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Reading Evola in Germany
The article examines the reception of Julius Evola’s works in National Socialist Germany, with a focus on his four monographs published between 1933 and 1943. While Evola played a marginal role in policymaking, he gained recognition as a public intellectual whose works, including
Heidnischer Imperialismus
and Erhebung wider die moderne Welt, were debated in German intellectual and political circles. Some praised his critique of modernity and his aristocratic worldview, while others rejected his anti-Christian stance and “non-German” political vision. The study highlights the pluralist nature of ideological discourse under National Socialism, revealing that Evola’s works were used both to support and critique certain ideologies ascribed to the regime. His ideas often served as a demarcating foil for competing visions of Germanness and National Socialism; however, these debates also demonstrate that he was viewed as part of the legitimate political discourse. Ultimately, the case exemplifies the complexities of ideological integration and debate in the “Third Reich”, challenging simplified narratives of Evola’s reception and influence.
32 pages, ebook
Published July 15, 2025
About the author
Moritz Maurer
4 booksMoritz Maurer, Ph.D. (Institute for Religious Studies at Heidelberg University, 2022; M.A., Iranian Studies, School of Oriental Studies (London), 2015; B.A., Religious Studies, University of Heidelberg, 2012), is an FWF Fellow (2025–2028) at the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Vienna, where he was previously a Research Fellow (2024–2025). From 2022 to 2023, he was a research assistant at the Institute for Religious Studies at Heidelberg University, and in the summer semester of 2025 at the University of Göttingen. He has taught classes at the Universities of Heidelberg and Frankfurt and has worked for the DFG long-term project Zoroastrian Middle Persian: Digital Corpus and Dictionary at Ruhr University Bochum.
In 2024, his doctoral thesis was published as Kosmos, Gesellschaft, Religion [Cosmos, Society and Religion] by de Gruyter in the series Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten. He has intensively researched late antique Iranian religious history. His focus at present is on Middle Iranian Manichaean and Zoroastrian texts, while his current research focuses on the connections between esotericism, alternative religion, and right-wing extremism as well as the history of free religious groups in German-speaking countries. He has published on QAnon, right-wing meme cultures, and conspirituality. His research at the University of Vienna focuses on Traditionalism.
In 2024, his doctoral thesis was published as Kosmos, Gesellschaft, Religion [Cosmos, Society and Religion] by de Gruyter in the series Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten. He has intensively researched late antique Iranian religious history. His focus at present is on Middle Iranian Manichaean and Zoroastrian texts, while his current research focuses on the connections between esotericism, alternative religion, and right-wing extremism as well as the history of free religious groups in German-speaking countries. He has published on QAnon, right-wing meme cultures, and conspirituality. His research at the University of Vienna focuses on Traditionalism.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 7, 2026
End of last year, I started down the rabbit hole of Evola studies upon encountering "Far-Right Politics and the Study of Esotericism" from the eponymous Special Issue of Aries| Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism, Vol 25 #2, issued last July. In addition to the instant article, this issue also includes the editor's "Esotericism, the New Right, and Academic Scholarship" and "Pagan Imperialisms," previously completed and reviewed.
Like the latter, this article is concerned with assessing whether and to what extent Evola can be considered a Fascist or Nazi, contra the revisionistt assertions of his latter-day apologists, in this case by examining his reception among contemporary National Socialist reviewers of his German-language publications. The result is frankly quite damning.
"It is also clear that the DVA endeavored to present Evola as a politically relevant contemporary thinker whose ideas were framed as explicitly fascist and relevant to National Socialism…" Moreover, despite some reviewers finding him to be insufficiently "Nordic" or völkisch, and/or excessively esoteric of even Catholic (!), "Evola fit well into the general field of ideological discourse—well enough to be framed as a fascist and to be praised by radical National Socialists…"
In fine, I think one who markets oneself to Nazis as a fellow traveler, and is welcomed as a "fit" by the said Nazis, may fairly be called a Nazi regardless of whether or not they were actually a card-carrying member of the NSDAP. The room for equivocation around the "yes" answer to the question of whether Evola was a Nazi appears to be to have become quite cramped of late.
That completes the open-access articles from this issue, so I'll need to hammer just a bit harder to complete the set.
Like the latter, this article is concerned with assessing whether and to what extent Evola can be considered a Fascist or Nazi, contra the revisionistt assertions of his latter-day apologists, in this case by examining his reception among contemporary National Socialist reviewers of his German-language publications. The result is frankly quite damning.
"It is also clear that the DVA endeavored to present Evola as a politically relevant contemporary thinker whose ideas were framed as explicitly fascist and relevant to National Socialism…" Moreover, despite some reviewers finding him to be insufficiently "Nordic" or völkisch, and/or excessively esoteric of even Catholic (!), "Evola fit well into the general field of ideological discourse—well enough to be framed as a fascist and to be praised by radical National Socialists…"
In fine, I think one who markets oneself to Nazis as a fellow traveler, and is welcomed as a "fit" by the said Nazis, may fairly be called a Nazi regardless of whether or not they were actually a card-carrying member of the NSDAP. The room for equivocation around the "yes" answer to the question of whether Evola was a Nazi appears to be to have become quite cramped of late.
That completes the open-access articles from this issue, so I'll need to hammer just a bit harder to complete the set.
Displaying 1 of 1 review