Occult History of the Third Reich

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.