Occultism in Nazism  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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Speculation about Nazism and occultism has become part of popular culture since at least 1959. There are documentaries and books on the topic, most notably The Morning of the Magicians (1960) and The Spear of Destiny (1972). Historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke analyzed the topic in The Occult Roots of Nazism. He argued cautiously for some real links between some ideals of Ariosophy and Nazi ideology, but also analyzed the problems of the numerous popular "occult historiography" books written on the topic. He separated empiricism and sociology from the "Modern Mythology of Nazi Occultism" books which "have represented the Nazi phenomenon as the product of arcane and demonic influence". He considered most of these to be "sensational and under-researched".

Overview

Nazi occultism is any of several highly speculative theories about Nazism, also called the Nazi Mysteries. With the publication of Le Matin des Magiciens in 1960, this kind of speculation has become part of popular culture. However, it goes back to several publications in the occult milieu in France and England from the 1940s, and notably to Hermann Rauschning's Hitler Speaks. The recurring motif of this literary genre is the thesis that the Nazis were directed by occult agencies of some sort: black forces, invisible hierarchies, unknown superiors, secret societies or even Satan directly. Since such an agency has remained concealed to previous historians of National Socialism, they have dismissed the topic as modern cryptohistory. The actual religious aspects of Nazism, including the question of its potential occult and pagan aspects, are a different topic.

See also

• Adolf Hitler in popular culture
• Adolf Hitler's religious beliefs
• Esoteric Nazism
• Esotericism in Germany and Austria
• German Christians
• Julleuchter
• Magic: History, Theory and Practice
• Nazi archaeology
• Nazi UFOs
• Nazis: The Occult Conspiracy
• Neofascism and religion
• Neo-völkisch movements
• The Occult History of the Third Reich
• Positive Christianity
• Protestant Reich Church
• Religion in Nazi Germany
• Religious aspects of Nazism
• Walter Johannes Stein
• Erik Jan Hanussen