Rating: 
Summary: So Occult You Can't Watch It
Review: The information presented in these films is interesting and useful to anyone who wishes to understand the cultural underpinings of Nazism. But if you buy the set, be sure to save both the shipping list and mailing label. I found the technical quality of my copies so poor I could not watch them all. This was due to a defective product. Unfortunately, it was some days before I discovered this and by then the packing material had been tossed out.
Rating: 
Summary: Informative but basically misleading
Review: There is a fundamental problem with this series of documentaries. By focusing on the relationship of the Third Reich to the occult, it makes it appear as if the occult were the only source of Nazi ideology. Actually, important sources of Nazism lay in political theories that are ignored in this documentary, and some Nazis were far less interested in the occult than others. So this series is often quite correct in its information but the information gives only part of the picture and is therefore misleading.
Rating: 
Summary: Same old story...
Review: This is a great addition to my collection. I've always been curious about the Nazi phenomena, and I've always wondered how the most civilized country in Europe at the time could have descended into such depravity. This question has never been answered to my satisfaction--until now. This DVD collection gives us a look at the mindset which made Nazism possible; it was a mindset where the values of Judeo-Christianity were replaced by the values of occultism, paganism, mysticism and eugenics. This gives rise to another question, however. Why is this aspect of Nazism so completely ignored in traditional and official histories? It makes you wonder. If you're a student of this period of our history, I highly recommend this collection.
Rating:
Summary: Official histories omit this info -- Why?
Review: This is a great addition to my collection. I've always been curious about the Nazi phenomena, and I've always wondered how the most civilized country in Europe at the time could have descended into such depravity. This question has never been answered to my satisfaction--until now. This DVD collection gives us a look at the mindset which made Nazism possible; it was a mindset where the values of Judeo-Christianity were replaced by the values of occultism, paganism, mysticism and eugenics. This gives rise to another question, however. Why is this aspect of Nazism so completely ignored in traditional and official histories? It makes you wonder. If you're a student of this period of our history, I highly recommend this collection.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This set borrows heavily from TRIUMPH OF THE WILL and from the Wolper Documentary RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH, using washed-our film resources. The set is made up of three discs which purport to concentrate on Adolph Hitler, the SS, and the swastica, but they instead overlap each other, using padded and unrelated material, concentrating heavily on the holocaust and using stock footage from television. Overall, very disappointing quality.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This set borrows heavily from TRIUMPH OF THE WILL and from the Wolper Documentary RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH, using washed-our film resources. The set is made up of three discs which purport to concentrate on Adolph Hitler, the SS, and the swastica, but they instead overlap each other, using padded and unrelated material, concentrating heavily on the holocaust and using stock footage from television. Overall, very disappointing quality.
Rating: 
Summary: A good starting place, or maybe all you need?
Review: Well here we are introduces to a different view of the Third Reich. Why haven't we seen this before? Evidently this aspect of Nazis was not as interesting as weapons or fascist ideology. However I have seen this film several times on history channels and even on public television. And it does bring up new questions as to how it all started? Well some would say they knew all about it and that, and this film is just a glossy version with stock footage. OK, find me a film on the subject that is not glossy and uses unique footage. If you really have more than a passing interest then it is book time, such as "The Occult Roots of Nazism" ISBN: 0814730604. For the most part this film covers more than the general public is interested in.
Rating:
Summary: Hitler's Occult Reich.
Review: _The Occult History of the Third Reich_ consists of two DVDs featuring original footage from Nazi Germany and telling the tale of the occult origins of National Socialism. There are four separate programs: "The Enigma of the Swastika", "The SS: Blood and Soil", "Himmler: The Mystic", and "Adolf Hitler", as well as a separate special feature "Ask the experts". In total the DVD runs for over 3 hours.
"The Enigma of the Swastika" tells the tale of the origins of the swastika as symbol of National Socialism. It begins by noting a period of decline in traditional hierarchy, authority, and religion, and a rise in industry and finance at the beginning of the twentieth century. This decline was not greeted warmly by all those who lived at the time. To compensate, various counter-myths and restorationist schemes were proposed. In Tibet for example, the swastika had long been used as a traditional symbol for good luck. The Russian seer who allegedly visited Tibet, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky proposed that the swastika was the symbol of the Aryan root race. Later, Guido von List, a Germanic mystic, influenced by the ideas of Blavatsky wrote of the lost Teutonic race who worshipped Wotan and referred to them as Aryans. List also was to make use of the swastika as symbol of the Aryans. In the Great War, the swastika became a talisman worn by soldiers. Various secret societies such as the Thule Society, which operated behind the NSDAP, run by Rudolph von Sebottendorf, also made use of the swastika. When Hitler came to power he incorporated a straight-armed and anti-clockwise swastika as the symbol of National Socialism. Also, Alfred Rosenberg, a Nazi philosopher, and the SS were to use the swastika as their own special symbol.
"The SS: Blood and Soil" tells the story of the SS guard, an Aryan elite and supposed "brotherhood of Templars". The SS was commanded by Heinrich Himmler who developed a profound nostalgia for a lost aristocratic elite. Other figures who believed in a hidden elite or hidden masters included Blavatsky, Aleister Crowley, and List. Various secret societies including freemasons, the Rosicrucians, the Jesuits, and the Templars served as models for the SS. The SS wore a special "death's head" insignia. A system of racial hygiene and eugenics was instated in Nazi Germany so as to breed the Aryan superman.
"Himmler: The Mystic" tells the tale of Heinrich Himmler's infatuation with the occult. Himmler began his career as an agriculturalist leading him to stress the importance of the myth of "Blood and Soil" as well as the necessity of Lebensreform. Himmler also was involved in astrology, spiritualism, and herbalism. Himmler commissioned a special bureau of SS archeology, which sought to rediscover lost Aryan civilizations. Karl Maria Wiligut served an important role as an occultist for Himmler's SS. In addition, Himmler sought out Wewelsburg castle as the spiritual center of the SS order.
"Adolf Hitler" reveals the secret history of Adolf Hitler and his involvement with the occult. Hitler read the writings of Jorg Lanz who published Ostara and advocated a system of theozoology. In addition, Hitler was also influenced by the Englishman who praised Germanic culture Houston Stewart Chamberlain and the composer Richard Wagner. Alfred Rosenberg, the Nazi philosopher, made popular the notorious "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" which influenced Hitler's rabid antisemitism. This program shows the destruction wrought by the Third Reich, the use of eugenics, and the death camps.
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