Esotericism in Germany and Austria
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Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
have spawned many movements and practices in Western
Esotericism Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas ...
, including Rosicrucianism,
theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...
,
anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritualist movement founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Follower ...
and
ariosophy Armanism and Ariosophy are esoteric ideological systems that were developed largely by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels respectively, in Austria between 1890 and 1930. The term 'Ariosophy', which means the wisdom of the Aryans, was i ...
, among others.


Early Esotericism


Knights Templar and Freemasonry

The original Knights Templar, founded around 1119, had been a crusading military order, that, at some time, had established financial networks across the whole of Christendom. In 1307, King Philip IV of France mounted a "slanderous campaign" to strip the Order of its economic and political influence. The Templars were accused of Satanic practices, perversions and blasphemy and ruthlessly suppressed; Its leaders were burned on March 18, 1314. The circumstances of their suppression gave rise to legends surrounding the Knights Templar. In Germany, "where the growth of deviant Masonic rites was greatest,"Goodrick-Clarke 1985: 61 the Templar heritage was adopted for irregular Freemasonry. (
Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
had been officially founded in England in 1717.) The idea of chivalric Freemasonry first occurred ca. 1737 in France.Goodrick-Clarke 1985: 61 In 1775 Baron Gotthelf von Hund (1722–76) founded the Order of Strict Observance, claiming the possession of secret Templar documents which allegedly prove that his order represented the legal Templar succession.Goodrick-Clarke 1985: 61


Rosicrucianism

In the 17th century and 18th century, Rosicrucian ideas flourished in varying degrees. Rosicrucianism goes back to the beginning of the 17th century, when three works by
Johann Valentin Andreae Johannes Valentinus Andreae (17 August 1586 – 27 June 1654), a.k.a. Johannes Valentinus Andreä or Johann Valentin Andreae, was a German theologian, who claimed to be the author of an ancient text known as the ''Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Ro ...
were printed at Kassel. One of these works, the '' Chymische Hochzeit'', appears to be an
alchemical Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
tract, while the other two (for which the authorship of Valentin Andreae is not finally proven) announce the existence of the ''Rosicrucian Order'', which desires a "universal and general reformation of the whole world". Putatively this order was founded by Christian Rosenkreutz, who is supposed to have lived from 1378 to 1484. In either 1747 or 1757 a quasi-masonic Rosicrucian order of the name '' Gold- und Rosenkreuz'' was founded in Berlin, having a 9-grade hierarchy based on the cabalistic
Tree of Life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A Hist ...
; This organisation included King
Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (german: Friedrich Wilhelm II.; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was in personal union the Prince-elector of Brandenburg and (via the Orange-Nassau inherita ...
and
Johann Christoph von Wöllner Johann Christoph von Wöllner (19 May 1732, Döberitz, Margraviate of Brandenburg – 10 September 1800, Grossriez near Beeskow) was a Prussian pastor and politician under King Frederick William II. He was inclined to mysticism and joined the F ...
as members.Goodrick-Clarke 1985: 59


German occult revival, 1880–1910


Theosophy

The first German Theosophical Society was established in July 1884, under the presidency of Wilhelm Hübbe-Schleiden, a conservative German nationalist turned spiritual seeker who sought to establish Theosophy on a "scientific" basis.Corinna Treitel, ''A Science for the Soul'', , Chapter 4 Between 1886 and 1895 Hübbe-Schleiden published the monthly periodical ''Die Sphinx''. In
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, a theosophical society was founded in 1887, its president was
Friedrich Eckstein Frederick Eckstein (February 17, 1861 in Perchtoldsdorf, Lower Austria – November 10, 1939 in Vienna) was an Austrian polymath, theosophist and a friend and temporary co-worker of Sigmund Freud. Emil Molt states: 'He was the benefactor of Bruc ...
.Goodrick-Clarke 1985: 28 Among his circle at this time
Franz Hartmann Franz Hartmann (22 November 1838, Donauwörth – 7 August 1912, Kempten im Allgäu) was a German medical doctor, theosophist, occultist, geomancer, astrologer, and author. Biography Hartmann was an associate of Helena Blavatsky and was C ...
, a leader of theosophical work who emphasized personal spiritual experience, and the young
Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...
were members. A ''German Theosophical Society'', as a branch of the ''International Theosophical Brotherhood'', then was established in 1896 when the American theosophists around
William Quan Judge William Quan Judge (April 13, 1851 – March 21, 1896) was an Irish-American mystic, esotericist, and occultist, and one of the founders of the original Theosophical Society. He was born in Dublin, Ireland. When he was 13 years old, his famil ...
,
Katherine Tingley Katherine Augusta Westcott Tingley (July 6, 1847 - July 11, 1929) was a social worker and prominent Theosophist. She led the American Section of the Theosophical Society after W. Q. Judge. She founded and led the Theosophical community Lomala ...
, ''E. T. Hargrove'' and ''C. F. Wright'' travelled through Europe.Goodrick-Clarke 1985: 25, 26 Its president was Franz Hartmann, who also founded a theosophical lay-monastery at Ascona in 1889.Goodrick-Clarke 1985: 24, 25 His periodical Lotusblüten (''Lotus Blossoms'', 1892–1900) was the first German publication to use the theosophical swastika on its cover. Hartmann's example provided the impetus for Paul Zillmann to found the ''Metaphysische Rundschau'' (''Metaphysical Review'') in 1896.
Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...
was made general secretary of the ''German Theosophical Society'' in 1902. Steiner, who was seeking to develop an
esoteric Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas ...
path suitable for the modern era, and professed commitment to
scientific method The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific ...
ology, was yet oriented towards awakening spiritual experiences in each individual rather than depending upon authorities or
guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...
s. He published ''Luzifer'' at Berlin from 1903 to 1908. In Vienna, there also existed an ''Association for Occultism'', connected to a person called ''Philipp Maschlufsky''. From 1903 he published a periodical called ''Die Gnosis'', that was later absorbed by ''Rudolf Steiner's'' periodical ''Luzifer'', and renamed ''Lucifer-Gnosis''. "It may have been a desire to counter Steiner's influence in the occult subculture which led Hartmann to encourage the publication of several new periodicals."Goodrick-Clarke 1985: 27 A Theosophical Publishing House was established by ''Hugo Vollrath'' in
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
in 1906. Among the magazines published there was ''Prana'' (1909–19), initially edited by ''Karl Brandler-Pracht'' and later edited by Johannes Balzli. Before that, a publisher with the name Wilhelm Friedrich had already published the works of Hartmann and Hübbe-Schleiden, as well as translations of the English theosophists at Leipzig. Wilhelm Friedrich had also published the occult works of Max Ferdinand Sebaldt von Werth (1859–1916). Initially, this author had collaborated with Moritz von Egidy on the periodical ''Das angewande Christentum'' (''Applied Christianity''), but later he wrote volumes on "the sexual-religion of the Aryans", thus, in the opinion of Goodrick-Clarke, anticipating Ariososophy.


Anthroposophy

From 1907 (at latest), tensions between Rudolf Steiner and the Theosophical Society grew steadily. In 1912, Rudolf Steiner broke away to found
anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritualist movement founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Follower ...
. There were two causes of the break; Steiner's
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
an and Christian orientation had long been distinct from the hinduistic interest of the theosophists under the leadership of Annie Besant. More immediately, Steiner publicly distanced himself from Besant's promotion of Jiddu Krishnamurti as a supposed new
messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
. Steiner and a group of prominent German theosophists officially founded the
Anthroposophical Society The General Anthroposophical Society is an "association of people whose will it is to nurture the life of the soul, both in the individual and in human society, on the basis of a true knowledge of the spiritual world." As an organization, it is d ...
in December 1913, the vast majority of the German membership of the Theosophical Society following them into the new group; the breakaways were excluded from the Theosophical Society in January 1914.


Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels

Living in Vienna, Guido (von) List (1848–1919) had been active as journalist and writer. After he turned to esotericism, he became the first popular author to combine völkisch ideology and occultism into the type of esoteric doctrine that is now collectively labelled
Ariosophy Armanism and Ariosophy are esoteric ideological systems that were developed largely by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels respectively, in Austria between 1890 and 1930. The term 'Ariosophy', which means the wisdom of the Aryans, was i ...
. In September 1903 the occult periodical ''Die Gnosis'' (see above) included an article by List, in which he, referring Sebaldt von Werth, started to articulate "a Germanic occult religion". In the following decade, List continued to work on this topic, also making references to the works of Madame Blavatsky and
William Scott-Elliot William Scott-Elliot (sometimes incorrectly spelled Scott-Elliott) (1849–1919) was a theosophist who elaborated Helena Blavatsky's concept of root races in several publications, most notably ''The Story of Atlantis'' (1896) and ''The Lost Lemuria ...
. In his concept of Armanism, the religion of the theocratic elite in his image of the ancient Germanic past, List borrowed material from Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism. Since his manuscript, proposing the research into the runes by the "means of occult insight", was rejected from the Imperial Academie of Sciences in Vienna, the supporters of List formed a List Society (''Guido-von-List-Gesellschaft'') to finance his research. The Society was founded officially on 2 March 1908. Its members included völkisch authors as well as occultists (for example Franz Hartmann and the complete membership of the Vienna Theosophical Society). Some inner members of the List Society participated in the activities of the ''Hoher Armanen-Orden'' (''High Armanen-Order''). This order, however, achieved no significance as a lodge-like organisation. Jörg Lanz (von Liebenfels) (1874–1954) had been a
cistercian monk The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
between 1893 and 1899. In 1903 he published a long article "Anthropozoon biblicum" in the ''Vierteljahrsschrift für Bibelkunde'', a periodical for biblical research. By 1905 his studies in this direction had cumulated into the book ''Theozoologie'', a "strange amalgam" of traditional Judaeo-Christian sources and contemporary life-sciences. Among other things, Lanz proposed a "frequently obscene and always radical" interpretation of the Bible, according to which it had been the purpose of the Old Testament to warn the
Aryan race The Aryan race is an obsolete historical race concept that emerged in the late-19th century to describe people of Proto-Indo-European heritage as a racial grouping. The terminology derives from the historical usage of Aryan, used by modern I ...
against interbreeding with
Pygmies In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...
. In 1905 Lanz also established his own magazine, Ostara. One of the few other contributors to this magazine beside Lanz himself was the theosophist Harald Grävell von Jostenoode (1856–1932), who also edited one number of Lotusblüten.


Astrology

Among the theosophists,
astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...
enjoyed a revival. Astrological texts by Karl Brandler-Pracht, Otto Pöllner, Ernst Tiede, and Albert Knief appeared at the Theosophical Publishing House at
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
. ''Karl Brandler-Pracht'' had also founded the ''First Viennese Astrological Society'' in 1907.
Erik Jan Hanussen Erik Jan Hanussen, born Hermann Steinschneider (2 June 1889, in Vienna – 25 March 1933, in Berlin), was an Austrian Jewish publicist, charlatan and clairvoyant performer. Acclaimed in his lifetime as a hypnotist, mentalist, occultist and astr ...
, who later would become the most famous
clairvoyant Clairvoyance (; ) is the magical ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through extrasensory perception. Any person who is claimed to have such ability is said to be a clairvoyant () ("one who sees cl ...
in Germany and Austria, gave his first occult session with ''E. K. Hermann'' in Vienna in 1911.Markus Kompa (with the collaboration of Wilfried Kugel)
Erik Jan Hanussen - Hokus-Pokus-Tausendsassa
Telepolis ''Telepolis'' is a German Internet magazine, published by the Heinz Heise Verlag since the beginning of 1996. It was founded by journalists Armin Medosch and Florian Rötzer and deals with privacy, science, culture, internet-related and ge ...
, 24 March 2008


Other developments

The German and Vienna occult subculture was well developed before the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Aside from the developments mentioned above, there are some more of interest: "The
Ordo Templi Orientis Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; ) is an occult initiatory organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of the O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner, Heinrich Klein, Franz Hartmann and T ...
(OTO) originated in the irregular masonic activities of
Theodor Reuss Albert Karl Theodor Reuss (; June 28, 1855 – October 28, 1923) also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Carolus Albertus Theodorus Peregrinus was an Anglo-German tantric occultist, freemason, journalist, singer and head of Ordo T ...
,
Franz Hartmann Franz Hartmann (22 November 1838, Donauwörth – 7 August 1912, Kempten im Allgäu) was a German medical doctor, theosophist, occultist, geomancer, astrologer, and author. Biography Hartmann was an associate of Helena Blavatsky and was C ...
, and Karl Kellner between 1895 and 1906." Theodor Reuss had been in contact with William Wescott, a founding member of the
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ( la, Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th ...
. Ernst Wachler was a völkisch author (he supported the ''Guido von List Society'') who had founded an open-air Germanic theatre in the
Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...
mountains. This theatre, called ''Green Stage'' (''Grüne Bühne''), was closed in 1937. The Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft, founded in 1907, is claimed by current
Germanic Neopaganism Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th cent ...
groups as predecessor. It was founded and led by the painter Ludwig Fahrenkrog. Since 1908, the group used the swastika as its symbol. After 1938 the use of the swastika became prohibited and the group was no longer allowed to hold public meetings. However, unlike many other esoteric groups in Nazi Germany, the GGG was not forced to disband, partly "because of Fahrenkrog's international status as an artist."


Interbellum Weimar Republic


Ariosophy, ''Ordo Novi Templi'', and Lumenclub

Lanz had coined the term
ariosophy Armanism and Ariosophy are esoteric ideological systems that were developed largely by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels respectively, in Austria between 1890 and 1930. The term 'Ariosophy', which means the wisdom of the Aryans, was i ...
, meaning occult wisdom concerning the Aryans, in 1915. In the 1920s he then used this label for his doctrine. Both List and Lanz greeted
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
as a
millenarian Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenarian ...
struggle.
Guido von List Guido Karl Anton List, better known as Guido von List (5 October 1848 – 17 May 1919), was an Austrian occultist, journalist, playwright, and novelist. He expounded a modern Pagan new religious movement known as Wotanism, which he claimed was ...
wrote his research reports on the "Aryo-Germanics" (Ario-Germanen) between 1908 and 1913, but in 1917 two later articles written by him appeared in ''Prana''. He died 1919 in Berlin. The List Society was continued after his death, but not much is known of its activities. By contrast, an organisation founded around 1907 by Lanz von Liebenfels achieved more significance: the "new Templar lodge", called ''Ordo Novi Templi'' (ONT) (German: Neutempler-Orden). On 11 November 1932, influenced by Ariosophy, an industrialist with the name Johann Walthari Wölfl also founded an association called the Lumenclub in Vienna, which overlapped in membership with the ONT. The ideological sympathy of the Lumenclub to
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...
is beyond question, as it acted as growth centre for the Nazi party that was illegal in Austria since 1934.Goodrick-Clarke 1985: 119 Nevertheless, they were later suppressed like other esoteric groups. After the ''
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
'' in 1938, Lanz von Liebenfels had his writings banned.Bramwell 1985: 42. The Lumenclub and the ONT were suppressed by the
Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...
in March 1942, following the party edict of December 1938 that applied to many sectarian groups. ''Werner von Bülow'' and ''Herbert Reichstein'' had applauded the advent of the third reich in their esoteric magazines.


Rune occultism

Influenced by Guido von List and Lanz von Liebenfels (see:
Ariosophy Armanism and Ariosophy are esoteric ideological systems that were developed largely by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels respectively, in Austria between 1890 and 1930. The term 'Ariosophy', which means the wisdom of the Aryans, was i ...
), a new "Aryan occultist movement" was started after 1918 in Germany by
Rudolf John Gorsleben Rudolf John Gorsleben (16 March 1883 – 23 August 1930) was a German Ariosophist, Armanist (practitioner of the Armanen runes), journal editor and playwright. Life Gorsleben was born in Metz. During World War I, he fought in a German unit s ...
. Since the esoteric importance of the runes (that first had been developed by
Guido von List Guido Karl Anton List, better known as Guido von List (5 October 1848 – 17 May 1919), was an Austrian occultist, journalist, playwright, and novelist. He expounded a modern Pagan new religious movement known as Wotanism, which he claimed was ...
, see Armanen runes) was central to his world-view, Goodrick-Clarke speaks in this context of "rune occultism". Here two authors stand out, as they engaged the runes in "a less explicitly Aryan racist context".
Friedrich Bernhard Marby Friedrich Bernhard Marby (10 May 1882 – 3 December 1966) was a German rune occultist and Germanic revivalist. He is best known for his revivalism and use of the Armanen runes. Marby was imprisoned during the Third Reich, which may have been ...
and
Siegfried Adolf Kummer Siegfried Adolf Kummer (born 24 September 1899 in Radeberg, died 1977 in Dresden) was a German mystic and Germanic revivalist. He is also most well known for his revivalism and use of the Armanen runes row. He, along with Friedrich Bernhard Ma ...
focused more on the practical side of rune occultism. In 1936 Friedrich Bernhard Marby was arrested and sent to a
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
(''Flossenbürg'' and later Dachau). He survived and resumed his occult research after the war. Responsible for his incarceration might have been
Karl Maria Wiligut Karl Maria Wiligut (alias Weisthor, Jarl Widar, Lobesam; 10 December 1866 – 3 January 1946) was an Austrian occultist and SS-Brigadeführer. Early life Wiligut was baptised a Roman Catholic in Vienna. At the age of 14, he joined the ''Kadetten ...
, who was Himmler's counsellor on the occult. (see:
Nazi occultism The association of Nazism with occultism occurs in a wide range of theories, speculation, and research into the origins of Nazism and into Nazism's possible relationship with various occult traditions. Such ideas have flourished as a part of popul ...
) Willigut was of the opinion that Marby (and also Kummer) were bringing "the holy Aryan heritage into disrepute and ridicule". Wiligut also had identified
Irminism Armanism and Ariosophy are esoteric ideological systems that were developed largely by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels respectively, in Austria between 1890 and 1930. The term 'Ariosophy', which means the wisdom of the Aryans, was i ...
as the true ancestral religion, claiming that
Guido von List Guido Karl Anton List, better known as Guido von List (5 October 1848 – 17 May 1919), was an Austrian occultist, journalist, playwright, and novelist. He expounded a modern Pagan new religious movement known as Wotanism, which he claimed was ...
's ''Wotanism'' and runic row was a schismatic false religion, but this does seem to be unconnected to the arrest of Marby. Other measures against esoteric groups were most probably the result of the general Nazi policy of suppressing lodge organizations.


Other developments

In the years following the military defeat, there was a burgeoning occult movement in Germany and Austria. Significant figures in this milieu were Gustav Meyring, Franz Spunda and
Peryt Shou Peryt Shou (legal name Albert Christian Georg örgSchultz) (22 April 1873 - 24 October 1953) was a German mysticist and Germanic pagan revivalist. He is mentioned briefly by Goodrick-Clarke ('' The Occult Roots of Nazism'', 1985: 165) as a writ ...
.


Esotericism in Nazi Germany


German Faith Movement

The
German Faith Movement The German Faith Movement (''Deutsche Glaubensbewegung'') was a religious movement in Nazi Germany (1933–1945), closely associated with University of Tübingen professor Jakob Wilhelm Hauer. The movement sought to move Germany away from ...
led by
Jakob Wilhelm Hauer Jakob Wilhelm Hauer (4 April 1881 in Ditzingen, Württemberg – 18 February 1962 in Tübingen) was a German Indologist and religious studies writer. He was the founder of the German Faith Movement. Biography Initially trained in the famil ...
during 1933-1945 propagated a move away from Christianity towards an "Aryan-Nordic religion", partly inspired by Hinduism.


Suppression of Freemasonry and esotericism

The suppression of Freemasonry in Nazi Germany also reached the level of outright persecution. It is estimated that between 80,000 and 200,000 Freemasons were murdered under the Nazi regime.Christopher Hodapp. 2005. Freemasons for Dummies, Wiley Publishing Inc., Indianapolis, p.85. The lodge Liberté chérie was founded in a
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
. Freemasons, who were sent to concentration camps, were sent there as political prisoners, and consequently forced to wear an inverted red triangle. (see:
Nazi concentration camp badges Nazi concentration camp badges, primarily triangles, were part of the system of identification in German camps. They were used in the concentration camps in the German-occupied countries to identify the reason the prisoners had been placed ther ...
) Within the Nazi ideology it was alleged that Freemasonry was part of "the Jewish conspiracy". Since many esoteric groups emulated the lodge structure of Freemasonry, they were "caught in the National Socialist anti-Masonic law of 1935".Bramwell 1985: 50. Even "the German Order of Druids" was closed down, "protesting to the last that they were not Freemasons but good, German Druids."Bramwell 1985: 50. In her biography of Richard Walther Darré, the historian Anna Bramwell also remarks that a secret society called the Skald Order "was banned by the Nazis after 1933 because of its allegedly masonic nature." Several members of the Skald held office in the Third Reich, including Dr Ludolf Haase (a founder member of the Skald),
Herbert Backe Herbert Friedrich Wilhelm Backe (1 May 1896 – 6 April 1947) was a German politician and SS Senior group leader (SS-''Obergruppenführer'') in Nazi Germany who served as State Secretary and Minister in the Reich Ministry of Food and Agricult ...
and Theo Gross; all came under covert investigation, though Backe is said to have been cleared of disloyalty by Heydrich from his deathbed. Whether the Nazi ideology had a special view concerning the various esoteric doctrines (aside from confusing them with Freemasonry) is not clear. Concerning
Anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritualist movement founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Follower ...
, a book whose title denounced
Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...
as a fraud (''Schwindler'') and a false prophet had been published by Gregor Schwartz-Bostunitsch in 1930. Schwartz-Bostunitsch had been an "enthusiastic Anthroposophist" from 1923, but was disaffected by 1929 and later joined the SS. Astrology was officially interdicted in Nazi Germany after 1938.Nostradamus und die Nazis
- A 'Feature' of Deutschlandfunk (German national radio) that was aired on September 16, 2008
However, the Nazis had sympathizing astrologers write favourable interpretations of
Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book '' Les Prophéties'' (published in 1555), a collection ...
for
psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and M ...
, and as late as 1936 Hitler personally sent a greetings telegram to an international astrologer's congress that was taking place in
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
. The full focus of the state was not aimed at religious groups until 9 June 1941 when
Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...
, the head of the security police, banned lodge organizations and esoteric groups in the wake of the flight to Scotland by Rudolf Hess, who had been attracted and influenced by the
organic farming Organic farming, also known as ecological farming or biological farming,Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and re ...
theories of
Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...
and Anthroposophy. However, the suppression of esoteric organisations began very soon after the Nazis acquired governmental power. Dr. Anna Bramwell points out that "occultist racialists were banned as early as 1934." Allegedly the stage magician and occultist Franz Bardon had attracted the notice of Adolf Hitler ''"like other workers for the Light"'' and was incarcerated in a concentration camp for three and a half months in 1945.


Later developments in Nazi esotericism

The
Thule Society The Thule Society (; german: Thule-Gesellschaft), originally the ''Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum'' ("Study Group for Germanic Antiquity"), was a German occultist and '' Völkisch'' group founded in Munich shortly after World War I, n ...
was dissolved still in the 1920s, well before Hitler's rise to power, and the anti-Masonic legislation of 1935 closed down esoteric organisations including ''völkisch'' occultist ones.
Karl Maria Wiligut Karl Maria Wiligut (alias Weisthor, Jarl Widar, Lobesam; 10 December 1866 – 3 January 1946) was an Austrian occultist and SS-Brigadeführer. Early life Wiligut was baptised a Roman Catholic in Vienna. At the age of 14, he joined the ''Kadetten ...
, the chief occultist influence on the Nazi establishment, retired in 1939.
Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...
, whose 1930 '' Myth of the Twentieth Century'' had been important in the foundation of Nazi racist ideology, and
Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
, who added a number of occultist "design elements" to the
Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...
, did remain high ranking party members throughout the war. Himmler's mystic tendencies can be seen in the
Ahnenerbe The Ahnenerbe (, ''ancestral heritage'') operated as a think tank in Nazi Germany between 1935 and 1945. Heinrich Himmler, the ''Reichsführer-SS'' from 1929 onwards, established it in July 1935 as an SS appendage devoted to the task of promot ...
organization and the
Wewelsburg Wewelsburg () is a Renaissance castle located in the village of Wewelsburg, which is a district of the town of Büren, Westphalia, in the ''Landkreis'' of Paderborn in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The castle has a triangul ...
castle. According to their private writings, the leaders of the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
in Germany did not wish to encourage forms of paganism which did not serve to further their goals of promoting pan-Germanic ethnic consciousness. Already in 1927, Hitler had fired the
Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...
of
Thüringen Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
,
Artur Dinter Artur Dinter (27 June 1876 – 21 May 1948) was a German writer and Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Thuringia. Biography Dinter was born in Mulhouse, in Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire (now France) to Josef Dinter, a custom ...
, from his post because he wanted too much to make a religion of Aryan racial purity. In 1928, Dinter was expelled from the party when he publicly attacked Hitler about this decision. Rudolf von Sebottendorff had been involved in the
Thule Society The Thule Society (; german: Thule-Gesellschaft), originally the ''Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum'' ("Study Group for Germanic Antiquity"), was a German occultist and '' Völkisch'' group founded in Munich shortly after World War I, n ...
. In January 1933 he published ''Bevor Hitler kam: Urkundlich aus der Frühzeit der Nationalsozialistischen Bewegung'' (Before Hitler Came: Documents from the Early Days of the National Socialist Movement). Nazi authorities disliked the book, which was banned in the following year. Sebottendorff was arrested but managed to flee to
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
.


Esotericists in Nazi Germany

*
Karl Spiesberger Karl Spiesberger (29 October 1904 – 1 January 1992) was a German mystic, occultist, Germanic revivalist and Runosophist. He is most well known for his revivalism and usage of the Sidereal Pendulum for divination and dowsing and for his anti- ...
*
Ludwig Straniak Ludwig Straniak (1879-1951), was a German mystic, Germanic revivalist and most notably a pendulum dowser. He was an architect and astrologer and was used by the German military in the Third Reich, not necessarily willingly. Two of the more wel ...
*
Wilhelm Wulff ''Zodiac and Swastika: How Astrology Guided Hitler's Germany'' (german: Tierkreis und Hakenkreuz: Als Astrologe an Himmlers Hof) is a 1968 book by Wilhelm Theodor H. Wulff (27 March 1892 - 9 June 1979). It was released in 1973 in the United States ...
* A. Frank Glahn *
Karl Maria Wiligut Karl Maria Wiligut (alias Weisthor, Jarl Widar, Lobesam; 10 December 1866 – 3 January 1946) was an Austrian occultist and SS-Brigadeführer. Early life Wiligut was baptised a Roman Catholic in Vienna. At the age of 14, he joined the ''Kadetten ...
*
Carl Reichenbach Carl Ludwig von Reichenbach (full name: Karl Ludwig Freiherr von Reichenbach; February 12, 1788January 1869) was a German chemist, geologist, metallurgist, naturalist, industrialist and philosopher, and a member of the Prussian Academy of Scienc ...
*
Hellmut Wolff Hellmut Wolff (30 March 1906 – 22 March 1986), was a German academic, mystic, Germanic revivalist, and most notably a Pendulum dowser. He was used by the German military during the Third Reich. Wolff was mentioned throughout the book ''Reveal t ...
* Karl Ernst Krafft


After 1945

Other than popular
Western astrology Western astrology is the system of astrology most popular in Western countries. Western astrology is historically based on Ptolemy's ''Tetrabiblos'' (2nd century CE), which in turn was a continuation of Hellenistic and ultimately Babylonian tra ...
, there is also a school of thought regarding
Germanic Runic Astrology There is some evidence that, in addition to being a writing system, runes historically served purposes of magic. This is the case from the earliest epigraphic evidence of the Roman to the Germanic Iron Age, with non-linguistic inscriptions and th ...
and its usage in divination within the northern tradition of Odinism. The work of
Friedrich Bernhard Marby Friedrich Bernhard Marby (10 May 1882 – 3 December 1966) was a German rune occultist and Germanic revivalist. He is best known for his revivalism and use of the Armanen runes. Marby was imprisoned during the Third Reich, which may have been ...
was continued by Rudolf Arnold Spieth, who also published one of his works posthumously. A revival of Neopaganism in Germany and Austria began in the 1970s. Since the 1980s, mainstream esotericism in German-speaking Europe has been dominated by generic
New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...
syncretism as it developed in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. During the
COVID pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...
,
anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritualist movement founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Follower ...
followers have met for "walks" with anti-vaxxers and the extreme right right to protest government regulations. Anthroposophy has "a proximity to the mindset of conspiracy theorists", according to Helmut Zander.


Notes


Literature

* Anna Bramwell. 1985. ''Blood and Soil: Richard Walther Darré and Hitler's 'Green Party. Abbotsbrook, England: The Kensal Press. *
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (15 January 195329 August 2012) was a British historian and professor of Western esotericism at the University of Exeter, best known for his authorship of several scholarly books on the history of Germany between the W ...
. 1985. ''
The Occult Roots of Nazism ''The Occult Roots of Nazism: The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany, 1890–1935'' is a book about Nazi occultism and Ariosophy by historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, who traces some of its roots back to Esotericism in Germany and Austria betwe ...
: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology: The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany, 1890-1935''. Wellingborough, England: The Aquarian Press. . * Giorgio Galli, ''Hitler e il nazismo magico'', Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli, Italy, published in Rome (2005), pages 301, . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Esotericism In Germany And Austria Germany and Austria Austrian culture German culture