwertbr(der), 5oined the eutonic
<rder. he histor- of the German 3ni(hts in Brussia and /i*onia is one of almost perpetual
re*olts, uprisin(s, raids, con0uests, *ictories, and defeats. 2an- secular 3ni(hts from
western Durope (e.(., 8haucer)s 3ni(ht in the 8anterbur- ales) would (o to the Baltic to
help the <rder in Hcrusadin( acti*itiesH for a season or more. he Grand 2aster)s prizes and
feastin( for especiall- heroic 3ni(hts became le(endar- and reminds one of *arious aspects
of .in( Arthur)s 3ni(hts of the ?ound able.
6urin( the fourteenth centur-, dozens of towns and about :''' *illa(es were created in
Brussia b- the <rder. he <rder was successful in trade. ;or e,ample, as a Hanseatic
/ea(ue participant, it pro*ided western Durope with some of its cheapest (rain.
he nations of Boland and /ithuania, perennial enemies of the <rder, became stron(er and
stron(er in the late fourteenth and earl- fifteenth centuries. 1n !E!' at annenber(, the
<rder was crushed in a battle a(ainst a coalition led b- these powers. he result was a
ban3ruptin( of the <rder and si(nificant reduction in its militar- and political capabilities.
1n !EJ$, the whole of western Brussia was ceded to Boland and the eastern part
ac3nowled(ed the suzeraint- of the 3in( of Boland.
1575 to 1:9:
2artin /uther)s (!E"#%!CEJ) ?eformation affected the eutonic <rder si(nificantl-. 1n
!C:C, Grand 2aster Albrecht *on Brandenbur( con*erted to the /utheran faith. He then
was enfoeffed b- the Bolish 3in( as 6u3e of Brussia. As a medie*al, crusadin( entit-, the
German <rder essentiall- ended at this time.
1n !C:J, the eutonic <rder master of the German lands became the HAdministrator of the
Grandmaster- in Brussia and 2aster in German and ?omance 8ountries.H 2er(entheim
became the main seat of the <rder.
here was a (reat deal of confusion in German- in the aftermath of the ?eformation, its
resultin( wars, and the political chan(es. he bailiwic3s of Sa,on-, 2esse, and h(rin(ia
became Brotestant until Napoleonic times. he office of /and3omtur alternated amon(
/utheran, ?eformed, and 8atholic leaders in the si,teenth and se*enteenth centuries. he
bailiwic3 of Utrecht was 8al*inist until modern times. A new rule was adopted in !J'J in
an attempt to accommodate the chan(es in the <rder.
1n Duropean affairs, from time to time, the <rder still participated militaril-. Some !'''
troops were raised to help the Austrians a(ainst the ur3s. After !J&J, there was a re(iment
of the HGrand and German 2aster.H But the numbers and wealth of the <rder dwindled.
/ittle other militar- acti*it- is recorded.
The Fren'h %e0ol(tion and A*ter
As the anticlerical ;rench (o*ernment e,panded its political control in the !$&')s, the
<rder lost its commanderies in Bel(ium and those west of the ?hine (!$&$). 2an- east of
the ?hine were lost in !"'C. 1n !"'&, Napoleon dissol*ed the <rder in all countries under
his dominion, lea*in( onl- the properties in the Austrian Dmpire.
D*en in Austria, the <rder had to e,ist secretl- for a number of -ears until !"#& when
Austrian Dmperor ;erdinand 1 reconstituted the <rder as the <rder of the eutonic .ni(hts
(6eutscher ?itterorden). he mission fulfilled b- the <rder was mainl- the carin( for
wounded soldiers.
1n !"JJ, the HHonorable .ni(hts of the eutonic <rderH was founded. .ni(hts were
re0uired to pro*ide annual contributions for hospitals. he 2arianer des 6eutschen <rdens,
for women, was created in !"$!.
1n !&!E, some !,C'' sponsors from the Austrian nobilit- supported the care(i*in( efforts of
the <rder. 6urin( 4orld 4ar 1, the <rder too3 care of about #,''' wounded soldiers in
their facilities.
1n !&:#, masters of the <rder were allowed to come from amon( the clerics rather than the
H3ni(hthoodH for the first time. Under National Socialist rule, the <rder was dissol*ed in
Austria in !&#" and 8zechoslo*a3ia in !&#&. he leaders of the hird ?eich abused the
histor- of the eutonic <rder. After 4orld 4ar 11, the <rder be(an anew in German-. 1ts
possessions in Austria were returned. 1n 1tal-, the <rder had chan(ed little. A (reat deal of
support for the careta3in( and missionar- <rder has been found in German-, Austria, 1tal-,
Bel(ium, and e*en in North and 8entral America. he <rder)s head0uarters, treasur-, and
archi*es are now located in +ienna, Austria.
% Dric <psahl
3H%&#&L&,<3AL TA/L4 &F 4?4#T)
his table contains dates and e*ents that hi(hli(ht the ori(ins and de*elopment of the
eutonic .ni(hts throu(hout its histor-7 also included are si(nificant e*ents in medie*al
histor- that ma- not be directl- associated with the eutonic .ni(hts but (i*e perspecti*e
to the histor- of the order. Blease note that this table is still under construction. 1f -our
browser does not support tables, choose this te,t%onl- *ersion.
!'$' % Bossible foundin( date of the Hospital of St. 9ohn in 9erusalem b- Amalfi merchants
!'&" % 8rusaders of ;irst 8rusade captured 9erusalem
!!!# % Hospital of St. 9ohn reco(nized b- papal bull as separate order
!!!" % Hu(h of Ba-ens of Bur(und- and Godfre- of Saint Adhemar, a ;lemin(, with se*en
other 3ni(hts were credited with foundin( the emplars whose head0uarters was on or near
the emple 2ount in 9erusalem
!!:J % Hospital of St. 9ohn displa-ed possible militar- attributes7 its HconstableH was cited
in sources
!!:$ % Bossible date of the foundin( of the German Hospital of St. 2ar- in 9erusalem !!:"
% Brobable circulation of St. Bernard of 8lair*au,) /iber ad milites templi de laude no*ae
militiae
9anuar- !!:& % 8ouncil of ro-es reco(nized the emple as an order
!!#! % .in( Alfonso 1 of Ara(on and Na*arre attempted to turn o*er the 3in(dom to the
emplars, Hospitallers, and .ni(hts of the Hol- Sepulcher in his will
!!E# % wo sources of Bope 8elestine 11 mention a German hospital in 9erusalem in some
3ind of dispute with the Hospital of St. 9ohn7 the German hospital was put under the
super*ision of the Hospital of St. 9ohn
!!E$%!!E& % Second 8rusade
!!J')s or !!$')s % 9ohn of 4rzbur( mentioned the German hospital in 9erusalem in his
6escription of the Hol- /and
!!$: % German mon3 heodorich wrote Guide to the Hol- /and
!!$J % Sophia, 8ountess of Holland, was buried in the German hospital in 9erusalem
2a- !, !!"$ % Hospitallers and emplars defeated b- the 2uslims at Nazareth
9ul- E, !!"$ % Battle of Hattin lost b- crusaders7 Hospitallers, emplars, and the Hflower of
the nobilit-H de*astated
<ct. E, !!"$ % 9erusalem surrendered to Saladin
!!&' % hird 8rusade featured the German Dmperor ;rederic3 1 Barbarossa, .in( ?ichard 1
of Dn(land, and .in( Bhilip 11 of ;rance7 the crusaders la- sie(e to Acre7 Germans from
/(bec3 and Bremen probabl- established a field hospital named after the pre*ious German
hospital of St. 2ar- in 9erusalem
September, !!&' % .in( Gu- of 9erusalem awarded eutonic <rder or Heutonic .ni(htsH a
portion of a tower in Acre7 the be0uest was re%enforced on ;eb. !', !!&:7 the order perhaps
shared the tower with the Dn(lish <rder of the Hospital of St. homas
;eb. J, !!&! % Muestionable bull of Bope 8lement 111 appro*in( the German hospitaller
order at Acre
9ul- !:, !!&! % Sie(e of Acre ended in crusader *ictor-
Apr., !!&C % 8ount Balatinate Henr- of 8hampa(ne pro*ided eutonic .ni(hts the house of
heodore of Sarepta in -re
2ar., !!&J % 8ount Balatinate Henr- conferred possessions in 9affa (9oppa) on eutonic
.ni(hts
6ec. :!, !!&J % Bope 8elestine 111 too3 the HHospital of St. 2ar- of the Germans in
9erusalemH under his protection
!!&J % Hermann *on Salza ma- ha*e accompanied /and(raf Hermann *on hrin(en to the
Hol- /and
2a- :', !!&$ % German emperor Henr- +1 (a*e the eutonic .ni(hts a hospital in Barletta,
1tal-
9ul- !", !!&$ % Henr- +1 (a*e eutonic .ni(hts a church and cloister (of the Hol- rinit-)
in Balermo, Sicil-
2arch C, !!&" % eutonic .ni(hts established as a militar- order in a ceremon- in Acre)s
emple which was attended b- the secular and clerical leaders of the /atin .in(dom
!!&" % ;irst militar- action of the eutonic .ni(hts with .in( Amalric 11 of 9erusalem7
Amalric (a*e them (in Au(ust) a tower in Acre, formerl- belon(in( to the <rder of St.
Nicholas
;eb. !&, !!&& % Bull of Bope 1nnocent 111 confirmed the eutonic .ni(hts) wearin( of the
emplars) white mantle and followin( of the Hospitallers) rule
Au(ust !:'' % eutonic .ni(hts paid the sons of heodore of Sarepta :'' besants for the
house in -re to complete the !!&C deal
!:': % Gerold of Bozen (a*e the eutonic .ni(hts a hospital in Bozen
!:':%!:'E % 8rusadin( effort led b- Boniface of 2ontferrat di*erted from Balestine or
D(-pt to 8onstantinople with influence of +enetians and pretender to the B-zantine throne
April, !:'E % ;all of 8onstantinople to the /atin crusaders
Darl-, !:'C % 4illiam of 8hamplitte and Geoffre- of +illehardouin con0uered Batras,
Andra*ida, Bundico 8astro, 2odon, and 8oron in the 2orea7 Battle of .oundoura won b-
4illiam of 8hamplitte and Geoffre- of +illehardouin with about J'' men o*er C,'''
B-zantine Gree3s
!:'J % Statutes of 2ar(at adopted b- the Hospitallers in annual chapter meetin(
!:'$ % ;amous sin(in( contest held at the 4artbur(7 St. Dlizabeth of Hun(ar- and Hermann
*on Salza possibl- attended
!:'" % eutonic .ni(hts HmarshalH appears in the sources7 indicates the militar- nature of
the order
!:'"%!::& % Albi(ensian 8rusade in ;rance
Darl-, !:'& % Geoffre- +illehardouin, Brince of Achaia, in di*idin( up the Beloponnesus in
his capital of Andra*ida, (a*e the emplars, Hospitallers, and eutonic .ni(hts four
3ni(htl- fees7 the eutonic .ni(hts) fee is near .alamata
!:'& % eutonic .ni(hts side with Hospitallers and barons in Acre a(ainst the emplars and
prelates7 ori(in of lon(%standin( opposition between the emplars and eutonic .ni(hts
<ct. #, !:!' % Brobable date of election of Hermann *on Salza as (rand master of the
eutonic .ni(hts7 the date coincided with the date of the marria(e in -re of 9ohn of
Brienne to 2ar-7 it was also the date of 9ohn)s coronation as .in( of 9erusalem
September !:!! % ;rederic3 11 chosen 3in( in German-
!:!! % Burzenland settled b- the eutonic .ni(hts with the authorit- of Hun(ar-)s .in(
Andrew 11
9ul- !:!: % Beter 11 of Ara(on defeats the 2oors at /as Na*as de olosa
!:!: % Adomadana (i*en to the eutonic .ni(hts b- .in( /eo of Armenia
!:!: % 8hildren)s 8rusadeL sprin( % German phase7 9une % ;rench phase
Sept. !:, !:!# % Simon of 2ontfort wins the battle of 2uret7 Beter 11 3illed
;eb. :E, !:!E % .in( /eo of Armenia (ranted eutonic .ni(hts Amudain, the castle of
Sespin, and more
No*., !:!C % 1nnocent 111 called the ;ourth /ateran 8ouncil7 new crusade proclaimed7
Hermann *on Salza probabl- at the ;ourth /ateran 8ouncil representin( his order
!:!C % ;rederic3 11 crowned in Ai,%la%8hapelle7 too3 the cross
!:!C % 2a(na 8arta si(ned in Dn(land
!:!C % 6ominican <rder founded
;eb. !", !:!J % 1nnocent 111 issued a bull of protection for the eutonic .ni(hts
6ec., !:!J % Hermann *on Salza attended ;rederic3 11)s court in Nurember(7 first meetin(
between the eutonic .ni(hts) (rand master and the emperor
;eb., !:!$ % Hermann *on Salza recei*ed possessions in Sicil- from ;rederic3 11 while at
Ulm
9un.:E, !:!$ % ;rederic3 11 (ranted the eutonic .ni(hts the same status as the emplars
and Hospitallers in the .in(dom of Sicil-
!:!$%!::! % ;ifth 8rusade
2a- % Au(. !:!" % 8rusadin( arm- lands in D(-pt7 Hermann *on Salza at 6amietta7
Saphadin died (!!&&%!:!")7 al%.amil, his son, became caliph (!:!"% !:#")7 crusaders
captured 6amietta
!:!" % !:!& % Batriarch of 9erusalem, church officials, emplars and Hospitallers ad*ised
Bela(ius not to accept peace terms of Sultan al%.amil to surrender 9erusalem7 contrar-
ad*ice offered b- .in( 9ohn of 9erusalem, Darl ?anulf of 8hester, and the German leaders
Sprin(, !::' % Hermann *on Salza went to Acre with .in( 9ohn of 9erusalem
No*., !::' % Hermann *on Salza was with ;rederic3 11 in 1tal-7 first identified b- name as
Hermann *on Salza in documents7 ;rederic3 11 crowned Hol- ?oman Dmperor b- Honorius
111
!::' % /eopold +1 of Austria presented the eutonic .ni(hts the site of the castle of
2ontfort near Acre
9an. &, !::! % Honorius 111 (a*e pri*ile(es to the eutonic .ni(hts7 as an order, the- now
were on the same le*el as the emplars and the Hospitallers
9an % Apr, !::! % Hermann *on Salza was in 1tal-7 C$ pri*ile(es were (i*en b- Honorius 111
to the eutonic .ni(hts (Honorius 111 (ranted !!# to the eutonic .ni(hts durin( his
pontificate)
2id%April, !::! % Hermann *on Salza accompanied the du3e of Ba*aria and other German
nobles to 6amietta7 arri*ed in 2a-
Au(. #', !::! % Battle of 2ansurah7 crusaders surrendered in D(-pt (emplars led the
rear(uard action)7 peace treat-7 Hermann *on Salza and the master of the emple held as
hosta(es b- the 2uslims
!::: % HGolden BullH of Hun(ar-, first issue
!::# % Hermann *on Salza ne(otiated with the pope o*er Gunzelin7 later in the Hol- /and,
he arran(ed the marria(e for the emperor (P)
!::E % Hermann *on Salza was in*ol*ed in the reat- of 6annenber(
No*., !::C % ;rederic3 11 married 1sabella (Nolande) of Brienne and claimed the throne of
9erusalem7 Hermann *on Salza was present
!::C % eutonic .ni(hts forcibl- e,pelled from Burzenland b- 3in( Andrew 117 8onrad of
2aso*ia re0uested aid from the eutonic .ni(hts in Brussia
!::J % HGolden Bull of ?iminiH from ;rederic3 11 for the eutonic .ni(hts (i*in( them
wide%ran(in( authorit- in the name of the empire in Brussia
!::$ % 2ontfort rebuilt%%%renamed Star3enber(
Sep., !::" % ;rederic3 11 arri*ed in the Hol- /and accompanied b- Hermann *on Salza
;eb. !", !::" % ;rederic3 11 too3 control of 9erusalem from the D(-ptian Sultan al%.amil
b- treat-7 Hermann *on Salza with ;rederic3
2ar. !:, !::" % Hermann *on Salza sent a letter to Gre(or- 1I from 9oppa informin( him
about the treat-
2ar. !", !::" % ;rederic3 11 crowned .in( of 9erusalem in the church of the Hol-
Sepulcher in 9erusalem7 then held hi(h court in the house of the Hospital of St. 9ohn
Apr., !::& % Beace of Baris ended Albi(ensian 8rusade
Apr., !::& % ;rederic3 11 (a*e eutonic .ni(hts former house of Germans in 9erusalem7
also a house that once belon(ed to .in( Baldwin located in the Armenian street near the
church of St. homas (plus a (arden and si, acres of land)
2a- !, !::& % At odds with the emplars and 1belins, ;rederic3 11 departed Acre7 feared
losin( Apulia to 9ohn of Brienne
!::&%!:EE % German Hospital of St. 2ar- in 9erusalem e,panded
!:#' % .ulm reco(nized b- Bope Gre(or- 1I as belon(in( to the eutonic .ni(hts
!:#! % eutonic .ni(hts) Hermann Bal3e ad*anced into Brussia
!:#! % Gautier of Brienne (a*e the eutonic .ni(hts Beau*oir
!:#! % St. Dlizabeth of Hun(ar- died at 2arbur(7 later was canonized (!:#E)
!:#E % eutonic .ni(hts won the battle at Sir(una, Brussia
!:#E % Bope too3 control of Brussia7 leased it to the eutonic .ni(hts
Sprin(, !:#C % 6obriner <rder incorporated into eutonic .ni(hts7 appro*ed b- ;rederic3
11 and Gre(or- 1I
Sept., !:#C % Andrew 11 of Hun(ar- died7 Bela 1+ succeeded him (until !:$')
6ec. :#, !:#J % Gre(or- 1I ta,ed the Beloponnesus to support crusadin( *entures7
preceptor of the eutonic .ni(hts identified in the 2orea as one of three collectors of the
tithin( effort
!:#$ % ;rederic3 11)s second /ombard campai(n7 Hermann *on Salza at Battle of
8ortenuo*a
!:#$ % eutonic .ni(hts and Swordbrothers unite
9ul., !:#$ Geoffre- 11 of Achaia (a*e the eutonic .ni(hts a hospital in Andra*ida
!:#" % ;rederic3 11)s third /ombard campai(n7 Hermann *on Salza)s health failed
2arch !:#& % Hermann *on Salza died in Salerno and buried in Barletta7 ;rederic3 11
e,communicated
2arch !:#& % ?obert de l)1sle donates propert- (+ille(rot) near +eli(osti to the eutonic
.ni(hts
Apr. &, !:E! Battle of /ie(nitz7 2on(ols defeat arm- of Boles and Germans includin(
Hospitallers, emplars, and eutonic .ni(hts
April C, !:E: % ?ussians under Ale,ander Ne*s3- defeat the eutonic .ni(hts on /a3e
Beipus
!:EE % 2uslims recapture 9erusalem
<ct. #!, !:EJ % 1nnocent 1+ transferred the Hospital of St. 9ames to the emplars
!:C$ % 9ulian of Grenier, lord of Sidon, donated a fortress called 8a*e of -ron to the
eutonic .ni(hts (about !: miles east of Sidon) si(nif-in( the order)s role in Hol- /and
was e,pandin(
!:C$%!:J! % eutonic .ni(hts bou(ht lar(e land comple, (called Souf or Schuf) northeast
of Sidon from 9ulian Grenier, lord of Sidon for :#,''' crusader besants
<ct. !J, !:C" % Beace treat- amon( the emplars, Hospitallers, and eutonic .ni(hts si(ned
in Acre
!:C" % eutonic .ni(hts bu- a manor from 9ohn de la our, constable of Sidon, and two
manors from 9ohn of Schuf and assumed the responsibilit- for defense north of Acre
9ul- !:J' % eutonic .ni(hts routed at 6urben7 Brussians re*olted
!:J! eutonic .ni(hts bou(ht fief made up of se*eral manors called Schuf from Andrew of
Schufe
2a-, !:J# % All eutonic .ni(ht possessions near Sidon lost to 2uslims after Ba-bars won
battle of Sidon
!:&' % eutonic .ni(hts complete a #'K-ear effort to control Brussians
2a- !", !:&! % ;all of Acre7 Hospitaller and emplar head0uarters mo*ed from Acre to
8-prus7 eutonic .ni(hts head0uarters mo*ed from Acre to +enice
!#'J % Hospitallers be(an con0uest of ?hodes
No*. :", !#'& % rial of 9ac0ues de 2ola-, Grand 2aster of the emplars (in Baris)
!#'& % Hospitallers) head0uarters mo*ed from 8-prus to ?hodes
!#'& % eutonic .ni(hts) head0uarters mo*ed from +enice to Brussia
2a- !J, !#!: % Hospitallers awarded emplars) estates throu(hout western Durope, 8-prus,
and Greece
2ar. !C, !#!E % 9ac0ues de 2ola-, emplar (rand master, and Breceptor of Normand-
burned at the sta3e in Baris
Sep. &, !#:' % eutonic .ni(ht commander in the 2orea died in battle a(ainst the Gree3s
near the fortress of St. Geor(e
!#E" % Bla(ue de*astated the B-zantine Dmpire
!#$J % !#"! % Hospitallers leased the Brincipalit- of Achaia from 9oanna of Naples for
E,''' ducats per -ear
!#"# or !#"E % Strife between Hospitallers and the eutonic .ni(hts in the Beloponnesus
!#"$ % ?udolf Schoppe, preceptor of the eutonic .ni(hts in the 2orea, became the field
deput- of Bedro Bordo de San Superan
!#&! % /ist of 2oreote fiefs included the Hospital of St. 9ohn and the eutonic .ni(hts
!E'! % 9acob of Ar3el, preceptor of the eutonic .ni(hts in the 2orea, rewarded with
*ine-ards at 2odon and 8oron b- the +enetians
!E': % Source identified a number of eutonic .ni(ht monasteries in the 2orea includin(
St. Ste*en in Andra*ida
!E!' eutonic .ni(hts defeated at annenber(7 ban3rupted
2a- :!, !E## % eutonic .ni(ht procurator 9ohn Nichlausdorf in ?ome reported he
protested to the B-zantine representati*e the loss of properties in the 2orea
Apr. :$, !E#C % eutonic .ni(hts) representati*e at the 8ouncil of Basel as3ed the return of
possessions in the 2orea from the B-zantines
!E#C%!E#$ % 9ohann ;ran3e attempted to purchase 2ostenitsa
!C'' % ur3s con0uered 2odon from the +enetians and e,pelled the eutonic .ni(hts from
the Beloponnesus
1n 8hristian m-tholo(-, the Hol- Grail was the dish, plate, cup or *essel that cau(ht 9esus)
blood durin( his crucifi,ion. 1t was said to ha*e the power to heal all wounds. A theme
5oined to the 8hristianised Arthurian m-thos relates to the 0uest for the Hol- Grail.
he le(end ma- be a combination of (enuine 8hristian lore with a 8eltic m-th of a
cauldron endowed with special powers. 4hether (raal is 8eltic or <ld ;rench, it ne*er
refers to an- cup or bowl but this. hou(h some 8hristian re*isionists insist that the Hol-
Grail is not to be confused with the Hol- 8halice, the *essel which 9esus used at the /ast
Supper to ser*e the wine, this has been the historical practice7 *arious *essels ha*e been put
forward as the /ast Supper chalice.
Accordin( to the 8atholic Dnc-clopedia, it was onl- after the c-cle of Grail romances was
well established, identif-in( the cup of the /ast Supper with the Grail that late medie*al
writers came up with a false et-molo(- from the fact that in <ld ;rench, san (rial means
HHol- GrailH and san( rial means Hro-al bloodH. Since then, San(real is sometimes
emplo-ed to lend a medie*alizin( air in referrin( to the Hol- Grail. his connection with
ro-al blood bore fruit in a modern best%seller lin3in( man- historical conspiracies.
he de*elopment of the Grail le(end has been traced in detail b- cultural historiansL it is a
Gothic le(end, which first came to(ether in the form of written romances, deri*in( perhaps
from some pre%8hristian fol3loric hints, in the later !:th and earl- !#th centuries. he earl-
Grail romances centered on Berci*al and were then wo*en into the more (eneral Arthurian
fabric. he Grail romances were ;rench7 thou(h the- were translated into other Duropean
*ernaculars, no new essential elements were added.
6istribution of Grail 1deas
+arious notions of the Hol- Grail are currentl- *er- widespread in 4estern Societ-
(especiall- British and American), popularized throu(h numerous medie*al and modern
wor3s (see below) and lin3ed with the predominantl- An(lo%;rench (but also with some
German influence) c-cle of stories about .in( Arthur and his 3ni(hts. Because of this wide
distribution most Americans and 4est Duropeans assume that the Grail idea is uni*ersall-
well 3nown.
he stories of the Grail are totall- absent from Dastern <rthodo, teachin(s and are not a
part of the culture and m-thos of those countries that were and are <rthodo, (<rthodo,
Arabs, <rthodo, Sla*s, <rthodo, ?omanians, <rthodo, Gree3s). his is e*en more true of
the Arthurian m-ths which were not well 3nown (until the present da- Holl-wood
retellin(s) east of German-. he notions of the Grail, its importance, and prominance are,
and should alwa-s be re(arded as, a set of ideas that are essentiall- local and particular,
bein( lin3ed with 8atholic or formerl- 8atholic locales, 8eltic m-tholo(-, and An(lo%
;rench medie*al stor-tellin(. he contemporar- wide distribution of these ideas is due to
the hu(e influence of the pop culture of countries where the Grail 2-th was prominent in
the 2iddle A(es.
Darl- ;orms of the Grail
he ori(ins of the Grail can be traced bac3 to earl- 8eltic lore in*ol*in( a heroQtra*eller
who finds himself within an Hother worldH, one that is on a ma(ical plane parallel to ours.
he transition from one world to another is usuall- described subtl-, such as an
unnoticeable and (radual chan(e in the scener-. he role of the Grail was simpl- as a
platter, or dish, that would ne*er (o empt- and be presented to si(nif- the m-stical nature
of the other world.
he Grail and the ;isher .in(
he tale of the ;isher .in( in*ol*es a 3in( who is lame in one le( (a euphemism for
impotenc-) which in turn causes the land to become barren (infertile). he hero (Gawain,
Berci*al, or Galahad) encounters the ;isher .in( and is in*ited to a feast, as per the older
other world tales. he Grail is a(ain presented as a platter of plent- but is also presented as
part of a series of m-stical relics, which also included a spear that drips blood and a bro3en
sword. he purpose of the relics is to incite the hero to 0uestion them and thereb-, throu(h
some un3nown means, brea3 the enchantment of the infirmed 3in( and the barren land,
althou(h the hero in*ariabl- fails to do so.
he Grail and Arthurian /e(end
he stor- of the ;isher .in( and the Grail was later incorporated into the Arthurian m-ths.
At first presented as a retellin( of the older ;isher .in( tale % for e,ample, one tellin(
in*ol*ed Berci*al encounterin( the ;isher .in( and the Grail before arri*in( at 8amelot, it
e*entuall- e*ol*ed into an e,plicit H0uestH for the Grail%%one such 0uest endin( with twel*e
3ni(hts (of undetermined ori(in) ascendin( into Hea*en alon( with the Grail.
Some belie*e the (rial is in the 8halice 4ell in Glastonbur- % put there b- 9oseph of
Arimathea. he search for the *essel became the principal 0uest of .in( Arthur and his
.ni(hts of the ?oundtable % the Sword in the Stone % D,calibur % and the ma(ic of 2erlin.
;ate of the Grail
4hile the Grail formall- first appeared in the Berce*al le Gallois of 8hr en de ro-es
and the Barzi*al of 4olfram *on Dschenbach %% both of whom describe it in connection
with the ;isher .in( and how Berci*al failed to spea3 and thus cure the infirm 3in( % it was
?obert de Boron who added the detail that the Grail was brou(ht to Britain b- 9oseph of
Arimathea, when he tra*elled to the British 1sles as the first 8hristian missionar- to the
countr- and established the first 8hristian church in the British 1sles in his *erse romance,
9oseph d)Arimathie, b- ?obert de Boron, composed between !!$' and !:!:.
A number of 3ni(hts undertoo3 the 0uest for the Grail, in tales that ha*e become anne,ed to
the Arthurian m-thos. Some of these tales tell of 3ni(hts who succeeded, li3e Berci*al or
the *ir(inal Galahad7 others tell of 3ni(hts who failed to achie*e the (rail because of their
tra(ic flaws, li3e /ancelot. 1n 4olfram)s tellin(, the Grail was 3ept safe at the castle of
2unsal*aesche (mons sal*ationis) or 2ontsal*at, entrusted to iturel, the first Grail%.in(.
Some, not least the mon3s of 2ontserrat, ha*e identified the castle with the real sanctuar-
of 2ontserrat in 8atalonia.
he fate of the Hol- Grail is un3nown. <wnership has been attributed to *arious (roups
(includin( the .ni(hts emplar). here are cups claimed to be the Grail in se*eral churches
li3e the +alencia cathedral. he emerald chalice at Genoa, which was obtained durin( the
crusades at Aleppo at (reat cost, has been less championed as the Hol- Grail since an
accident on the road while it was bein( returned from Baris after the fall of Napoleon
re*ealed that the emerald was (reen (lass. <ther stories claim that the Grail is buried
beneath ?ossl-n 8hapel or is to be found deep in the sprin( at Glastonbur- or. Still other
stories claim that the Grail was mo*ed *ariousl- to either No*a Scotia, or to Acco3ee3,
2ar-land b- a closeted priest aboard 8aptain 9ohn Smith)s ship, or that there is a secret
linea(e of hereditar- 3eepers of the Grail.
Muest for the Grail
he date of Grail se0uences in the 4elsh fol3tales, the 2abino(ion are older than the
sur*i*in( manuscripts (!#th centur-). here is an Dn(lish poem Sir Berc-*elle, of the !Cth
centur-. hen the le(ends of .in( Arthur and the Hol- Grail were collected in the !Cth
centur- b- homas 2alor- for his /e 2orte 6) Arthur (Also spelled /e 2orte 6arthur)
which (a*e the bod- of le(end its classic form.
1mportant literar- settin(s of Grail material include 8hr en de ro-es) 8onte du Graal
(;rench, late !:th centur-, the first romance to mention the Grail) and 4olfram *on
Dschenbach)s Barzifal (German, earl- !#th centur-). he parallels between 8onte du Graal
and Barzifal are stri3in(, but 4olfram stated that his tale came from a Bro*en la- of a
certain .-ot (Guiot). 4olfram also states that his romance is bein( transcribed for him, so
the inference is that his sources were not written. .-ot has ne*er been identified, and man-
ha*e su((ested that he does not e,ist.
?ichard 4a(ner recast 4olfram)s *ersion of the le(end in his opera Parsifal (!""#),
openin( the flood(ates for the Grail in :'th centur- pop culture, both camp and camp-.
;our medie*al relics
6urin( the 2iddle A(es, four ma5or contenders for the position of Hol- Grail stood out
from the rest.
! % he earliest record of a chalice from the /ast Supper is of a two%handled sil*er chalice
which was 3ept in a reli0uar- in a chapel near 9erusalem between the basilica of Gol(otha
and the 2art-rium. his Grail appears onl- in the account of Arculf, a $th%centur- An(lo%
Sa,on pil(rim who saw it, and throu(h an openin( of the perforated lid of the reli0uar-
where it reposed, touched it with his own hand which he had 3issed. Accordin( to him, it
had the measure of a Gaulish pint. All the people of the cit- floc3ed to it with (reat
*eneration. (Arculf also saw the Hol- /ance in the porch of the basilica of 8onstantine.)
his is the onl- mention of the chalice situated in the Hol- /and.
: % here is a reference in the late thirteenth centur- to a cop- of the Grail bein( at
8onstantinople. his occurs in the !#th centur- German romance, the Noun(er iturelL HA
second costl- dish, *er- noble and *er- precious, was fashioned to duplicate this one. 1n
holiness it has no flaw. 2en of 8onstantinople assa-ed it in their land, (findin() it richer in
adornment, the- accounted it the true (r H his Grail was said to ha*e been looted from the
church of the Bucoleon durin( the ;ourth 8rusade and sent from 8onstantinople to ro-es
b- Garnier de rainel, the then bishop of ro-es, in !:'E. 1t was recorded there in !J!', but
it disappeared at the ;rench ?e*olution.
# % <f two Grail *essels that sur*i*e toda-, one is at Genoa, in the cathedral. he he,a(onal
Genoese *essel is 3nown as the sacro catino, the hol- basin. raditionall- said to be car*ed
from emerald, it is in fact a (reen D(-ptian (lass dish, about ei(hteen inches (#$ cm)
across. 1t was sent to Baris after NapoleonWs con0uest of 1tal-, and was returned bro3en,
which identified the emerald as (lass. 1ts ori(in is uncertain7 accordin( to 4illiam of -re,
writin( in about !!$', it was found in the mos0ue at 8aesarea in !!'!L Ha *ase of brilliant
(reen shaped li3e a bowl.H he Genoese, belie*in( that it was of emerald, accepted it in lieu
of a lar(e sum of mone-. An alternati*e stor- in a Spanish chronicle sa-s that it was found
when Alfonso +11 of 8astile captured Almeria from the 2oors in !!E$ with Genoese help,
un uaso de piedra esmeralda 0ue era tamanno como una escudiella, Ha *ase car*ed from
emerald which was li3e a dishH. he Genoese said that this was the onl- thin( the- wanted
from the sac3 of Almeria. he identification of the sacro catino with the Grail is not made
until later, howe*er, b- 9acobus de +ora(ine in his chronicle of Genoa, written at the close
of the !#th centur-.
E. he other sur*i*in( (rail *essel is the santo c Fz, an a(ate cup in the cathedral of
+alencia. 1t has been set in a medie*al mountin( and (i*en a foot made of an in*erted cup
of chalcedon-. here is an Arabic inscription. he earliest secure reference to the chalice is
in !#&&, when it was (i*en b- the monaster- of San 9uan de la BeFo 3in( 2artin 1 of
Ara(on in e,chan(e for a (old cup. B- the end of the centur- a pro*enance had been
in*ented for the chalice at +alencia, b- which St Beter had brou(ht it to ?ome.
2odern <nterpretations
8asual metaphor
he le(end of the Hol- Grail is the basis of the use of the de*alued term hol- (rail in
modern%da- culture. his or that Hhol- (railH is seen as the distant, all%but%unobtainable
ultimate (oal for a person, or(anization, or field to achie*e. ;or instance, cold fusion or
anti%(ra*it- de*ices are sometimes characterized as the Hhol- (railH of applied ph-sics.
he combination of hushed re*erence and o*erheated chromatic harmonies of ?ichard
4a(ner)s late opera Barsifal fatall- inflated the Hol- Grail theme, while it brou(ht the old
medie*al tale bac3 into a wider public consciousness. he hi(h seriousness of the sub5ect
was also epitomized in 6ante Gabriel ?ossetti)s paintin( (illustrated), in which 4illiam
2orris)s soulful itian%haired wife, at the time the painter)s mistress, holds the Grail li3e a
champa(ne (lass that she is about to ma3e rin( with a snap of her lon( fin(er. he Grail
was o*erripe, and 2ont- B-thon and the Hol- Grail (!&$C) deflated it and all pseudo%
Arthurian posturin(s.
he Grail had turned up in mo*ies beforeL it debuted in a silent Barsifal. 1n he /i(ht of
;aith (!&::), /on 8hane- attempted to steal it, for the finest of reasons. he Sil*er 8halice,
a no*el about the Grail b- homas B. 8ostain was made into a !&CE mo*ie (in which Baul
Newman d ted), that is considered notabl- bad b- se*eral critics, includin( Newman
himself. /ancelot of the /a3e (!&$E) is ?obert Bresson)s (ritt- retellin(. D,calibur, a more
traditional se,%in%armor representation of an Arthurian tale, in which the Grail is little more
than a prop. Brancaleone at the 8rusades. he ;isher .in( and 1ndiana 9ones and the /ast
8rusade place the 0uest in modern settin(s, the one serious -et una*oidabl- faintl- camp,
the other robustl- self%parod-in(. Science fiction has ta3en the Muest into interstellar space,
fi(urati*el- in Samuel ?. 6elan-)s !&J" no*el No*a, and literall- in the !&&E episode
HGrailH of the tele*ision series Bab-lon C.
;or the authors of Hol$ !lood1 Hol$ .rail1 who assert that their research ultimatel- re*eals
that 9esus ma- not ha*e died on the cross, but li*ed to marr- 2ar- 2a(dalene and father
children, whose 2ero*in(ian bloodline continues toda-, the Grail is a mere sideshow.
6an Brown)s bestsellin( no*el The Da 2inci *ode is li3ewise based on the idea that the real
Grail is not a cup but the earthl- remains of 2ar- 2a(dalene (a(ain cast as 9esus) wife),
plus a set of ancient documents tellin( the true stor- of 9esus, his teachin(s and
descendants. 1n Brown)s no*el, it is hinted that the Grail was lon( buried below ?ossl-n
8hapel 5ust li3e one tradition claims, but in recent decades its (uardians had it relocated to
a secret chamber below the 1n*erted B-ramid in front of the /ou*re 2useum. <f course,
the latter location has ne*er been mentioned in real Grail lore. Net such was the public
interest in e*en a fictionalized Grail that the museum soon had to rope off the e,act location
mentioned b- Brown, lest *isitors inflict an- dama(e in a more or less serious attempt to
access the supposed hidden chamber. (SeeL /a B-ramide 1n*ers )
% 8ontinued % 4i3ipedia
2ar- 2a(dalene
And so it !as !ritten....abo(t a sa'red bloodline .....
)arah and Ale>ander