Jan Udo Holey (born 22 March 1967 in

Dinkelsbühl Dinkelsbühl () is a historic town in Central Franconia, a region of Germany that is now part of the state of Bavaria, in southern Germany. Dinkelsbühl is a former free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. In local government terms, Dinkelsb� ...

), and often known by his pen name Jan van Helsing, is a controversial German author who embraces

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a neg ...

involving subjects such as world domination plots by

freemasons 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 ...

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

's continuing survival in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...

following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the structure of the

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surf ...

hollow Hollow may refer to: Natural phenomena *Hollow, a low, wooded area, such as a copse * Hollow (landform), a small vee-shaped, riverine type of valley *Tree hollow, a void in a branch or trunk, which may provide habitat for animals Places *Sleepy ...

, and others. His theories draw from sources such as ''

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...

''.

Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (german: Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz or BfV, often ''Bundesverfassungsschutz'') is Germany's federal domestic intelligence agency. Together with the Landesämter für Verfassungss ...

''Argumentationsmuster im rechtsextremistischen Antisemitismus''
. November 2005, p. 10f. His books ''Geheimgesellschaften'' (''Secret Societies'') and ''Geheimgesellschaften 2'' have been banned in Germany, France and Switzerland for inciting

anti-semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

hatred. The majority of his books, such as ''Die Kinder des neuen Jahrtausends. Mediale Kinder verändern die Welt'' (''Children of the New Millennium, and how They Change the World'') are non-political and deal exclusively with

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 a ...

subjects.

Life

Holey was the middle child of a wealthy family. His mother called herself a

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 ...

, and his father wrote three books dealing with

gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...

and

subject matter. Holey claims to have attended schools in

Crailsheim Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Incorporated in 1338, it lies east of Schwäbisch Hall and southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall district. The city's main attractions include two Evangelical churches, a ...

, Bammental (near

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

(in the United Kingdom), and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. Holey chose his

nom de plume A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

"van Helsing", after he read

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busin ...

's vampire-novel ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...

'' at the age of fourteen. Today, Holey runs his own publishing house, which publishes his own works as well as of others holding similar interests and viewpoints. The (the

State Office for the Protection of the Constitution The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (german: Landesbehörde für Verfassungsschutz; ) is a state-level security agency in Germany. In seven federal states of Germany, it is a semi-independent agency called and reports to th ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

) first referred to Holey in a 1996 report entitled "Rechtsextremistische Einflußnahme auf die Esoterikszene" (Right-Wing Extremist Influences on the Esoteric Scene).

Political opinions

Holey draws from many esoteric and conspiracy theories, many of which originate in the United States of America. His writings encompass such varied themes as

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 ...

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

, conspiracy theories regarding

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

and

Uwe Barschel Uwe Barschel (13 May 1944 – 11 October 1987) was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as Minister-President in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. Having assumed office of Minister-President at the age of 38, ...

's murders. According to his detractors, Holey's books are largely plagiarized from other sources, many of which are conspiracy theorists of questionable repute. The author believes he is banned as part of a larger conspiracy. In ''Geheimgesellschaften'', Holey combines science-fiction,

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 a ...

, Nazi-mythology,

ufology Ufology ( ) is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary origins (most frequently of extraterrestrial alien visitors). While there are instances of government, private, and ...

and "

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in J ...

global domination" theories. He also employs ''

'' as a source. He believes the

Rothschilds The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...

head a Jewish conspiracy to rule the world and associates them with a mysterious cabal called the

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on 1 ...

, who plan a New World Order. Holey and his followers claim that they are not anti-semitic, but rather that they speak out against powerful Jewish interests in high finance and politics.''Van Helsing: Ideologischer Kern unverändert''
("Van Helsing: Ideological core unchanged", article in a Swiss antiracist publication 1999)

Publications

Books published under his pen name ''Jan van Helsing'': * ''Geheimgesellschaften und ihre Macht im 20. Jahrhundert'', 1995, * ''Geheimgesellschaften 2 (das Interview)'', 1995, * ''Buch 3 – Der dritte Weltkrieg'', 2005, * ''Unternehmen Aldebaran'', 1997, * ''Hände weg von diesem Buch'', 2004, * ''Wer hat Angst vor'm schwarzen Mann...?'', 2005, Books published under his real name ''Jan Udo Holey'': * ''Die Akte Jan van Helsing'', * ''Die innere Welt'', * ''Die Kinder des neuen Jahrtausend'', 2005,

References

External links

Jan Udo Holey's Website
(German)
Article debunking ''Geheimgesellschaften (Part 1)''
(German)
Article debunking ''Geheimgesellschaften (Part 2)''
(German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Holey, Jan Udo 1967 births Living people Occultism in Nazism German conspiracy theorists Antisemitism in Germany