Unknown Sources: National Socialism and the Occult

by Hans Thomas Hakl

An examination of the many rumors, anecdotes, and questionable evidence that has served numerous authors in their quest to link Hitler and his henchmen with the occult Orders. Dr. Hakl begs to differ and offers compelling testimony that the grounds for th

Genres: Occult

35 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

Reviews

[Matthew W · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief but informative look into the role of the occult in the rise of Nazism. The author has no trouble debunking most of the books about Nazi occultism. Although it may be "cool" to think "occult forces" were behind the national socialists, that just isn't the reality.

For books with a serious look into Nazi occultism besides "Unknown Sources: National Socialism and the Occult", I recommend checking out "The Secret King" by Stephen E. Flowers and Michael Moynihan and "The Occult Roots of Nazism" by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke. Books like Ravenscroft's "The Spear of Destiny" and Levenda's "The Unholy Alliance" are pretty much sensational trash.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brief essay was written to trace the various sources which have claimed that Hitler was inspired, led, or possessed by esoteric, “occult,” or supernatural forces. The author is a historian with a deep critical understanding of the ideologies at work, and the translator is the author of the excellent Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology. He finds, unsurprisingly, that there are no convincing sources, and that, although many of the more recent authors fail to properly cite them, there are only a handful of dubious cranks from the 1930s and 40s who made this claim. He especially counters the material found in The Morning of the Magicians, and by extension the many books which are based substantively on it, including Spear of Destiny. He also includes some good material on why Hermann Rauschning can effectively be ignored as a source.

My only nit-pick with this book is the rather narrow definition of the term “occult” he uses. For example, there is reason enough to debate the esoteric interests of the Thule Gesellschaft, but to me a group which operates in secret based along Masonic structures can be safely regarded as “occult” in the sense of “hidden.” How much influence they really had over Hitler should be the main issue anyway. This is ultimately a minor point, and this pamphlet will give you plenty of ammunition the next time some “Chaos Magician” at a party tries to show that Hitler was a Black Magician.