|
Bloody Utopian
|
|
We have to take the Nazis seriously; after all
they were the authors of a regime that took the lives of some 40 million
people and the destruction of most of Europe therefore, since such people
took occultism seriously, so should we. David Morris, The Masks of
Lucifer [1].Political parties are inclined to compromises; philosophies never. Adolf
Hitler, Mein Kampf [2].Author’s Note: This is the second article in a multi-part series on New Age
thought and political utopianism. See
Part
1: Hammer & Sickle
Ever since humanity was ushered out of the
Garden of Eden for rebellion against God (Genesis 3), we have been constantly
scheming and working toward unifying Man with some system of Paradise. From
the mystical doctrines of the Egyptian mystery religions to the hammer and
sickle of the Soviet Union, from Platos Republic and council of wise men to the
dreams and aspirations of a globally enhanced United Nations mankind has
sought to create the perfect utopian society shaped in Mans image.The New Age Movement fits in nicely with this concept, envisioning a spiritually
evolved humanity coupled with a complete global social, political, and economic
system
[3]. Its a world
where cosmic forces are at work shaping individuals, cultures, and entire
nations. Its a world where old norms are torn down, and where newness is
embraced and yet, in this remaking of the world, ancient powers, symbols, and
mythologies are drawn upon in this quest to re-forge civilization.A New Fundamental Philosophy
The following words, penned by Adolf Hitler, the leader of the National
Socialist German Workers Party, demonstrated the essential point of Nazism: a
new and fundamental philosophy.It was self-evident that the new movement could
hope to achieve the necessary importance and the required strength for this
gigantic struggle only if it succeeded from the very first day in arousing
in the hearts of its supporters the holy conviction that with it political
life was to be given, not to a new election slogan, but to a new philosophy
of fundamental significance.”
[4]As the political and forceful expression of this
holy conviction, the Nazi Partys new philosophy centered on the interlocking
ideals of blood and soil, race and Nature. Ultimately, it was believed,
humanitys spiritual and cultural evolution would rest on the strength of the
Germanized Aryan ideal.And then Europe burned.
Its in the Roots
Millions of pages of material have been published in an attempt to explain
Germanys military actions, political structures, and overall historical impact.
And much thought has been given to Germanys social and cultural setting. But
one area that hasnt seen as much literature is in the realm of German esoteric
interests. There has been some items published on this subject, but its hard to
find non-sensationalist accounts. However, we can glean some important material
that points to the philosophical roots the holy conviction of the German
National Socialist ideology.
Note: Much of the historical material on the
Germanic esoteric societies and their links to National Socialism is
based on the scholarly work of Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke and his
book, The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and their
Influence on Nazi Ideology (New York University Press,
1985/1992)
Germanys theological roots run deep; Martin Luthers strike against entrenched
Roman Catholicism, and much of the ensuing Reformation and Anabaptist movement,
are historically significant to Germany. As such, this particular nation has
been looked up to for centuries as a bastion of theological thought and action.
However, Germanys spiritual history encompasses more than just the Reformation.
Rosicrucian orders [5]
and other esoteric schools of thought emerged from
the German heartland. But it wasnt a German-born who gave impetus to the Nazi
philosophy, it was a Russian-born woman by the name of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
the founder of the Theosophical Society.Blavatsky, in her seminal work,
The Secret Doctrine, outlines the activities of
God throughout a number of evolutionary cycles. Each cycle, she explained,
witnessed the rise and fall of root-races, and the pinnacle of mankind at this
historical stage of the cycle was represented by the Aryan race. Furthermore,
Blavatskys theosophical ideas also incorporated reincarnation, karma, and other
Hindu beliefs. Gnosticism, Hermetic philosophies, Kabbalahism, Eastern
religions, occult lore, alternative esoteric histories and mythologies all of
these streams of spirituality funneled into Blavatskys writings. And through
this blending of mystical concepts, her emphasis on racial development and
evolutionary hierarchy struck a cord within segments of American, Indian,
English, and German high-society.In 1884, the first German Theosophical Society was established. But because of
internal stresses and outside accusations made against Blavatsky, this
particular organization fell apart. However, the interest in theosophy remained,
and by 1896 a German national branch of the International Theosophical
Brotherhood was established [6].Out of this greater interest in theosophy and the re-organized German
Theosophical Society in particular a number of splinter groups and alternative
esoteric organizations were birthed, both in Germany and Austria. By the time
World War I had started in 1914, German occultism and mysticism had taken on a
number of forms; from the volkisch mysticism of Guido von List to Rudolf
Steiners Anthroposophical Society, from irregular Masonic and Rosicrucian
lodges to Theozoology and the Order of the New Templars. It could be said that
German-central Europe was experiencing an occult renaissance of sorts, and each
of these movements (and others not listed) played a part in creating an
undercurrent of Germanic spiritual adventurism. Moreover, many of these
foundational groups viewed Jews as being a contaminant in the continued
unfolding of an Aryan evolutionary line thinking that would later find a
political foothold in National Socialism.With the defeat of Germany in World War I, a cultural and social vacuum
precipitated an even greater interest in Germanic mysticism, alternative pagan
histories, and occultism. Riding this wave, Rudolf J. Gorsleben kick-started a
radical Aryan movement that centered on runes and occultism, creating an
original racist mystery-religion which illuminated the priceless magical
heritage of the Aryans and justified their spiritual and political
world-supremacy [7].The ideas of Karl Maria Wiligut also found root during this time. Wiligut, a
proclaimed German sage with alleged clairvoyant skills, held to a blend of
racist Ario-Christianity and Teutonic paganism. Later changing his name to
Karl Maria Weisthor, Wiliguts high-point contribution to the Third Reich was
his involvement in the Wawelsburg project the complete remodeling of a castle
near Paderborn into an SS-order officers college and pan-Germanic SS spiritual
center, complete with cult-styled pagan ceremonies and rituals [more on the SS
order to follow].And finally, during the years between the Great War and World War II, an
aristocrat named Rudolf von Sebottendorff organized the Thule Society. Drawing
from some of e arlier Germanic mythologies and esoteric groups, such as the
Germanenorden an anti-Semitic group organized like a secret quasi-masonic
lodge [8]
the Thule Society became a haven for nationalistic leanings in light of
Germanys loss in the Great War.Thule saw some interesting future Nazi figures pass through its lodge doors:
Alfred Rosenberg the eventual Reich Minister for the Eastern Occupied
Territories, Dietrich Eckart a key early member of the Nazi Party and editor
of the Völkischer Beobachter [the Nazi Party newspaper], Rudolf Hess the
eventual Deputy of the Fuehrer [9],
and Ernst Rohm who became the Reichsminister of the SA
[10].The symbol of the Thule Society was a circular swastika mounted atop a
double-edge dagger.The Third Reich
Adolf Hitler himself had come into contact with some of these arcane doctrines
and teachings, and was no doubt influenced by them to a certain extent,
particularly from Thule interests and the mystical inclinations of Guido von
List a leading figure in German esoteric and Aryan blood-and-race ideologies
[11]. Mein
Kampf, Hitlers major work, indirectly linked the meaning of the swastika with
the Aryan racial mythologies of List:As National Socialists, we see our program in
our flag. In red we see the social ideal of the movement, in white the
nationalistic idea, in the swastika the mission of the struggle for the
victory of the Aryan man, and, by the same token, the victory of the idea of
creative work, which as such always has been and always will be
anti-Semitic [12].But of all the major Nazi Party leaders, Heinrich
Himmler head of the SS; seemed most inclined towards mystical interpretations.
The SS, short for Schutzstaffel, was originally an inner guard for the Nazi
leadership but, as the regime and its military components evolved, the SS took
on multi-task military functions [13].Historian Marc Rikmenspoel, in his encyclopedic work on the SS, explains that
The official religious doctrine of the Nazi Party and the SS was a sort of
deism, an undefined belief in God separate from any organized religion. The SS,
in particular, encouraged the belief in Nordic paganism, and urged its members
to abandon any Christian denomination [14].Certainly a large part of this mystical orientation came from Himmlers close
association with Karl Wiligut. Author and Nazi historian Nocholas Goodrick-Clarke
explains,By virtue of his [Wiligut] alleged possession
of ancestral memory and an inspired representation of archaic Germanic
traditions, he became the favoured mentor of Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich
Himmler on mythological subjects and was given an official assignment for
prehistorical research in the SS between 1933 and 1939
[15].Adding to this, Goodrick-Clarke writes,
Among the top leaders of the Third Reich,
Himmler appears the most ambiguous personality, motivated simultaneously by
a capacity for rational planning and by unreal fantasies. His zeal for
order, punctuality, and administrative detail, and the pedantic impression
of an intelligent primary school teacher, were seemingly belied by his
enthusiasm for the utopian, the romantic and even the occult. It was
Himmlers idealistic imagination which led to a visionary conception of the
SS and its future role: his black-uniformed troops would pro vide both the
bloodstock of the future Aryan master-race and the ideological elite of an
ever-expanding Greater Germanic Reich
[16].Keep in mind, Himmler was the organizer of the
concentration camp system, and specific units within his SS were tasked with
carrying out the Final Solution against the European Jews.From the employment of runes to the celebration of the swastika sun symbol, from
the racially motivated mystical philosophies of an Aryan blood-line to the
esoteric teachings of a pagan-Germanic pre-history, the holy conviction of the
National Socialist German Workers Party a blend of occultism and racism
culminated in one of the worst atrocities in human history.Knowing that the Nazis ideology was fixated on arcane beliefs, the question of
German Freemasonry, Rosicrucian orders, and even pan-Germanic mystical
associations needs to be addressed. Understand, Hitler and his regime pursued
these groups with a bent towards their destruction; even historically-linked
Germanic esoteric organizations that had helped establish the philosophical
ideals of the Reich were targeted. Given the fact that the Nazi Party was the
political expression of various arcane doctrines, some critics have suggested
that this purging throws doubt on the esoteric foundation for Nazism.On the eve of World War II, Hermann Rauschning, a former advisor to Hitler and
president of the Danzig Senate, attempted to warn the world of Nazisms ultimate
aim by publishing his book, The Revolution of Nihilism: Warning to the West.
Commenting on Freemasonry and other secretive societies in Germany, and their
relationship to National Socialism, Rauschning wrote,If we try to unders tand what it is that tempts
Hitler again and again to dwell on Freemasonry, on the Jesuits, or on the
Teutonic Order, we come close to the essential secret of the National
Socialist elite, the mystery, as the Teutonic Order called it, the
esoteric doctrine confined to the brethren who were called to initiation. It
was the piecemeal character of their initiation into secret aims, the aims
and methods of a ruling class, by stages of discipline, enlightenment,
liberation, that set the eyes of National Socialism in envious rivalry on
such organizations as Freemasonry [17].Simply put, all rivalries must be removed no
matter how close the historical associations may be, such as was the case,
ultimately, with Theosophy.So why is it important to understand all this complex and obscure Nazi esoteric
history?First, the simple fact is that as a movement Nazism re-forged the entire
structure of Europe, and continues to have lasting social repercussions
(politically and culturally, today’s European Union was birthed from the ashes
of World War II and the Nazi’s impact on European life). This fact alone demands
that we examine its deeper roots.Secondly, and of immense importance, is the fact that this movements historical
philosophies were grounded in the same ideologies that today comprise the New
Age Movement. Remember Blavatskys Theosophy and its early role in the
development of Germanic mysticism? Consider this substantial statement from
Cherry Gilchrist, author of Theosophy: The Wisdom of the Ages,Though its origins lie in the nineteenth century, the theosophical perspective
has much in common with that of the New Age, and, it can fairly be said, it is
the impetus of Theosophy that has enabled the whole New Age movement to come
into being [18].Hitler was correct; Political parties are inclined to compromises; philosophies
never.
Endnotes:
1.David Morris, The Masks of Lucifer: Technology
and the Occult in Twentieth-Century Popular Literature (B.T. Batsford
Ltd.,1992), p.126.2. Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (Houghton Mifflin, 1925/1971), p.455.
3. For some examples of this type of thinking, see Marilyn Ferbusons book, The
Aquarian Conspiracy: Personal and Social Transformation in the 1980s (J.P.
Tarcher Inc., 1980), Desmond E. Berghofer, The Visioneers (Creative Learning
International Press,1992), Robert Muller, New Genesis: Shaping a Global
Spirituality (World Happiness and Cooperation, 1982/1993), Alice Bailey, The
Rays and the Initiation (Lucis Publishing Company, 1960), Lucile W. Green,
Journey to a Governed World: Thru 50 Years in the Peace Movement (The Uniquest
Foundation, 1991), John Randolph Price, The Super Beings (The Quartus
Foundation, 1981), Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Future of Man (Harper & Row,
1959/1969), Peter Russell, The Global Brain: Speculations on the Evolutionary
Leap to Planetary Consciousness (J.P. Tarcher, 1983), William D. Hitt, The
Global Citizen (Battelle Press, 1998), and the works of Barbara Marx Hubbard.
See also the various speeches from the 1893, 1993, 1999, and 2004 Parliament of
the Worlds Religions.4. Hitler, Mein Kampf, p.373. Italics in original.
5. See Paul Foster Case, The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order (Samuel Weiser,
1985) for information regarding the historical emergence of Rosicrucianism.6.See Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults
and their Influence on Nazi Ideology (New York University Press, 1985/1992).
This particular item is probably one of the most scholarly English-language
works on early German esoteric thought.7. Ibid, p.155.
8. Ibid., p.127.
9. Ibid., p.149.
10. Peter Padfield, Himmler (MJF Books, 1990), p.64.
11. See, Goodrick-Clarke, The Occult Roots of Nazism. See also Brigitte Hamann,
Hitlers Vienna: A Dictatorships Apprenticeship (Oxford University Press,
1999).12. Hitler, Mein Kampf, pp.496-497. See also, Hamann, Hitlers Vienna,
pp.209-210.13. See, George H. Stein, Waffen-SS: Hitlers Elite Guard at War, 1939-1945 for
a good, but older published overview of the role of the SS as a fighting
machine. See also, Marc J. Rikmenspoel, Waffen-SS: The Encyclopedia .14. Marc J. Rikmenspoel, Waffen-SS: The Encyclopedia (Military Book Club, 2002),
p.252.15. Goodrick-Clarke, The Occult Roots of Nazism, p.177.
16. Ibid., p.178.
17. Hermann Rauschning, The Revolution of Nihilism: Warning to the West
(Alliance Book Corporation, 1939), p.21.18. Cherry Gilchrist, Theosophy: The Wisdom of the Ages (Harper Collins, The
Hidden Wisdom Library, 1996),
Carl Teichrib is a highly respected freelance researcher
and a wise and authoritative writer on issues pertaining to globalization. Please visit his website at
www.forcingchange.orgHis earlier articles include:
Bloody Utopian Dreams, Part I: Hammer and Sickle
Flattery and the Big Lie | Global Citizenship 2000
| Lucifer Rising – 1,
2,
3The Millennium Messiah and World Change
|
Esoteric Christianity
Esoteric Christianity
| Re-Creating Eden |
A Short Guide to Occult
Symbols
Re-zoning the World: The Merging of the Americas in a New Global Order
A New
World Agenda – Canada’s Role In Sustainable Development
Home
|
Articles
|
Victory
|
Reinventing the World
|
Persecution
|
Heaven is Forever