Speaker 1: Welcome to Unexplained Extra with me Richard McClane Smith, where
Speaker 1: for the weeks in between episodes, we look at stories
Speaker 1: and ideas that, for one reason or other, didn't make
Speaker 1: it into the previous show. The last week's episode, The Wandering,
Speaker 1: focused on the peculiar story of forestry worker Robert Taylor,
Speaker 1: who in nineteen seventy nine claimed to have been attacked
Speaker 1: by a mysterious machine while out walking through decmant woods
Speaker 1: just outside Livingstone in Scotland. For many, Taylor's story is
Speaker 1: compelling because it's simply unfathomable that such a modest and
Speaker 1: taciturn man would go to the trouble of making such
Speaker 1: a bizarre story up. Certainly, most people connected with the case,
Speaker 1: from the police to Taylor's colleagues and family, found Taylor
Speaker 1: to be very sincere in what he believed had happened
Speaker 1: to him, concluding that a hallucination brought on by a
Speaker 1: medical condition was the most likely explanation. Much of the
Speaker 1: belief in Taylor's integrity is due to his status as
Speaker 1: a veteran of the Second World War, during which he
Speaker 1: was one of the first people to witness the horrors
Speaker 1: of the Bergen Belsen concentration camp after it had been liberated.
Speaker 1: Making a very brief appearance in the episode was Heinrich Himmler, who,
Speaker 1: as Breich's fuer of the Shut Staffel or SS, the
Speaker 1: paramilitary organization of the German Reich, was ultimately responsible for
Speaker 1: running the camp. Himmler has long been a source of
Speaker 1: fascination for historians, sociologists, and psychologists alike as one of
Speaker 1: the leading members of the National Socialist German Workers Party
Speaker 1: commonly referred to as the Nazi Party. This fascination stems
Speaker 1: mostly from the not unreasonable perception of Himmler as a
Speaker 1: distinctly callous, depraved, and brutal individual. It was Himmler, after all, who,
Speaker 1: in nineteen forty one made the agreement with Adolf Hitler
Speaker 1: that they should annihilate all Jews and just for those
Speaker 1: who are unsure of the history. Then very much proceeded
Speaker 1: to put that agreement into practice. This reputation was compounded
Speaker 1: by his position as head of the SS, whose members
Speaker 1: were among the most fervent supporters of Hitler's ideas and policies.
Speaker 1: But there is another reason that many are fascinated with himla,
Speaker 1: namely his and the Nazi Party in general's association with
Speaker 1: the occult. It is an association that, in ways, along
Speaker 1: with what people often think of when they hear the
Speaker 1: term Nazi, has clouded one of the fundamental truths about
Speaker 1: Himla and the Nazi regime. A lot has been made
Speaker 1: about the National Socialists association with the occult, with many
Speaker 1: fantastical rumors springing up in the wake of their defeat
Speaker 1: in the Second World War. Some have claimed that Adolf
Speaker 1: Hitler and his party derived their power from the Spear
Speaker 1: of Destiny, a legendary Christian relic said to have pierced
Speaker 1: the side of Jesus Christ. According to legend, whoever possessed
Speaker 1: the spear held the destiny of the world in their hands.
Speaker 1: Others are claimed that Hitler in fact got his power
Speaker 1: from real, a mythical substance created by a race of
Speaker 1: subterranean people that were said to have magical healing properties.
Speaker 1: Some believe that Hitler was simply possessed by a demon.
Speaker 1: Though these rumors may be a little far fetched, there
Speaker 1: is some truth to the occult connection, namely through the
Speaker 1: National Socialist Party's association with the Tuley Society and a
Speaker 1: number of other secret societies that explored extreme belief system
Speaker 1: in conjunction with the wider Vulkish movement, an ethno nationalist
Speaker 1: movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century that
Speaker 1: sought to define true Germans as something racially pure and
Speaker 1: distinct from others. The Order of the New Templars or
Speaker 1: o NT was one such organization, founded in nineteen oh
Speaker 1: seven by Lance von Liebenfel. The ONT were the first
Speaker 1: to adopt the use of a swastika as a symbol
Speaker 1: of white supremacy, with its teachings based on an ideological
Speaker 1: system known broadly as ariosophy, which was developed by Liebenfel
Speaker 1: and another occultist named Guido von Liszt. The belief system
Speaker 1: was based largely around the concept of an aryan race
Speaker 1: comprised of only white people, who they considered to be
Speaker 1: not only biologically distinct from all others, but also magically
Speaker 1: superior to any other race on earth. Any of Leibenfels
Speaker 1: and Lists ideas were later incorporated into the TULI Society,
Speaker 1: members of which would go on to establish the German
Speaker 1: Workers Party, that in turn would be reorganized by Adolf
Speaker 1: Hitler in nineteen thirty three into the National Socialist German
Speaker 1: Workers Party. Above all of them, However, there was one
Speaker 1: racist that would prove especially influential. Carl Maria Villegut was
Speaker 1: born in Austria in eighteen sixty six. At seventeen, he
Speaker 1: was conscripted into the Austria Hungry Army, from where he
Speaker 1: began a lengthy and fairly distinguished career as a soldier.
Speaker 1: But it was for his bizarre belief that he would
Speaker 1: really make his mark. At some point, Villegut became convinced
Speaker 1: that he was not only descended from an ancient line
Speaker 1: of wise Germanic kings, but that as a clairvoyant, he
Speaker 1: had the power to access their ancient ancestral memories. In
Speaker 1: nineteen nineteen, he was encouraged by Lands von Lebenfeld of
Speaker 1: the O n T to share his beliefs, and Villegud
Speaker 1: did not disappoint him. According to Villegut, the true history
Speaker 1: of Germany began in two hundred twenty eight thousand b
Speaker 1: c e. In a time where there were three sons
Speaker 1: in the sky and giants, dwarfs and other mythical creatures
Speaker 1: roaming the land. Villegut's own blood line supposedly began in
Speaker 1: seventy eight thousand b c e. And was instrumental in
Speaker 1: the formation of an apparent ancient religion which betrayed the
Speaker 1: true people of Germany, as he saw them as a
Speaker 1: superior race of beings whose ultimate destiny was to become
Speaker 1: the dominant race on earth, and Villegut, as a direct
Speaker 1: descendant of the ancient kings of this race of people,
Speaker 1: was the perfect man to get them there. Over the
Speaker 1: next few years, as Villegate's delusions intensive fight, he became
Speaker 1: increasingly erratic and violent toward his wife, Malvine. In nineteen
Speaker 1: twenty four, she succeeded in having him committed to a
Speaker 1: psychiatric asylum, where he was diagnosed with possible schizophrenia and
Speaker 1: declared insane. Throughout his four years stint in hospital, however,
Speaker 1: Villigerate continued to correspond with his newfound supporters in the
Speaker 1: o NT and by the time of his release in
Speaker 1: nineteen twenty seven, had developed a reputation as a bona
Speaker 1: fide mystical Germanic sage. In nineteen thirty three, after leaving
Speaker 1: his wife and moving to Munich, shortly after Adolf Hitler
Speaker 1: and his National Socialists secured complete control of the German Reich,
Speaker 1: he was introduced to Heinrich Himmler. Is there something interfering
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Speaker 1: happier life today. Instantly impressed by Villigate's apparent knowledge of
Speaker 1: ancient Germanic traditions and religions, Himmler appointed him under the
Speaker 1: name Carl Maria Weisshall as the head of the Department
Speaker 1: for pre and Early History, based in the Race and
Speaker 1: Settlement Main Office, a department whose sole function was to
Speaker 1: vet members of the SS to make sure they were,
Speaker 1: as they saw it, sufficiently racially pure. Himmler regularly sought
Speaker 1: Villigate's advice in a variety of matters, even helping to
Speaker 1: pick out Favelsburg Castle in the northeast of what was
Speaker 1: then the province of Westphalia as the ideal location for
Speaker 1: the SSS countryside headquarters. According to Nicholas Gudric Clark in
Speaker 1: his nineteen eighty five book The Occult Roots of Nazism,
Speaker 1: Villigerate had foreseen that the castle would become a magical
Speaker 1: German stronghold in the future conflict between Europe and Asia.
Speaker 1: Villigerate encouraged others in the SS to adopt his so
Speaker 1: called erminist faith and officiated at pagan wedding ceremonies for
Speaker 1: numerous SS officers, and was also entrusted with designing the
Speaker 1: SS totten cop Frink or Death's head ring that was
Speaker 1: bestowed on members of the SS by Heinrich Himmler himself. However,
Speaker 1: that is more or less where Villigerates, and perhaps any
Speaker 1: meaningful association between the Occult and the National Socialists ends.
Speaker 1: After the truth of Villigerate's psychological diagnosis came to light
Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty eight. The following year, Himmler had him
Speaker 1: quietly retired from the SS to avoid any embarrassment, though
Speaker 1: its influence is to be found elsewhere, most prominently in
Speaker 1: the party's iconography, such as their use of the ostika
Speaker 1: and the SS logo itself, which was taken from a
Speaker 1: runic symbol created by Guido von Liszt, as well as
Speaker 1: in a series of alleged parapsychological experiments conducted on behalf
Speaker 1: of the German military, which I may explore another time. Broadly,
Speaker 1: its hold over the party was minimal and largely superficial.
Speaker 1: In fact, in nineteen forty one, Hitler ordered his staff
Speaker 1: to clean up this astrology rubbish, as he put it,
Speaker 1: after his deputy Rudolph Hess, a known advocate of astrology
Speaker 1: and the occult, flew to Scotland in an effort to
Speaker 1: single handedly broker of peace with Great Britain. As a result,
Speaker 1: Hitler had his head of propaganda, Joseph Gebel's, pass a
Speaker 1: law known as Action Hess, banning any occult organizations from
Speaker 1: giving public performances, in an effort to crack down on
Speaker 1: their influence. There is little doubt that those like Heinrich
Speaker 1: Himmler and Adolf Hitler believed in their racial superiority. As
Speaker 1: for whether they genuinely believed it had been magically bestowed
Speaker 1: upon them is another question. Perhaps more likely, all the
Speaker 1: stories of destiny and racial purity were merely the perfect
Speaker 1: metaphors with which to embolden their supporters in their efforts
Speaker 1: to remodel the world and their image. Either way, it
Speaker 1: is easy to see why the apparent link with Hitler's
Speaker 1: Germany and the occult is so compelling. As Peter Staudenmeyer
Speaker 1: wrote in a twenty seventeen article for Aon magazine, a
Speaker 1: fixation on diabolical forces can distract attention from the social
Speaker 1: forces that shape reality. Attributing the horrors of Nazi Germany
Speaker 1: to obscure occult sources is all too often a convenient
Speaker 1: way of absolving ourselves from the hard work of understanding
Speaker 1: the past. In a similar vein, I personally prefer to
Speaker 1: avoid using the term Nazi when applied to the era
Speaker 1: of the National Socialist German Workers Party. The term Nazi
Speaker 1: was never actually used by the National Socialists to refer
Speaker 1: to themselves, but was in fact coined as a pejorative
Speaker 1: term by opponents of the party as a play on
Speaker 1: the phrase national Socialist and the abbreviation of the name
Speaker 1: Ignatius that was often used colloquially to mean a foolish
Speaker 1: or clumsy person. Just for clarity, I have absolutely no
Speaker 1: problem with coining a pejorative term to use for the
Speaker 1: party and its affiliates. However, I prefer not to use
Speaker 1: it in this context, simply because I believe it detracts
Speaker 1: from one harsh and fundamental truth. The term Nazi, when
Speaker 1: applied to people such as Heinrich Himmler and Adolf Hitler,
Speaker 1: is often done in a way that positions them as
Speaker 1: something of such monsters unfathomable evil. They become almost something
Speaker 1: other than human, something that is all too easily dismissed
Speaker 1: as a momentary aberration in the history of humankind. In effect,
Speaker 1: to use the term Nazi in this context runs the
Speaker 1: risk of forgetting these people and their supporters were very
Speaker 1: much human beings. This is complicated further when applied to
Speaker 1: people and regimes in the present day. There are, of
Speaker 1: course those who will proudly declare themselves naziats. However, for
Speaker 1: those who would be appalled at the idea of being
Speaker 1: associated with the label, even if they found themselves supporting
Speaker 1: people and policies that might not seem out of place
Speaker 1: and Hitler's Germany, I believe they might struggle to recognize
Speaker 1: the severity of what they were doing, for the simple
Speaker 1: reason that because we have learned to understand the Nazis
Speaker 1: as something so impossibly monstrous, virtually nobody could possibly believe
Speaker 1: that they themselves might be one. If you enjoy Unexplained
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Speaker 1: by me Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and rate the
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