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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
Like most individuals who become involved in the occult, Hitler, it seems did not make a conscious choice in that direction.
Hitlers first apparently involuntary occult experiences came to him probably after the death (2 February 1900) of his younger brother Edmund - an event that had a profound effect on the young Adolf - see 'Occult Biography of Adolf Hitler'.
After Edmund's death young Adolf would be seen, late into the night, sitting on the high cemetery wall "gazing up at the stars", or talking to the "windblown trees."
One of Adolf's playmates remembered that Adolf would also climb the hill behind his house at night and talk to a 'nonexistent audience.'
Hitler was born in the Austrian Waldviertel region, near the Bohemian border, at Braunau-am-Inn, in 1889.
It was an area steeped in poverty and well known for its inbreeding. It was also a town which had produced a surprising number of spiritualist mediums, including the famous Schneider brothers (1).
Perhaps something more sinister than simple peasant frolicking was occurring in the woods and hills around the town.
Hitlers first apparently involuntary occult experiences came to him probably after the death (2 February 1900) of his younger brother Edmund - an event that had a profound effect on the young Adolf - see 'Occult Biography of Adolf Hitler'.
After Edmund's death young Adolf would be seen, late into the night, sitting on the high cemetery wall "gazing up at the stars", or talking to the "windblown trees."
One of Adolf's playmates remembered that Adolf would also climb the hill behind his house at night and talk to a 'nonexistent audience.'
'One dream, one soul,
one prize, one goal,
One golden glance
Of what should be.. '
It is here that we see Hitler's first contact with that 'other world' that would play such a large, but secret, part in his later life.
INTRODUCTION
Hitler was born in the Austrian Waldviertel region, near the Bohemian border, at Braunau-am-Inn, in 1889.It was an area steeped in poverty and well known for its inbreeding. It was also a town which had produced a surprising number of spiritualist mediums, including the famous Schneider brothers (1).
Perhaps something more sinister than simple peasant frolicking was occurring in the woods and hills around the town.
Alois Schicklgruber, Hitler's father, was the illegitimate child of Maria Anna Schicklgruber.
In 1842 Maria Anna Schicklgruber married Johan Georg Hiedler; the name was originally Czech.
In 1877, Alois Schicklgruber had his step-father's name, Heidler, inserted into his birth certificate, by the local priest.
The name, however, was misspelt as 'Hitler', and from then on Hitler's father was known as Alois Hitler (see right).
In 1842 Maria Anna Schicklgruber married Johan Georg Hiedler; the name was originally Czech.In 1877, Alois Schicklgruber had his step-father's name, Heidler, inserted into his birth certificate, by the local priest.
The name, however, was misspelt as 'Hitler', and from then on Hitler's father was known as Alois Hitler (see right).
Hitler's father eventually became an Austrian Customs Official.
Deriving from farming stock, he had substantially bettered himself, having risen to the lower middles class. (right - Hitler's first schoolroom)
According to Hitler's later reminiscences, his father was strict and their relationship lacked any normal warmth.
Deriving from farming stock, he had substantially bettered himself, having risen to the lower middles class. (right - Hitler's first schoolroom)
According to Hitler's later reminiscences, his father was strict and their relationship lacked any normal warmth.
Hitler's mother, however, idolised her son, and in return, for the rest of his life, Hitler kept her picture by his bedside.
Hitler was only six years old when his father retired from the Austrian Civil Service and bought a farm in Lambach.
Hitler was only six years old when his father retired from the Austrian Civil Service and bought a farm in Lambach.
At eight years of age Hitler was sent to the school of the Monastery of Lambach (see left); Klara Hitler (see right) had hopes of her son becoming a priest; where he revelled in the pomp and solemnity of Catholic ritual.
It was at Lambach that Hitler first saw the swastika (see right below), which appeared on the heraldic arms which decorated the Baroque choir stalls, where he sang in the Monastery Church on feast days.
Like Liebenfels, Hitler was not considered suitable for a religious life, despite the fact that he was top of his class.On 2 February 1900 Hitler's younger brother, Edmund, died of measles.
Adolf was also ill, but recovered, although for the rest of his childhood and boyhood he was considered a 'sickly youth'.
To Klara, the death was like a hammer blow and brought back the memories of the three children she had lost twelve years before.
To the ten year old Adolf, who had been very close to his younger brother, the death left a lasting wound.
After the church service he stood in a driving snowstorm and watched while his little brother was lowered into his grave.
In the future, anytime Adolf looked out of his bedroom window he was reminded of Edmund who's grave was visible from his window.
He became moody, dispirited and withdrawn.
The death of Edmund deeply affected Hitler, whose character changed from being confident and outgoing, and an excellent student, to a morose, detached, and sullen boy who constantly fought his father and his teachers.
After Edmund's death young Adolf would be seen, late into the night, sitting on the high cemetery wall "gazing up at the stars" or talking to the "windblown trees."
One of Adolf's playmates remembered that Adolf would also climb the hill behind his house at night and talk to a "nonexistent audience."It is here that we see Hitler's first contact with that 'other world' that would play such a large part in his later life.
In 1898, the family moved to Leonding, just outside Linz, and Hitler attended the Gymnasium at nearby Steyr.
It was there that the young Adolf met August Kubizek; probably the only close, personal friend he ever had.
In 1902, when Hitler was thirteen years old, his father died.At school his academic work deteriorated and he became moody and difficult.His mother, who had never been firm with him, was now unable to control him, and although he was no delinquent, he was self willed and obstinate.
Strangely Hitler attended the school at the same time as the young Wittgenstein (see right) - they were born six days apart - however they were not in the same class as Hitler had to repeat a year.
There is no evidence that they were on friendly or unfriendly terms, although some odd theories have been published suggesting that Wittgenstein was the source of Hitler's anti-Semitism.
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| Dr. Leopold Potsch |
There is, in fact, little evidence that Hitler was any more anti-Semitic that the majority of gentile Christian Austrians in his youth.
The only subject which appealed to Hitler at school, apart from sport and art, was History.
His History teacher, Dr. Leopold Potsch (2), was a supporter of Pan Germanic Nationalism, and was opposed to the multi racial nature of the Hapsburg Empire.
For Hitler he undoubtedly became a father figure, at a critical time in his life, and he always retained fond memories of him.
(1) Willi and Rudi Schneider were born in Braunau. Their father was a Linotype compositor who lived with his wife and six sons, close by his workshop. Willi, the elder brother, first went into trances in 1919, when he was sixteen. Willi's control was 'Olga', who claimed to have been Lola Montez, the mistress of Ludwig I of Bavaria. Willi was capable of producing materialisations of spirits and despite being tested under rigorous scientific conditions in Munich, Vienna and London from 1922 until 1927, no explanation has been advanced for such phenomena. Willi's powers faded after 1927, but Rudi's then began to develop. Rudi was also tested under rigorous scientific conditions in Munich,Vienna, Paris and London and no evidence of fraud was ever forthcoming.After 1934 Rudi's powers also began to fade, and he died in obscurity in Braunau in 1957.
(2) Leopold Poetsch (or Pötsch) (18 November 1853 - 16 October 1942) was a German Professor and a high school history teacher of Adolf Hitler who influenced the future leader's later views.
He was also one of the major figures of the German People's Party. Poetsch came from the southern German border regions. There, political struggles between Slavs and ethnic Germans angered him and turned him into a loud and fiery proponent of the Pan-German movement. He began teaching in Maribor, and later moved to Linz to teach history.
As a special privilege, Hitler was allowed to bring his teacher maps, which put him in particularly close contact with him. Aside from his service at the school, Poetsch was a much sought after official speaker. He spoke at German national associations but also on the occasion of the emperor's anniversary in 1908. In 1905, he joined the Linz city council as a representative of the German People's party. Hitler became enamored of Poetsch as a teenager, captivated by the professor's fiery speeches. Poetsch was a fervent pan-German. Poetsch despised the Habsburgs and forcefully argued that all ethnic Germans should be united by a single government. Like many Austro-Germans, Poetsch wanted to see the old empire break up and Austria join Germany, to the north. He asserted that the Aryan race was stronger, healthier, and more fit to rule than any other people. Poetsch declared that Jews and Slavs were what he termed "inferior races". (This position was not uncommon among impoverished Germans after World War I.)
Hitler was captivated by Poetsch's teachings and began regularly reading a local anti-Semitic newspaper.
Poetsch captured the imagination of his young students with heroic tales of the ancient Teutons and German victories. In his later years, Hitler spoke of Poetsch as a "great man." As dictator of Germany, Hitler attempted to unite all German-speaking people, just as Poetsch's lectures had demanded, and persecuted Slavs, Jews, Gypsies, and other minorities, eventually attempting to exterminate them in the "Final Solution".
Hitler stated that "Poetsch used our budding nationalistic fanaticism as a means of educating us, frequently appealing to us our sense of national honor." Under Poetsch, Hitler came to the realization that: "Germanism could be safeguarded only by the destruction of Austria, and, furthermore, the national sentiment is in no sense identical with dynastic patriotism; that above all the house of Habsburg was destined to be the misfortune of the German national." Poetsch gave popular slide lectures entitled "Images of German History."
In them he strongly emphasized the Germanic era and the time of the early German emperors before the rule of the Habsburgs and proceeded to pinpoint the German national awakening up until the Franco-Prussian war. However, during those Hitler's teenage years while he may have been inspired by Leopold Poetsch's class, he was not motivated enough to become involved in politics. His only obsession was to become an artist.
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| Linz Opera House |
To quote Kubizek:
'It was the most impressive hour I ever lived through with my friend.So unforgettable is it, that even the most trivial things, the clothes Adolf wore that evening, the weather, are still present in my mind as though the experience were exempt from the passing of time.
Adolf stood outside my house in his black overcoat, his dark hat pulled down over his face.
My friend, his hands thrust into his coat pockets, silent and withdrawn, strode through the streets and out of the city.
Usually, after an artistic experience that had moved him, he would start talking straight away, sharply criticizing the performance, but after 'Rienzi' he remained quiet a long while.
This surprised me, and I asked him what he thought of it.
He threw me a strange, almost hostile glance.
"Shut up !" he said brusquely.
The cold, damp mist lay oppressively over the narrow streets.
Our solitary steps resounded on the pavement.
Adolf took the road that led up to the Freinberg. Without speaking a word, he strode forward.
He looked almost sinister, and paler than ever.
His turned-up coat collar increased this impression.
I wanted to ask him, "Where are you going ?" - but his pallid face looked so forbidding that I suppressed the question.
As if propelled by an invisible force, Adolf climbed up to the top of the Freinberg.
And only now did I realize that we were no longer in solitude and darkness, for the stars shone brilliantly above us.
Adolf stood in front of me; and now he gripped both my hands and held them tight.
He had never made such a gesture before.
I felt from the grasp of his hands how deeply moved he was.
His eyes were feverish with excitement.
The words did not come smoothly from his mouth as they usually did, but rather erupted, hoarse and raucous.
From his voice I could tell even more how much this experience had shaken him.
Gradually his speech loosened, and the words flowed more freely.
Never before and never again have I heard Adolf Hitler speak as he did in that hour, as we stood there alone under the stars, as though we were the only creatures in the world.
I cannot repeat every word that my friend uttered.
I was struck by something strange, which I had never noticed before, even when he had talked to me in moments of the greatest excitement.
It was as if 'another being' spoke out of his body, and moved him as much as it did me.
It wasn't at all a case of a speaker being carried away by his own words.
On the contrary; I rather felt as though he himself listened with astonishment and emotion to what burst forth from him with elementary force.
I will not attempt to interpret this phenomenon, but it was a state of complete ecstasy and rapture, in which he transferred the character of 'Rienzi', without even mentioning him as a model or example, with visionary power to the plane of his own ambitions.'
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| Hitler and Winifred Wagner |
Hitler never forgot that night - and described it in detail to Winifred Wagner, declaring that: '
"That was the moment when it all began''.The other significant point that Kubizek makes is with regard to Hitler's eyes.
To quote Kubizek again:
'For in this countenance the eyes were so outstanding that one didn't notice anything else.Never in my life have I seen any other person whose appearance - how shall I put it - was so completely dominated by the eyes.
They were the light eyes of his mother, but her somewhat staring, penetrating gaze was even more marked in the son and had even more force and expressiveness.
It was uncanny how these eyes could change their expression, especially when Adolf was speaking.
To me his sonorous voice meant much less than the expression of his eyes.
In fact, Adolf spoke with his eyes, and even when his lips were silent one knew what he wanted to say.
When he first came to our house, and I introduced him to my mother, she said to me in the evening, "What eyes your friend has!"
And I remember quite distinctly that there was more fear than admiration in her words.
If I am asked where one could perceive, in his youth, this man's exceptional qualities, I can only answer, "In the eyes."
Professor Trevor-Roper concurs: ‘Hitler had the eyes of a hypnotist which seduced the wits and affections of all who yielded to their power." One does not acquire such power by accident ! Goebbels wrote about his first meeting with Hitler: "I was fascinated by Hitlers blue eyes...". Traudl Junge, Hitler's last secretary often told in interviews, that "...people were amazed about Hitler's blue eyes....". Martha Dodd writes in her book that, "Hitler's eyes were startling and unforgettable - they seemed pale blue in color, were intense, unwavering, hypnotic."
One only acquires such power of the eyes by patient training, and undoubtedly Hitler's ability to use his eyes in such a way resulted from his time with Lodz and Eckart - and does the nickname of 'Wolf' for Hitler come from this pseudo-canine dominance trait of the eyes ? However - even when he was young Hitler's eyes were remarkable.
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In 1907, when Hitler was eighteen (see right), he stayed with his godparents Johan and Joanna Prinz, in Vienna, whilst taking his entrance examination for the Academy of Fine Arts (see below).
Shocked by his failure to pass, he was further shaken by the death of his mother.Sometime after his return from Vienna, Hitler and Kubizek visit St. Georgen on the River Gusen, the site of an ancient German battle - a strange comment - and a further indication that Hitler was becoming involved in the occult.
When Klara Hitler died in December 1907, it was a terrible shock for
her son Adolf Hitler.
The Jewish family doctor Dr. Bloch testified that he 'never met such a desperate soul in his career'.
Hitler spent the last weeks of Klara by her side, tending to her with great care and affection.
(left) - A colored portrait on ivory of Hitler's mother.
It is the only known picture in color of the Klara, and Hitler wrote "Mutter" (the German word for mother) on the back of the portrait. The picture, which shows the extraordinary physical resemblance between mother and son, is believed to have been Hitler's most treasured possession.
Klara was buried on Christmas eve and she was given an expensive burial Klara Hitler left a substantial sum of money and appointed a certain Mayrhofer, as executor.
Hitler was granted a yearly allowance and moved from Linz, where he had lived since his father's death, to Vienna in 1908.
In Vienna he stayed with a certain Frau Zakrey at Stumpergasse 29, with his friend Kubizek, who was nicknamed 'Gustl'.
Hitler received a student's pension, because his father had been a civil servant, along with his allowance from his mother's estate and was, therefore, far from poor, despite his protestations in 'Mein Kamf'.It appears that at this time Hitler lived the life of a man of leisure, visiting the opera, to hear Wagner, drawing and painting and producing detailed architectural plans for the rebuilding of Vienna and Linz (3).
In Vienna he stayed with a certain Frau Zakrey at Stumpergasse 29, with his friend Kubizek, who was nicknamed 'Gustl'.
Hitler received a student's pension, because his father had been a civil servant, along with his allowance from his mother's estate and was, therefore, far from poor, despite his protestations in 'Mein Kamf'.It appears that at this time Hitler lived the life of a man of leisure, visiting the opera, to hear Wagner, drawing and painting and producing detailed architectural plans for the rebuilding of Vienna and Linz (3).
In September of the same year he applied, once again, to the Academy of Fine Art, and once again he was refused.
It is at this time, when Hitler was living at Felberstrasse, that he first came across the writings of Lanz von Liebenfels (see right below) and Houston Stewart Chamberlain.
At the beginning of 1909 he took the opportunity to visit Liebenfels and at the same time caught his first glimpse of the Spear of Longinus in the Schatzkammer in the Hofburg.
At this point, without warning or explanation, Hitler left Kubizek, and despite the fact that he had a reasonable income from his inheritance, as well as savings, he disappeared into a world of 'drop outs'.
Kubizek (see right below), however, continued his studies : he graduated in 1912 and was hired as second conductor at the city
theater at Marburg-on-the-Drau.
He was geared towards a great career but during the Great War (World War One) he contracted a serious infection and his health was almost ruined.
After the war, he became a private tutor and municipal secretary in Eferding near Linz.
He never became the great conductor he had longed for.
In April 1938, he met again with Hitler in Linz and the Fuehrer helped him to finance his sons' education.
In return he was asked by Martin Bormann to write his reminiscences of his life with the Fuhrer.
He produced some 150 pages called "Reminiscences" that were not published and were placed in the NSDAP's archives.
In 1940, they met again in Bayreuth. and in 1942 he became director of propaganda and regional manager of the "Kraft durch Freude" program of Robert Ley.
After WW2, he was kept in jail during 17 months by the Allies -because of this late appointment.
He was released and in 1953 published a very much edited version of the NSDAP draft, called in its German version "Adolf Hitler, Friend of my Youth" (see left).
But to return to Vienna before the First War, - contrary to 'Mein Kampf' and some contemporary accounts, however, Hitler was never poor as he received a pension and money from a deceased aunt.
It is at this time, when Hitler was living at Felberstrasse, that he first came across the writings of Lanz von Liebenfels (see right below) and Houston Stewart Chamberlain.
At the beginning of 1909 he took the opportunity to visit Liebenfels and at the same time caught his first glimpse of the Spear of Longinus in the Schatzkammer in the Hofburg.
At this point, without warning or explanation, Hitler left Kubizek, and despite the fact that he had a reasonable income from his inheritance, as well as savings, he disappeared into a world of 'drop outs'.
Kubizek (see right below), however, continued his studies : he graduated in 1912 and was hired as second conductor at the city
theater at Marburg-on-the-Drau.
He was geared towards a great career but during the Great War (World War One) he contracted a serious infection and his health was almost ruined.
After the war, he became a private tutor and municipal secretary in Eferding near Linz.He never became the great conductor he had longed for.
In April 1938, he met again with Hitler in Linz and the Fuehrer helped him to finance his sons' education.
In return he was asked by Martin Bormann to write his reminiscences of his life with the Fuhrer.
He produced some 150 pages called "Reminiscences" that were not published and were placed in the NSDAP's archives.In 1940, they met again in Bayreuth. and in 1942 he became director of propaganda and regional manager of the "Kraft durch Freude" program of Robert Ley.
After WW2, he was kept in jail during 17 months by the Allies -because of this late appointment.
He was released and in 1953 published a very much edited version of the NSDAP draft, called in its German version "Adolf Hitler, Friend of my Youth" (see left).
But to return to Vienna before the First War, - contrary to 'Mein Kampf' and some contemporary accounts, however, Hitler was never poor as he received a pension and money from a deceased aunt.
It is during this period that Hitler painted scenes (see left), in watercolour and ink, of Vienna.
These were not postcards, as if often stated, but were finished, large scale works of some merit.
Also, strangely, many of Hitler's customers were relatively wealthy, middle-class Jews.
In 1910, Hitler moved to a Hotel for Professional Working Men - not a 'down and outs' flop house as is often stated - at Meldemannstrasse, and yet again tried, and failed to obtain entry to the Academy.
These were not postcards, as if often stated, but were finished, large scale works of some merit.
Also, strangely, many of Hitler's customers were relatively wealthy, middle-class Jews.
In 1910, Hitler moved to a Hotel for Professional Working Men - not a 'down and outs' flop house as is often stated - at Meldemannstrasse, and yet again tried, and failed to obtain entry to the Academy.
Whilst living in Vienna, Hitler spent the time he did not allocate to his painting reading voraciously.
He was a regular customer at a bookshop owned by Ernst Pretzsche - a bookshop which sold Völkisch periodicals, including 'Ostara' edited by Liebenfels (see left).
'An unshaven hack who ran a mystical bookstore in the red light district of Vienna. He devoted his life to the overthrow of the Catholic moral order of the turn of the century Austrian capital. Known to have bared his bottom at Emperor Franz Joseph, he was on the list of every European governments secret police group as an avowed Satanist.
Pretzsche had been born in Mexico City, of German parents.
His father Wilhelm Pretzsche had been a chemist, who in his spare time had studied the occult law of the Aztecs.
When Ernst returned to Austria, in 1892, he retained his father's interest in the occult, and proceeded to open a bookshop in Vienna.
The relationship, which had developed between Hitler and Pretzsche was not only a result of their mutual interest in the occult, but was also a matter of business.
In return for providing Hitler with books Pretzsche obtained watercolours from Hitler which he sold.
The paintings and drawings (see right) improved the shop's atmosphere and often attracted customers, who as well as buying a picture, would often purchase books as well. It was a good working arrangement.
(3) From an early age Hitler was fascinated by the art of architecture, and most of his water colours had architectural subjects.
Unfortunately for Hitler he was unable to gain entry to the Architectural Academy in Vienna due to his lack of academic qualifications.
Hitler's favourite existing building was the Paris Opera House by Charles Garnier (see left), although its style, Neobaroque, was not used in the buildings Hitler commissioned, and in some cases designed, when he came to power.
Hitler's favourite living architect was Paul Ludwig Troost (1878-1934) (see right), a disciple of Karl Friederich Schinkel, the Neoclassicist (1781-1841).
Troost designed the Konigsplatz, the Braun Haus and the House of German Art in Munich before his tragic death in 1934.
Troost was succeeded by his pupil, Albert Speer (1905-1981) (see left) as Hitler's leading architect.
Hitler, Troost and Speer's architectural style was, not surprisingly, been bitterly criticized for the last forty years.
During the last ten years, with the emergence of Post Modernism, Hitler's taste has been, rightly vindicated.
Hitler collaborated with Speer in producing massive schemes for the rebuilding of Munich, Nurnberg, Berlin and Hitler's beloved Linz.
Sadly these schemes only exist as plans and photographs of models.
'An unshaven hack who ran a mystical bookstore in the red light district of Vienna. He devoted his life to the overthrow of the Catholic moral order of the turn of the century Austrian capital. Known to have bared his bottom at Emperor Franz Joseph, he was on the list of every European governments secret police group as an avowed Satanist.
Pretzsche had been born in Mexico City, of German parents.
His father Wilhelm Pretzsche had been a chemist, who in his spare time had studied the occult law of the Aztecs.
When Ernst returned to Austria, in 1892, he retained his father's interest in the occult, and proceeded to open a bookshop in Vienna.The relationship, which had developed between Hitler and Pretzsche was not only a result of their mutual interest in the occult, but was also a matter of business.
In return for providing Hitler with books Pretzsche obtained watercolours from Hitler which he sold.
The paintings and drawings (see right) improved the shop's atmosphere and often attracted customers, who as well as buying a picture, would often purchase books as well. It was a good working arrangement.
(3) From an early age Hitler was fascinated by the art of architecture, and most of his water colours had architectural subjects.
Unfortunately for Hitler he was unable to gain entry to the Architectural Academy in Vienna due to his lack of academic qualifications.
Hitler's favourite living architect was Paul Ludwig Troost (1878-1934) (see right), a disciple of Karl Friederich Schinkel, the Neoclassicist (1781-1841).Troost designed the Konigsplatz, the Braun Haus and the House of German Art in Munich before his tragic death in 1934.
Troost was succeeded by his pupil, Albert Speer (1905-1981) (see left) as Hitler's leading architect.Hitler, Troost and Speer's architectural style was, not surprisingly, been bitterly criticized for the last forty years.
During the last ten years, with the emergence of Post Modernism, Hitler's taste has been, rightly vindicated.
Hitler collaborated with Speer in producing massive schemes for the rebuilding of Munich, Nurnberg, Berlin and Hitler's beloved Linz.
Sadly these schemes only exist as plans and photographs of models.
Pretzsche specialized in books about history, philosophy, politics,art and the occult; all subjects which were of interest to the young Hitler.
In addition Pretzsche was an associate of Guido von List (see left below), and was able to introduce Hitler to the occult groups active in Vienna.
It was Pretzsche who undoubtedly introduced Hitler to the possibility of expanding the consciousness and contacting spiritual entities through the use of psychedelic drugs.Pretzsche, through his father's researches had knowledge of, and access to Peyotl; the active constituent of the psychedelic peyote plant indigenous to Central America.
Despite this,it was not Pretzsche, however, who was responsible for introducing Hitler to the world of drug induced psychic awareness, but someone far more mysterious.
Near the town of Wachau, on the Danube (see left), lived a herbalist called Hans Lodz.'Diminutive peasant of the Austrian foothills.
He had concocted devious potions that could lead users to unmask our 'normal' reality such that the supra-reality could be absorbed. Said to have urinated in the Danube daily, his mystical meanderings led directly to the perfidious overthrow of the Jewish masters of the Berlin Lodge of the Freemasons.'
Hitler had first encountered Lodz whilst he was in the country.
In an attempt to produce a spontaneous self awakening, Hitler had travelled to a remote country area, where he had camped.
It was there that Lodz had stumbled upon him.
Hitler's experiences with Lodz's potions, along with Pretzsche's peyotol were undoubtedly responsible for opening his mind to the relationships existing between the Macrocosm and Microcosm, and taking him on the first steps to an awareness of the existence of powerful, and alien entities.
Despite such strange experiences, ordinary life still continued, however, and in 1911 Hitler received a substantial sum from his godmother, Joanna Prinz, just before she died.
Mysteriously, though, he continued to eke out a living by selling his watercolours.
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
Hitler later wrote of this period in Vienna, in 'Mein Kampf', that it gave him 'the foundations of a knowledge which sustained him for the rest of his life: In this period there took shape within me a world picture and a philosophy which became the granite foundation of all my acts.
In addition to what I then created, I have had to learn little; and I have had to alter nothing'.
Vienna, in those days one of the fastest-growing cities in Europe, was hospitable to the formation of occult groups which sprang up with religious fervor, symptomatic of the irrational atmosphere of the time.
Vienna's population went up 259 percent between 1860 and 1900, and the flood of new arrivals sought relief from the frustrations of an overcrowded and expensive existence.
The city was deluged by mediums, necromancers, and astrologers who claimed to be occupied with a futuristic science which the scientific establishment was as yet unable to appreciate, since experiments were still unverified and many - scholars and academics included - believed that intuition and vision enabled 'specially endowed natures' to investigate phenomena which eluded ordinary people.
In 1913, possibly in order to avoid service in the Austrian Army (see the arms of Austria right), Hitler, who was by then twenty-one, moved to Munich (see left), the capital of Bavaria, and rented a room above a tailor's shop, owned by a man called Popp, in Schleissheimerstrasse.Once in Munich he used his occult connections in Vienna as a means of facilitating his introduction to similar groups in Munich.
Despite his involvement with the 'well-heeled' in occult circles Hitler continued his apparently poverty stricken life-style, making money from painting scenes of the city and continuing his studies of History Politics and Philosophy.
How long he might have gone on living like this if impossible to tell, but in 1914 the great event arrive, for which Hitler may well have been preparing.
follow the link below for more information about
According to 'Mein Kampf', Hitler, on hearing of the outbreak of war, got down on his knees and thanked Heaven for granting him the good fortune of being permitted to live at that time. Although Hitler's description is somewhat melodramatic, he undoubtedly was pleased that war had finally come, and in this he was not unlike millions of other ordinary people.
It is probable, though, that the motives behind Hitler's gratitude were radically different from the majority of his contemporaries.
It is probable, though, that the motives behind Hitler's gratitude were radically different from the majority of his contemporaries.
Not surprisingly, like thousands of other young men, he volunteered shortly afterwards for the German Army, joining the 16th Bavarian Regiment.
The 6th Bavarian Reserve Division (6. Bayerische Reserve-Division) was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the German Army, in World War I. The division was formed on 10 September 1914 and organized over the next month. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. 6th Bavarian Reserve Division was raised and recruited from Bavaria's Ist and IIIrd Army Corps Districts. As a reserve division, it consisted mainly of recalled reservists. A considerable number of war volunteers were taken in, also. Among the latter was perhaps the division's most famous, or rather infamous, soldier, Adolf Hitler, a Gefreiter in the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16.
(4) Amanita muscarina, also known as Fly Agaric is a fungus with a deep red cap marked with white spots.
Its common name derives from the practice, common in Germany, of crumbling pieces of the fungus in a saucer of water which was used to kill flies.
The mushroom was used by Norse warriors in the Dark Ages, its effect being to give them exceptional courage and strength, causing them to go 'berserk'.
Less aggressive individuals found that the mushroom would grant them glowing visions of supernatural beauty and significance, and therefore the mushroom was regularly used by shamans, witches and magicians, as the centuries passed.
The 6th Bavarian Reserve Division (6. Bayerische Reserve-Division) was a unit of the Royal Bavarian Army, part of the German Army, in World War I. The division was formed on 10 September 1914 and organized over the next month. The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I. 6th Bavarian Reserve Division was raised and recruited from Bavaria's Ist and IIIrd Army Corps Districts. As a reserve division, it consisted mainly of recalled reservists. A considerable number of war volunteers were taken in, also. Among the latter was perhaps the division's most famous, or rather infamous, soldier, Adolf Hitler, a Gefreiter in the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16.
(4) Amanita muscarina, also known as Fly Agaric is a fungus with a deep red cap marked with white spots.
The mushroom was used by Norse warriors in the Dark Ages, its effect being to give them exceptional courage and strength, causing them to go 'berserk'.
Less aggressive individuals found that the mushroom would grant them glowing visions of supernatural beauty and significance, and therefore the mushroom was regularly used by shamans, witches and magicians, as the centuries passed.
He was initially posted to the front at Ypres.
As a result of the First Battle of Ypres, only six hundred men, in Hitler's regiment, out of an original total of three thousand and five hundred, survived.
Hitler himself was later wounded in the thigh at the Somme, and spent a short time in a military hospital in Berlin, recovering.
Rejoining his regiment, he took part in the battle of Arras, and in 1917, visited Berlin and Dresden while on leave.
In August of 1918 Hitler was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class, (equivalent to the British Victoria Cross) for his exceptional bravery.
There is, in fact, evidence that he won the Iron Cross on two occasions; in one case in recognition of his capture of four French soldiers single handed.
As a result of the First Battle of Ypres, only six hundred men, in Hitler's regiment, out of an original total of three thousand and five hundred, survived.
Hitler himself was later wounded in the thigh at the Somme, and spent a short time in a military hospital in Berlin, recovering.
Rejoining his regiment, he took part in the battle of Arras, and in 1917, visited Berlin and Dresden while on leave.
There is, in fact, evidence that he won the Iron Cross on two occasions; in one case in recognition of his capture of four French soldiers single handed.
In October he was blinded in a gas attack at Ypres, and subsequently sent to a military hospital at Pasewalk, a small town north-east of Berlin.
In 'Mein Kampf' Hitler describes, in detail, his physical pain along with the anguish and despair he felt when he learned of Germany's defeat.
While initially the effects of his gassing must have caused him considerable pain, what he fails to tell us is that once the physical pain had subsided, he found himself in a prolonged state of sensory deprivation; known to para-psychologists as 'the ganzfeld effect' (5); confined to his bed, unable to see and in the hushed atmosphere of a hospital ward.
Compared to the living hell of the front, with its screaming shells combining with the screams of the mutilated and dying, and the everlasting thundering of the guns, Hitler's new environment was tailor-made for the psychic experience he sought
According to Hitler, he experienced a 'vision' from 'another world' while at the hospital (see right).
In that vision, Hitler was told that he would lead Germany back to glory.
On his recovery, in November, he was posted back to Munich.
When he arrived in that city he was a very different man to the one who had left four years before.
In 'Mein Kampf' Hitler describes, in detail, his physical pain along with the anguish and despair he felt when he learned of Germany's defeat.
While initially the effects of his gassing must have caused him considerable pain, what he fails to tell us is that once the physical pain had subsided, he found himself in a prolonged state of sensory deprivation; known to para-psychologists as 'the ganzfeld effect' (5); confined to his bed, unable to see and in the hushed atmosphere of a hospital ward.
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| © Copyright Zac Sawyer 2017 |
According to Hitler, he experienced a 'vision' from 'another world' while at the hospital (see right).
In that vision, Hitler was told that he would lead Germany back to glory.
On his recovery, in November, he was posted back to Munich.
When he arrived in that city he was a very different man to the one who had left four years before.
By the time Hitler returned to Munich the War had ended.
During the next year Germany was racked by internal dissent, and after the Kaiser's abdication (see left), along with the other various Kings, Princes and Arch-Dukes of the Empire, Germany became a republic.
On the 6th of April, 1919, in Bavaria, a Soviet Republic was declared at Munich, following the fall of the Hoffman Government.
The Communist regime was quickly overthrown by troops from the Reichwehr which had been dispatched from Berlin.
During this time of upheaval and uncertainty Hitler was initially stationed at Traunstein, near Munich, as a guard in a prisoner of war camp, and then later was sent back to Munich as a 'Political Officer' for the Wehrmacht.
During this time he successfully infiltrated certain Army units which had gone over to the Communists.
When the Communists fell from power, the army turned to informers in order to root out subversive elements, and as a result of information, which Hitler provided, many were executed during the vengeful days which followed.
(5) Since the end of the last War the effects of sensory deprivation have been studied intensively, particularly by Dr. John C Lilly (see left below) in the USA.
It has been found that if all external stimulation can be effectively reduced (the method used by Lilly was to immerse the body in a saline solution at blood temperature in darkness with 'white noise' supplied to the ears) the brain would project its consciousness internally and produce symbolic images of remarkable intensity, along with unusual insights, which were remarkably similar to those experienced under the influence of the major psychedelics.
During the next year Germany was racked by internal dissent, and after the Kaiser's abdication (see left), along with the other various Kings, Princes and Arch-Dukes of the Empire, Germany became a republic.
On the 6th of April, 1919, in Bavaria, a Soviet Republic was declared at Munich, following the fall of the Hoffman Government.
The Communist regime was quickly overthrown by troops from the Reichwehr which had been dispatched from Berlin.During this time of upheaval and uncertainty Hitler was initially stationed at Traunstein, near Munich, as a guard in a prisoner of war camp, and then later was sent back to Munich as a 'Political Officer' for the Wehrmacht.
During this time he successfully infiltrated certain Army units which had gone over to the Communists.
When the Communists fell from power, the army turned to informers in order to root out subversive elements, and as a result of information, which Hitler provided, many were executed during the vengeful days which followed.
(5) Since the end of the last War the effects of sensory deprivation have been studied intensively, particularly by Dr. John C Lilly (see left below) in the USA.
It has been found that if all external stimulation can be effectively reduced (the method used by Lilly was to immerse the body in a saline solution at blood temperature in darkness with 'white noise' supplied to the ears) the brain would project its consciousness internally and produce symbolic images of remarkable intensity, along with unusual insights, which were remarkably similar to those experienced under the influence of the major psychedelics.
It is at about this time that Hitler became involved with the Thule Group.
In 1919 the Thule Gesellschaft set up a workers organisation, which subsequently amalgamated with 'The Committee of Independent Workers', and became known as the German Nationalist Worker's Party.
Hitler implies that he first came into contact with this small party which was ostensibly run by the ex-railway engineer Anton Drexler (see left), as the result of an instruction from his superior officer, Konstantin Heirl (see right) (6).
In 1919 the Thule Gesellschaft set up a workers organisation, which subsequently amalgamated with 'The Committee of Independent Workers', and became known as the German Nationalist Worker's Party.Hitler implies that he first came into contact with this small party which was ostensibly run by the ex-railway engineer Anton Drexler (see left), as the result of an instruction from his superior officer, Konstantin Heirl (see right) (6).
Some years later, Hitler went to great lengths in 'Mein Kampf', to paint an innocuous picture of his first encounter with the German Worker's Party.
Hitler claimed, in 'Mein Kampf', that he came upon the political group, quite by chance.
He recounts, in considerable detail, how he attended his first meeting at the Lieber Room of the Sterneckerbrau in Munich.
Hitler gives a somewhat dismissive picture of this group and describes how, at one point, he apparently entered rather violently into the discussion.
Throughout his account he gives the impression of not knowing the names of any of the members, with the exception of Gottlieb Feder (see right) (7), the economist.
He implies that he was pleased to leave, and had no intention of returning.
When he subsequently received an offer of membership he implies that he was both surprised and unsure as to whether to accept.
Of course, after communing with his 'droll little friends', the mice, in his bare barrack room, Hitler did decide to accept this invitation to join, and, as is well known, the German Worker's Party eventually became the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Worker's Party) (see left above).
The rest, as they say, is History.
(6) Heirl is mysterious by virtue of the fact that his date of birth is unknown, along with the fact that at the end of the war he disappeared without trace.
At the time he ordered Hitler to investigate the German Worker's Party he was probably a clandestine member, although officially his membership postdates that of Hitler.
He subsequently became responsible for the long term planning of the NSDAP.
(7) Gottfried Feder, 1883-1941, joined the German Worker's Party in 1919.
In 1920 he was instrumental in helping to draw up the famous 'Twenty-five Articles', which formed the backbone of the party's policies.
Feder was essentially an economist, radically ahead of his time, who saw the inherent flaws in industrial society, and particularly its dependence on the concept of interest. In his quest for power Hitler found it necessary to court the rich industrialist, such as Thyssen and Krup, and thus Feder's influence waned.
Feder continued teaching at University level, but died in relative obscurity
Hitler claimed, in 'Mein Kampf', that he came upon the political group, quite by chance.
He recounts, in considerable detail, how he attended his first meeting at the Lieber Room of the Sterneckerbrau in Munich.
Hitler gives a somewhat dismissive picture of this group and describes how, at one point, he apparently entered rather violently into the discussion.
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
Throughout his account he gives the impression of not knowing the names of any of the members, with the exception of Gottlieb Feder (see right) (7), the economist.He implies that he was pleased to leave, and had no intention of returning.
When he subsequently received an offer of membership he implies that he was both surprised and unsure as to whether to accept.
Of course, after communing with his 'droll little friends', the mice, in his bare barrack room, Hitler did decide to accept this invitation to join, and, as is well known, the German Worker's Party eventually became the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Worker's Party) (see left above).
The rest, as they say, is History.
(6) Heirl is mysterious by virtue of the fact that his date of birth is unknown, along with the fact that at the end of the war he disappeared without trace.
At the time he ordered Hitler to investigate the German Worker's Party he was probably a clandestine member, although officially his membership postdates that of Hitler.
He subsequently became responsible for the long term planning of the NSDAP.
(7) Gottfried Feder, 1883-1941, joined the German Worker's Party in 1919.
In 1920 he was instrumental in helping to draw up the famous 'Twenty-five Articles', which formed the backbone of the party's policies.
Feder was essentially an economist, radically ahead of his time, who saw the inherent flaws in industrial society, and particularly its dependence on the concept of interest. In his quest for power Hitler found it necessary to court the rich industrialist, such as Thyssen and Krup, and thus Feder's influence waned.
Feder continued teaching at University level, but died in relative obscurity
The Sources of Hitler's Power
Hitler's account of his first meeting with the German Worker's Party is undoubtedly, like much else in 'Mein Kampf', a complete fiction.Hitler, of course, was a member of the Thule Group, from which the majority of members of the committee of the German Worker's Party (DAP) had been recruited.
Dietrich Eckart (see right), with the approval of the Army, had appointed Hitler to the committee of the German Worker's Party with the intention of him eventually becoming leader.The Army considered Hitler to be an ideal 'front' man.
Eckart, of course, knew better.
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He said to his confidants in the Thule Gesellschaft, shortly before he died, "Hitler will dance, but it is I who have called the tune !
I have initiated him into the 'Secret Doctrine', opened his centres of vision (8) and given him the means to communicate with the Powers.
Do not mourn for me: I shall have influenced History more than any other German".
Do not mourn for me: I shall have influenced History more than any other German".
click below for a full biography and rare photos of
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
Returning to Hitler's political testament, 'Mein Kampf'; the book, of course, must be understood as a pure piece of political propaganda.
The cruel and devastating lessons of War had taught Hitler that political power and the destinies of nations could not be compromised by such bourgeois values as honesty and openness.
Any consideration of current political events, will of course show that Hitler's appraisal is still widely practised by even the most 'respectable' of governments who are, on numerous occasions, 'economical with the truth'.
The cruel and devastating lessons of War had taught Hitler that political power and the destinies of nations could not be compromised by such bourgeois values as honesty and openness.
Any consideration of current political events, will of course show that Hitler's appraisal is still widely practised by even the most 'respectable' of governments who are, on numerous occasions, 'economical with the truth'.
Notwithstanding being economical with the truth, 'Mein Kampf' is a remarkable book, which, because of the reputation of its author, has been regularly described as verbose, confused and turgid in style, by many commentators.
It is probably significant to note that it was only after 1945 that such criticisms of the book's style and content became general, - before then it sold well even outside Germany, and was highly praised by many influential critics.
The book itself was the result of a collaboration between Hitler, Professor Karl Haushofer (see right), Rudolf Hess (see right) and Haushofer's son, Albrecht (see left) (9), and as written while Hilter was incarcerated in Festung Landsburg, (see below right) after the abortive November Putsch in Munich.
The book was an immediate success after its publication in 1925 and it not only made Hitler enormously rich, eventually selling in excess of nine million copies, but was also influential in convincing intellectuals, academics and the upper classes of the legitimacy and value of the National Socialist ideal.
It is probably significant to note that it was only after 1945 that such criticisms of the book's style and content became general, - before then it sold well even outside Germany, and was highly praised by many influential critics.
The book itself was the result of a collaboration between Hitler, Professor Karl Haushofer (see right), Rudolf Hess (see right) and Haushofer's son, Albrecht (see left) (9), and as written while Hilter was incarcerated in Festung Landsburg, (see below right) after the abortive November Putsch in Munich.
The book was an immediate success after its publication in 1925 and it not only made Hitler enormously rich, eventually selling in excess of nine million copies, but was also influential in convincing intellectuals, academics and the upper classes of the legitimacy and value of the National Socialist ideal.
Unlike the books of Smith, Blavatsky, Crowley or even Chamberlain, there is no claim on Hitler's part, or anyone else's for that matter, to divine or daemonic inspiration in its creation.
The book is simply propaganda combined with political, economic and social philosophy.
(8) Eckart's use of the phrase 'geheimlehre' (Secret Doctrine) appears, on the face of it, to be a reference to Madame Blavatsky's Theosophical teaching; 'The Secret Doctrine' being the title of her last book published in 1891; particularly with regards to Race and the existence of 'hidden supermen'. Eckart may, however, be referring to some esoteric doctrine of his own.
(9) Albrecht Haushofer, son of Professor Karl Haushofer, was born in 1903.
An intellectual, he wrote esoteric poetry and historical verse dramas.
Remarkably precocious, he obtained his doctorate at the age of nineteen.
He involved in Hess's flight to Scotland in May, 1941 and in the attempt on Hitler's life in July of 1944.
He was arrested by the Gestapo and executed in 1945.
The book is simply propaganda combined with political, economic and social philosophy.
(8) Eckart's use of the phrase 'geheimlehre' (Secret Doctrine) appears, on the face of it, to be a reference to Madame Blavatsky's Theosophical teaching; 'The Secret Doctrine' being the title of her last book published in 1891; particularly with regards to Race and the existence of 'hidden supermen'. Eckart may, however, be referring to some esoteric doctrine of his own.
(9) Albrecht Haushofer, son of Professor Karl Haushofer, was born in 1903.
An intellectual, he wrote esoteric poetry and historical verse dramas.
Remarkably precocious, he obtained his doctorate at the age of nineteen.
He involved in Hess's flight to Scotland in May, 1941 and in the attempt on Hitler's life in July of 1944.
He was arrested by the Gestapo and executed in 1945.
It is not the purpose of this study to document, in detail, Hitler's rise to power, or his subsequent conduct of the War.
That Hitler, in common with the other remarkable individuals, underwent a transformational experience, which radically altered his outlook, and unleashed hitherto untapped mental and psychic resources is without doubt.
In some ways Hitler is the most problematic of our subjects.
Objectively, it must be admitted that, out of all the individuals we shall be considering, his achievements were, undoubtedly, the most influential, far reaching and significant.
Most people, however, would find it difficult to admit to such an assessment despite the fact that Hitler was, almost single-handedly responsible for remoulding, politically, a country and its culture.
He then went on to impose his philosophical system upon the greater part of a whole continent, causing, in the process, the outbreak of a conflict of world wide scope and significance.
Objectively, it must be admitted that, out of all the individuals we shall be considering, his achievements were, undoubtedly, the most influential, far reaching and significant.
Most people, however, would find it difficult to admit to such an assessment despite the fact that Hitler was, almost single-handedly responsible for remoulding, politically, a country and its culture.
He then went on to impose his philosophical system upon the greater part of a whole continent, causing, in the process, the outbreak of a conflict of world wide scope and significance.
Equally we can study the career of Napoleon the First, dispassionately, despite his conquest of Europe and the enormous numbers of dead and injured which these wars produced.
In like manner the Genocide undertaken by the United States against the American Indians (see right) in the second half of the nineteenth century has been all but 'swept under the carpet', while the USA arrogantly swaggers around the world, using force if necessary, to attack other countries it considers guilty of violating human rights.
Stalin, of course was our ally in the last War and this seems to interfere, radically with our subsequent judgement.
In the years since the end of the last War Hitler has been presented as the 'ultimate bogeyman' of History.
The victors wrote a history, however, that was too darkly coloured.
Shakespeare warns us to beware of those who 'protest too much'.
The victors feared, and even today still fear that Hitler may strike at them from the grave.
It appears that they know something about this man, and his ideas that the majority do not.
On the reasonable assumption that Hitler and Nazism are essentially evil and repulsive they will surely appeal to no one.
It should not be necessary to destroy Hitler's mountain home, the Berghof, at Berchtesgaden (10), along with everything else associated with him, and to ridicule and condemn both him and his ideas at every opportunity if they are self evidently unacceptable to right thinking people.
Behind all this frantic and seemingly unnecessary condemnation lies an enigma which involves, undoubtedly, the nature of the source of Hitler's ideas and personal power.
The victors wrote a history, however, that was too darkly coloured.
Shakespeare warns us to beware of those who 'protest too much'.
The victors feared, and even today still fear that Hitler may strike at them from the grave.
It appears that they know something about this man, and his ideas that the majority do not.
On the reasonable assumption that Hitler and Nazism are essentially evil and repulsive they will surely appeal to no one.
Behind all this frantic and seemingly unnecessary condemnation lies an enigma which involves, undoubtedly, the nature of the source of Hitler's ideas and personal power.
Those who are now in power, and who inherited the laurels of the victory over Fascism, know something of, and deeply fear the power that inspired Hitler, and through him, a whole nation, a mere sixty or so years ago.
That power is opposed to all our mundane and bourgeois habits; a power capable of releasing us from this familiar world into a harsher dawn.
(10) When the Americans captured Berchtesgaden, in Bavaria, in 1945, it was decided that the Berghof (Haus Wachenfeld), which Hitler had first rented and subsequently bought with the proceeds from the sale of 'Mein Kampf', after his release from Landsberg Prison, should be destroyed, along with most of the other buildings on the Obersalzburg, with the exception of the Platterhof and the Hotel Turken.
This reason given for this wanton destruction of buildings of historical importance, which included the Nurnberg Stadium, (which resisted all attempts such was the quality of its construction), and many other buildings designed by Speer and Hitler, was that they would become 'shrines to Nazism'.
That power is opposed to all our mundane and bourgeois habits; a power capable of releasing us from this familiar world into a harsher dawn.
(10) When the Americans captured Berchtesgaden, in Bavaria, in 1945, it was decided that the Berghof (Haus Wachenfeld), which Hitler had first rented and subsequently bought with the proceeds from the sale of 'Mein Kampf', after his release from Landsberg Prison, should be destroyed, along with most of the other buildings on the Obersalzburg, with the exception of the Platterhof and the Hotel Turken.
This reason given for this wanton destruction of buildings of historical importance, which included the Nurnberg Stadium, (which resisted all attempts such was the quality of its construction), and many other buildings designed by Speer and Hitler, was that they would become 'shrines to Nazism'.
That Hitler has been judged a psychopath, a fool, a carpet chewing maniac, a crank, an uneducated eccentric, a thug and much else besides is well known.
Most people would undoubtedly consider him an evil individual.
The problem we face here, though, is that it is only the victors who are given the privilege of writing History, initially.
Hitler was well aware of this when he made his famous statement that 'the Goddess of History would tear to tatters the judgement of this court', during his trial in 1924, which resulted from the failure of the Munich Putch.
The problem we face here, though, is that it is only the victors who are given the privilege of writing History, initially.
Hitler was well aware of this when he made his famous statement that 'the Goddess of History would tear to tatters the judgement of this court', during his trial in 1924, which resulted from the failure of the Munich Putch.
Any objective assessment of Hitler cannot support the contention that he was insane, stupid or lacking in personal qualities.
The fact that he was highly thought of by his superiors in the Army should indicate that he was self disciplined, reliable and intelligent.
The fact that he was awarded the Iron Cross on two occasions, should show that he was courageous.
The fact that he was highly thought of by his superiors in the Army should indicate that he was self disciplined, reliable and intelligent.
The fact that he was awarded the Iron Cross on two occasions, should show that he was courageous.
None of this, however, explains how Hitler was able to bring his influence to bear on the then President, Field Marshall Paul von Hindenburg (see left), Crown Prince Friederich Wilhelm of Hohenzollern, the Kaiser's heir, General von Mackensen (see right), Baron Fritz Thyssen (11), Gustav and Alfred Krupp (12), Professors Naumann, Bertram and Jordan, Wagner's widow, Cosima and of course Houston Stewart Chamberlain, amongst many others.
It was in 1923 that Hitler met Chamberlain (see left below) at Bayreuth, in Bavaria, and acclaimed him, in the presence of the Wagner family and other celebrities, to be the 'new German messiah'.
The old man, driven once again by his daemons, was able, eventually, to die content; happy in the knowledge that his prophecies of Aryan greatness were at last about to come true.
Hitler attended his funeral in 1927.
Hitler attended his funeral in 1927.
For a man who, whilst not being ugly or deformed, was not handsome, Hitler had a remarkable hold over both men and women (he was often refered to as 'schone Adolf' - beautiful Adolf), which in the final analysis, came down to an animal and almost sexual attraction.While it may be difficult for many people to accept the fact today, Hitler came nearer to being revered as a God than any other individual in modern times.
Those who met Hitler, after the War often refer, in their reminiscences, to his remarkable pale, clear blue eyes, which many state, unequivocally, had a distinctly hypnotic quality.
Face to face, few could resist his charm, or his anger, and contrary to popular belief, it was only towards the end that Hitler resorted to bouts of aggressive anger, rather than to his winning smile and boyish enthusiasm.
(11) Fritz von Thyssen, 1873-1951. He was a multimillionaire who made his money from steel. He became a member of the NSDAP in 1923, pouring huge sums of money into the party coffers.
He saw the National Socialists as a bulwark against communism.
He was instrumental in encouraging Hitler to remove members of the party like Strasser and Feder, who were anti- capitalist, from influential positions in the party.
(12) Alfred Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, 1907-1967.
The son and heir of Gustav Krupp, he was an enthusiastic supporter of Hitler.
In 1943 he was appointed Minister of War Economy. Shortly after his capture and imprisonment as a 'war criminal', by the Allies he was released and his companies property and fortune were restored to him.
Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, 1870-1950. A multimillionaire industrialist who was mainly involved in the manufacture of armaments.
From 1931 he was Chairman of the Association of German Industrialists. Initially he distrusted Hitler but later, after meeting Hitler, he became a firm friend and supporter of the National Socialists.
At the end of the war he was not tried by the Nurnberg War Crimes Commission because of 'ill health'.
Face to face, few could resist his charm, or his anger, and contrary to popular belief, it was only towards the end that Hitler resorted to bouts of aggressive anger, rather than to his winning smile and boyish enthusiasm.
(11) Fritz von Thyssen, 1873-1951. He was a multimillionaire who made his money from steel. He became a member of the NSDAP in 1923, pouring huge sums of money into the party coffers.
He saw the National Socialists as a bulwark against communism.
He was instrumental in encouraging Hitler to remove members of the party like Strasser and Feder, who were anti- capitalist, from influential positions in the party.
(12) Alfred Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, 1907-1967.
The son and heir of Gustav Krupp, he was an enthusiastic supporter of Hitler.
In 1943 he was appointed Minister of War Economy. Shortly after his capture and imprisonment as a 'war criminal', by the Allies he was released and his companies property and fortune were restored to him.
Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, 1870-1950. A multimillionaire industrialist who was mainly involved in the manufacture of armaments.
From 1931 he was Chairman of the Association of German Industrialists. Initially he distrusted Hitler but later, after meeting Hitler, he became a firm friend and supporter of the National Socialists.
At the end of the war he was not tried by the Nurnberg War Crimes Commission because of 'ill health'.
Eckart implied that Hitler had special powers and communion with occult entities; 'hidden masters' or unknown supermen'.
Certainly, Hitler had an abnormal ability to sway people, both as individuals and in the mass. Eye witnesses are united in reporting an almost physical transformation in the Fuhrer when he spoke at public meetings.
It was Hanfstangl (see left) (13) who suggested that Hitler, when speaking to the masses, 'had that ability which is needed to make people stop thinking critically and simply emote'.
Equally, Professor Alan Bullock (see right) (14) was of the opinion that when Hitler spoke it was not as if he was using words but rather 'a case of the emotions coming direct, with a rawness and power'.
Certainly, Hitler had an abnormal ability to sway people, both as individuals and in the mass. Eye witnesses are united in reporting an almost physical transformation in the Fuhrer when he spoke at public meetings.
It was Hanfstangl (see left) (13) who suggested that Hitler, when speaking to the masses, 'had that ability which is needed to make people stop thinking critically and simply emote'.Equally, Professor Alan Bullock (see right) (14) was of the opinion that when Hitler spoke it was not as if he was using words but rather 'a case of the emotions coming direct, with a rawness and power'.
Many eye witnesses have equated Hitler's behaviour during his public appearances with those of a medium.
Usually they have presumed that Hitler was communicating with the collective unconscious of his listeners.
It is more likely that he was channelling power from a more mysterious source.
Usually they have presumed that Hitler was communicating with the collective unconscious of his listeners.
It is more likely that he was channelling power from a more mysterious source.
The sheer power of Hitler's presence is now difficult to imagine, despite the fact that unlike Joseph Smith (see left), or Rasputin, (see right) who were also capable of swaying large groups, we have both film and sound recordings of Hitler's speeches.There are, however, still many witnesses of Hitler's rallies, alive today, who are prepared to honestly report their feelings about Hitler, now that some fifty years have passed.
Alfons Heck, a German writer on the National Socialist era, has stated, frankly, that when he came face to face with Hitler, at a Hitler Youth rally, he felt he had 'come face to face with God'.
Eckart had obviously done his job well.
The key to understanding the exceptional individual, and particularly the individual who has been made exceptional, is to be found in the Will.
It is no accident that the film of the 1934 Nurnberg Party Rally, directed by Leni Riefenstahl was called 'The Triumph of the Will' (see right) (15).
To Hitler the Will was paramount, as it was for Crowley, Gurdjieff and all others who wished to control the powers of the occult.
The focusing of the Will was of the essence; once that was lost dissolution was inevitable.
The Will, which must be focused into a blazing stream of pure energy, is used to wield images and symbols as if they were material reality.
It is the source of Life; for the Creator is simply an infinite and all-powerful Will, and death comes to men only through a weakness of Will.
(13) Ernst Franz Sedgwick Hanfstangl (Putzi), 1887-1976.
He was a Harvard graduate, with an American mother. He belonged to an affluent family, which originally came from Munich and dealt in fine art reproductions and publishing. Hanfstangl met Hitler in 1921 and regularly lent and gave him money.
He was responsible for introducing Hitler to 'polite' Munich society. He was a competent pianist who often entertained and relaxed Hitler by playing excerpts from Wagner's operas.
In 1937 he inexplicably fled from Germany, convinced that Hitler was planning to kill him. After the war he published a book entitled 'Hitler, the Missing Years'.
(15) Leni Riefenstahl, 1902-. She was a documentary film director whose first film, 'Sieg des Glaubens' ('Victory of Faith'), was made at the behest of Gobbles, the Minister of Propaganda. Her relationship with Gobbles was a difficult one and she suffered a nervous breakdown while making the film.
Hitler personally convinced her to make a further documentary of the 1934 Nurnberg Party Rally.
This was the now famous 'Triumph des Willens' ('The Triumph of the Will') which is considered, even today, and despite its subject, to be the peak of the documentary film maker's art.
She went on to make 'Olympia', which was a record of the Berlin Olympics of 1936.
She was imprisoned for a short while by the Allies after the war, presumably for making documentaries, and has continued her career in films and photography since then
To Hitler the Will was paramount, as it was for Crowley, Gurdjieff and all others who wished to control the powers of the occult.
The focusing of the Will was of the essence; once that was lost dissolution was inevitable.
The Will, which must be focused into a blazing stream of pure energy, is used to wield images and symbols as if they were material reality.
It is the source of Life; for the Creator is simply an infinite and all-powerful Will, and death comes to men only through a weakness of Will.
(13) Ernst Franz Sedgwick Hanfstangl (Putzi), 1887-1976.
He was a Harvard graduate, with an American mother. He belonged to an affluent family, which originally came from Munich and dealt in fine art reproductions and publishing. Hanfstangl met Hitler in 1921 and regularly lent and gave him money.
He was responsible for introducing Hitler to 'polite' Munich society. He was a competent pianist who often entertained and relaxed Hitler by playing excerpts from Wagner's operas.
In 1937 he inexplicably fled from Germany, convinced that Hitler was planning to kill him. After the war he published a book entitled 'Hitler, the Missing Years'.
(15) Leni Riefenstahl, 1902-. She was a documentary film director whose first film, 'Sieg des Glaubens' ('Victory of Faith'), was made at the behest of Gobbles, the Minister of Propaganda. Her relationship with Gobbles was a difficult one and she suffered a nervous breakdown while making the film.
Hitler personally convinced her to make a further documentary of the 1934 Nurnberg Party Rally.
This was the now famous 'Triumph des Willens' ('The Triumph of the Will') which is considered, even today, and despite its subject, to be the peak of the documentary film maker's art.
She went on to make 'Olympia', which was a record of the Berlin Olympics of 1936.
She was imprisoned for a short while by the Allies after the war, presumably for making documentaries, and has continued her career in films and photography since then
From Hitler's confidential conversations, including those with Heinrich Himmler (see right) (16) and Hermann Rauschning (see left) (17), it is evident that he was far from being an ex-corporal turned right-wing, bourgeois politician, made good.
One simply has to observe Hitler with someone like Neville Chamberlain to see the difference between a politician and a religious leader.
His statements show him to be a person for whom, like Joseph Smith, politics were only a means to an end.
He, like Crowley (see right), was ushering in a 'New Age', and like Crowley, and unlike our contemporary, sentimental and woolly headed disciples of alternative lifestyles and green politics, he knew that if this New Age was to be firmly established it would involve upheaval and suffering on an immense scale.
The tragedy is probably that we have had the suffering but the 'new age' has been aborted by the free-market capitalists.
That dawn is still awaited by so many, but before it dawns more suffering is probably inevitable
His statements show him to be a person for whom, like Joseph Smith, politics were only a means to an end.
He, like Crowley (see right), was ushering in a 'New Age', and like Crowley, and unlike our contemporary, sentimental and woolly headed disciples of alternative lifestyles and green politics, he knew that if this New Age was to be firmly established it would involve upheaval and suffering on an immense scale.The tragedy is probably that we have had the suffering but the 'new age' has been aborted by the free-market capitalists.
That dawn is still awaited by so many, but before it dawns more suffering is probably inevitable
Hitler made it clear that he felt that the world was at the point of a crucial transformation which he would be instrumental in initiating.
It was not to be simply a political or economic transformation, but rather a transformation of moral and spiritual values.
In this, of course, he was echoing one of his favourite authors, Friederich Nietzsche (see left).
In addition he saw the advent of a change in cultural perception, from the dominance of logic and the intellect to a new consciousness of Will and magical interpretation.
Rauschning makes it clear in his book 'Conversations with Hitler' that to understand Hitler one must realize that he believed absolutely that there was a magical relationship between Man and the Universe.
Although Rauschning was not aware of it, this conviction on Hitler's part undoubtedly stemmed from his drug induced experiences with Hans L¢dz in 1910 and the teachings of Eckart.
It was not to be simply a political or economic transformation, but rather a transformation of moral and spiritual values.
In addition he saw the advent of a change in cultural perception, from the dominance of logic and the intellect to a new consciousness of Will and magical interpretation.
Rauschning makes it clear in his book 'Conversations with Hitler' that to understand Hitler one must realize that he believed absolutely that there was a magical relationship between Man and the Universe.
Although Rauschning was not aware of it, this conviction on Hitler's part undoubtedly stemmed from his drug induced experiences with Hans L¢dz in 1910 and the teachings of Eckart.
In common with Madame Blavatsky and Gurdjieff, Hitler believed that the creative process, far from being over, was still active, and, if anything, undergoing a significant escalation.
Like Joseph Smith, Hitler believed that the purpose of material creation was the deification of man, although Hitler, unlike Smith, believed that such a process could be achieved in this life by essentially biological means.
This was the rationale behind the concept of the 'Herrenvolk' and the racial policies which have apparently so outraged the 'liberal conscience'.
Perhaps Hitler's most perceptive and significant comment was that the purpose of human evolution was to achieve a mystic vision of the Universe.
It was also, by inference, the purpose of National Socialism.
(16) Heinrich Himmler, 1900-1945. He was born at Landshut in Bavaria, the son of a respected teacher and former tutor to the Wittlesbach family.
Himmler studied at the Technischehochschule in Munich and became a laboratory technician.
He was too young to serve in the Great War, but joined the Freikorps at the end of the War and took part in the Munich Putch of 1923, acting as standard bearer, having joined the NSDAP that same year..
After the Putch he set up a small chicken farm near Munich.
He was appointed head of Hitler's bodyguard, the Schutzstaffel or SS,in 1926. By 1936 Himmler controlled all the police in Germany, including the Gestapo and the SD.
The SS eventually became a state within a state, having its own armed forces and producing its own weapons, including the first operational jet fighters along with the V1 and V2 rockets. The SS, under Himmler made its own laws, which were administered by its own courts. It also had responsibility for the concentration camps. The Ahnenerbe was a special section of the SS concerned with the study of Nordic culture and History along with occult matters.
Himmler, like Hitler, was teetotal and vegetarian. He was also convinced of the value of Homeopathic and Herbal Remedies.
The SS itself intended to provide the genetic material from which would come the superhuman beings which Hitler saw as the final stage of Human evolution. Himmler committed suicide in 1945.
(17) Herman Rauschning, (1887-). He was president of the Danzig Senate in 1933. In 1935 he disagreed with Hitler and fled to Switzerland. He subsequently became an American citizen.
This was the rationale behind the concept of the 'Herrenvolk' and the racial policies which have apparently so outraged the 'liberal conscience'.Perhaps Hitler's most perceptive and significant comment was that the purpose of human evolution was to achieve a mystic vision of the Universe.
It was also, by inference, the purpose of National Socialism.
(16) Heinrich Himmler, 1900-1945. He was born at Landshut in Bavaria, the son of a respected teacher and former tutor to the Wittlesbach family.
Himmler studied at the Technischehochschule in Munich and became a laboratory technician.
He was too young to serve in the Great War, but joined the Freikorps at the end of the War and took part in the Munich Putch of 1923, acting as standard bearer, having joined the NSDAP that same year..
After the Putch he set up a small chicken farm near Munich.
He was appointed head of Hitler's bodyguard, the Schutzstaffel or SS,in 1926. By 1936 Himmler controlled all the police in Germany, including the Gestapo and the SD.
The SS eventually became a state within a state, having its own armed forces and producing its own weapons, including the first operational jet fighters along with the V1 and V2 rockets. The SS, under Himmler made its own laws, which were administered by its own courts. It also had responsibility for the concentration camps. The Ahnenerbe was a special section of the SS concerned with the study of Nordic culture and History along with occult matters.
Himmler, like Hitler, was teetotal and vegetarian. He was also convinced of the value of Homeopathic and Herbal Remedies.
The SS itself intended to provide the genetic material from which would come the superhuman beings which Hitler saw as the final stage of Human evolution. Himmler committed suicide in 1945.
(17) Herman Rauschning, (1887-). He was president of the Danzig Senate in 1933. In 1935 he disagreed with Hitler and fled to Switzerland. He subsequently became an American citizen.
Those killed in the war which began in 1939, an those who died in the concentration camps were, undoubtedly, in Hitler's view, an acceptable price to pay for the 'Deification of Man' and the 'Mystic Vision'.
Before we jump too hurriedly to a judgement on such values, however, perhaps we should consider the 'assured mutual destruction' of nuclear war, which hung over the world for fifty years, and which to an extent still does, which is not only contemplated, but embraced in the defence of economic systems which are patently fraudulent, ineffective and ecologically disastrous.
Which is the greater price to pay, and which is the higher objective ?
The 'liberals' in the West and the one-time communists in the East, with their fingers on the nuclear buttons are still writing History, but, it seems, fewer people are prepared to believe them.
Which is the greater price to pay, and which is the higher objective ?
The 'liberals' in the West and the one-time communists in the East, with their fingers on the nuclear buttons are still writing History, but, it seems, fewer people are prepared to believe them.
Of course, there was never any possibility of Hitler's vast vision of a transformed future coming to pass within his lifetime.
Shortly after the beginning of the War Hitler began to lose control of the powers he had acquired through the teachings of L¢dz, his experiences in the Great War, and his time with Eckart, who was responsible for activating Hitler's centres of vision.
The 'centres of vision' are the the Sacred Chakras, which are a central part of esoteric philosophy in both the Oriental and Oriental systems of magic.
In Occidental magic, which has its origins in Gnosticism and the Kabala, the Chakras are associated with the Planetary Spheres and the Kabalistic Tree of Life.
There are seven Chakras in the human body associated with various organs.
The lowest Chakra is associated with the rectum, the second with the genitals, the third with the abdomen, the fourth with the heart, the fifth with the thyroid, the sixth with the pineal gland and the last Chakra with the crown.
Each Chakra 'vibrates' at its own rate and acts as a 'gate' to the 'Kundalini Power' which originates in the ano-genital area and, when released, can rise through the Chakras, being modified by each one; eventually reaching the Crown Chakra to produce a spiritual 'awakening'. There are various ways of causing such an awakening of power; the easiest being a direct stimulation of the Kundalini through erotic or sado-erotic practices.
Such stimulation, rather than the slower and considerably more difficult meditatory path, often results in a lack of control of the powers so obtained.
Shortly after the beginning of the War Hitler began to lose control of the powers he had acquired through the teachings of L¢dz, his experiences in the Great War, and his time with Eckart, who was responsible for activating Hitler's centres of vision.
In Occidental magic, which has its origins in Gnosticism and the Kabala, the Chakras are associated with the Planetary Spheres and the Kabalistic Tree of Life.
There are seven Chakras in the human body associated with various organs.
The lowest Chakra is associated with the rectum, the second with the genitals, the third with the abdomen, the fourth with the heart, the fifth with the thyroid, the sixth with the pineal gland and the last Chakra with the crown.
Each Chakra 'vibrates' at its own rate and acts as a 'gate' to the 'Kundalini Power' which originates in the ano-genital area and, when released, can rise through the Chakras, being modified by each one; eventually reaching the Crown Chakra to produce a spiritual 'awakening'. There are various ways of causing such an awakening of power; the easiest being a direct stimulation of the Kundalini through erotic or sado-erotic practices.
Such stimulation, rather than the slower and considerably more difficult meditatory path, often results in a lack of control of the powers so obtained.
It is known that throughout his adolescence Hitler had severely repressed his sexual drives.
In 1928, when Hitler bought Haus Wachenfeld on the Obersalzburg, he invited his sister Angela Raubal to be his housekeeper.
She brought with her, to Berchtesgaden, her two daughters, Friedl and Geli.
By 1929 Hitler and Geli were constantly in each other's company when Hitler was in Munich or on the Obersalzburg.
When Hitler acquired an apartment in Prinzregentenstrasse, in Munich, Geli was given rooms there.
There is no doubt that Hitler either had, or intended to have a sexual relationship of some sort with his niece, and was insanely jealous of her seeing other men; at one point accusing her of having an affair with Emil Maurice (who, it has been claimed, was homosexual), his chauffeur and bodyguard.
She brought with her, to Berchtesgaden, her two daughters, Friedl and Geli.
When Hitler acquired an apartment in Prinzregentenstrasse, in Munich, Geli was given rooms there.
There is no doubt that Hitler either had, or intended to have a sexual relationship of some sort with his niece, and was insanely jealous of her seeing other men; at one point accusing her of having an affair with Emil Maurice (who, it has been claimed, was homosexual), his chauffeur and bodyguard.
In September 1931, Geli Raubal was found shot dead in Hitler's flat.
According to the Coroner she had committed suicide after an argument with Hitler.
Hitler was devastated, weeping publicly at Geli's funeral.
It appears that Hitler had written a letter to Geli shortly before her death, which had somehow fallen into the wrong hands.
The letter was eventually recovered by a priest who supported Hitler.
Everyone who read the letter, including the priest, disappeared as a result of Himmler's efficient and deadly actions.
In the letter it is believed that Hitler wrote frankly about his sado-masochistic attitude towards sex, which was related to his manipulation of sexual activities for paranormal purposes, although this was not explicitly stated in the letter.
According to the Coroner she had committed suicide after an argument with Hitler.
Hitler was devastated, weeping publicly at Geli's funeral.
It appears that Hitler had written a letter to Geli shortly before her death, which had somehow fallen into the wrong hands.
The letter was eventually recovered by a priest who supported Hitler.
Everyone who read the letter, including the priest, disappeared as a result of Himmler's efficient and deadly actions.
In the letter it is believed that Hitler wrote frankly about his sado-masochistic attitude towards sex, which was related to his manipulation of sexual activities for paranormal purposes, although this was not explicitly stated in the letter.
It is possible that Geli committed suicide, but whether this was a falsification of the truth, or whether Hitler or Himmler killed Geli is really immaterial.
That Geli was a danger to Hitler was an undoubted fact.
She was certainly an electoral liability and, perhaps more significantly and bizarrely, she would have been a drain on the psycho-sexual powers which Hitler needed in order to produce his mediumistic performances of mass oratory.
That Geli was a danger to Hitler was an undoubted fact.
She was certainly an electoral liability and, perhaps more significantly and bizarrely, she would have been a drain on the psycho-sexual powers which Hitler needed in order to produce his mediumistic performances of mass oratory.
To begin with Hitler provided her with a flat in Munich, but later she moved into the Berghof.
She remained hidden from the public, although she acted as Mistress of the Berghof, entertaining Hitler's eminent guests.
There has long been controversy over the nature of Hitler's relationship with her.
Born in Simbach, Eva Braun was the second daughter of school teacher Friedrich "Fritz" Braun, a non-practicing Protestant, and Franziska "Fanny" Kronberger, who came from a respectable Bavarian Catholic family.
Her elder sister, Ilse, was born in 1909 and her younger sister, Margarete "Gretl", was born in 1915.
Eva was educated at a lyceum, then for one year at a business school in a convent where she had average grades and a talent for athletics.
She worked for several months as a receptionist at a medical office, then at age 17, took a job as an office and lab assistant and photographer's model for Heinrich Hoffmann, the official photographer for the Nazi Party.
She met Hitler, 23 years her senior, at Hoffmann's studio of Munich in October 1929.
He had been introduced to her as "Herr Wolff" (a childhood nickname he used during the 1920s for security purposes).
She described him to friends as a "gentleman of a certain age with a funny moustache, a light-coloured English overcoat, and carrying a big felt hat."
He appreciated her eye colour, which was said to be close to his mother's.
The rest of Braun's family survived the war, including her father, who worked in a hospital and to whom Braun sent several trunks of her belongings in April 1945.
Her mother, Franziska, died at age 91 in January 1976, having lived out her days in an old farmhouse in Ruhpolding *, Bavaria.
* (Ruhpolding is a municipality of the Traunstein district in southeastern Bavaria, Germany.
It is situated in the south of the Chiemgau region in the Alps.
The name "Ruhpolding" originates from the Bavarian word Rupoltingin and means "the people of the strong famous one".
The town is mentioned as Ruhpoldingen for the first time in 1193.
It was connected through railway in 1895.
Since 1948, Ruhpolding became a famous spa and tourist resort)
Once Hitler had consolidated his power he began, apparently, to develop bourgeois tastes and attitudes which he would have probably rejected in his youth.
One only acquires such power of the eyes by patient training, and undoubtedly Hitler's ability to use his eyes in such a way resulted from his time with Lodz and Eckart - and does the nickname of 'Wolf' for Hitler come from this pseudo-canine dominance trait of the eyes ?
However - even when he was young Hitler's eyes were remarkable.
Kubizek has the following to say about Hitler's eyes:
'Never in my life have I seen any other person whose appearance -- how shall I put it -- was so completely dominated by the eyes.
They were the light eyes of his mother, but her somewhat staring, penetrating gaze was even more marked in the son and had even more force and expressiveness.
It was uncanny how these eyes could change their expression, especially when Adolf was speaking.
To me his sonorous voice meant much less than the expression of his eyes.
In fact, Adolf spoke with his eyes, and even when his lips were silent one knew what he wanted to say.
When he first came to our house and I introduced him to my mother, she said to me in the evening, "What eyes your friend has!" And I remember quite distinctly that there was more fear than admiration in her words.
If I am asked where one could perceive, in his youth, this man's exceptional qualities, I can only answer, "In the eyes."'
Associated with Hitler's hypnotic gaze, and his intense personal magnetism, is the concept of the 'daemonic'.
As Goethe (1749–1832) (see left) wrote: 'The Daemonic element manifests itself in all corporeal and incorporeal things, and even expresses itself most distinctly in animals, yet it is primarily in its relation to man that we observe its mysterious workings, which represent a force, if not antagonistic to the moral order, yet running counter to it, so that the one may be regarded as the warp, and the other as the woof.
One has to be inflexibly dogmatic and unscientific to deny the proposition that the human brain is capable of doing extraordinary things, in face of all the evidence, and indeed, the current intellectual fashion is to accept the existence of ESP powers as long as we can talk
about them in terms of the brain or the unconscious.
As long as our terms are sufficiently ‘modern', we are on safe ground: yoga we can label Psychocybernetics, and magic, Applied Mind Dynamics, and this almost makes them respectable.
Unfortunately, in considering Adolf Hitler, we are also forced to consider the possibility that the world of spirits and demons may have some objective existence, or at least, that Hitler thought it did.
Time and time again we come upon the phrase used to describe him, ‘the unconscious tool of higher powers'.
We may add to the testimony of witnesses we have quoted earlier the words of the French Ambassador, Francois-Poncet;
‘He entered into a sort of mediumistic trance; the expression of his face was ecstatic,' and of another Frenchman, Bouchez:
‘I looked into his eyes - the eyes of a medium in a trance ... Sometimes there seemed to be a sort of ectoplasm; the speaker's body seemed to be inhabited by something ...'
And Rauschnig said of Hitler - 'One cannot help but think of him as a medium...beyond any doubt Hitler was possessed by forces outside himself..'
Finally there is the account by those close to Hitler, which reminds one of the UnknownSupermen of Mathers and Crowley:
‘A person close to Hitler related that he wakes up in the night screaming and in convulsions. He calls for help, and appears to be half paralysed.
He is seized with a panic that makes him tremble until the bed shakes.
He utters confused and unintelligible sounds, gasping, as if on
the point of suffocation.'
The same person described one of these fits in detail.
‘Hitler was standing up in his room, swaying, and looking all round him as if he were lost.
"It's he, it's he," he groaned; "he's come for me!"
His lips were white; he was sweating profusely.
Suddenly he uttered a string of meaningless figures, then words and scraps of sentences.
He used strange expressions strung together in bizarre disorder.
Then he relapsed again into silence, but his lips still continued to move.
Then suddenly he screamed: "There! there! Over in the corner! He is there!" – all the time stamping with his feet and shouting.
To quieten him he was assured that nothing extraordinary had happened, and finally he gradually calmed down.
After that he slept for a long time and became normal again.’
Is it possible that this was one of the mysterious beings which forbade him to speak about further stages in evolution ? (see below - 'Hitler Speaks')
Hitler's behaviour invites one to compare the remarks of Mathers.
The ‘string of meaningless figures, then words and scraps of sentences . . . the strange expressions strung together in bizarre disorder' all sound remarkably like the arcane languages and ‘barbarous names of evocation' used by ceremonial magicians to control their consciousness.
We cannot resolve the question of whether spirit beings have an existence independent of the human brain, or whether they are personalised components of the unconscious mind, and we leave the reader to judge.
From the above, however, it is clear that the Führer thought in terms of an objective world of spirit beings.
Admittedly it is hard to accept that such beliefs nourished one of the twentieth century's most prominent political figures, and yet he said himself, when talking of the destiny of the human race: ‘Politics are only a practical and fragmentary aspect of this destiny.'
The question remains, who or what did Hitler see in the shadows ?
Some of List and Liebenfels's books lay on the dusty shelves of a neat bed-sit in a middle-class suburb of Vienna, the still dazzling capital of the once great Empire, now weakened and reduced by the ravages of a lost war.
The room was shared by Hitler, and a friend from his school-days, August Kubizek (see right).
It is situated in the south of the Chiemgau region in the Alps.
The name "Ruhpolding" originates from the Bavarian word Rupoltingin and means "the people of the strong famous one".
The town is mentioned as Ruhpoldingen for the first time in 1193.
It was connected through railway in 1895.
Since 1948, Ruhpolding became a famous spa and tourist resort)
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
(18) Eva Braun, later Eva Hitler, (1912-1945). Born in Simbach, in Bavaria, close to the Austrian border, she had a limited education but was physically attractive, with a pleasing personality.
She had two sisters, Ilse and Gretl, who often stayed with her at the Berghof.
In 1945 Eva committed suicide, after marrying Hitler in the Fuhrerbunker in Berlin.
Of those who were close to Hitler who are still alive, Reinhard Spitzy, von Ribbentrop's secretary, and a regular visitor to the Berghof, suggests that Hitler and Eva had a normal sexual relationship, whereas Putzi Hanfstangl suggests that Hitler was not interested in 'normal' sexual activities. The mystery remains.
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
her biography and rare photos
Once Hitler had consolidated his power he began, apparently, to develop bourgeois tastes and attitudes which he would have probably rejected in his youth.
He liked to relax in an informal atmosphere (see left), indulging in his passion for cream cakes, decaffeinated coffee and mountain walks (see right), in his mountain home on the Obersalzburg.
His para-normal powers waned, but his daemons did not desert him completely.
One does not know what is more extraordinary: the bewitchment of the German nation; the phenomenon of Hitler himself; or the inability of most to recognise the sources of the Führer's powers.
Yet the signs are plain for all to see in the work of historians of unimpeachable integrity like Alan Bullock and Hugh Trevor-Roper.
‘Until the last days of his life,' writes Bullock, ‘he retained an uncanny gift of personal magnetism which defies analysis, but which many who met him have described ... This was connected with the curious powers of his eyes, which are persistently said to have some sort of hypnotic
quality.''
Professor Trevor-Roper concurs: ‘Hitler had the eyes of a hypnotist which seduced the wits and affections of all who yielded to their power." One does not acquire such power by accident!
Goebbels wrote about his first meeting with Hitler: "I was fascinated by Hitlers blue eyes...". Traudl Junge, his last secretary often told in interviews, that "...people were amazed about Hitler's blue eyes....".
Martha Dodd writes in her book that, "Hitler's eyes were startling and unforgettable - they seemed pale blue in color, were intense, unwavering, hypnotic."
His para-normal powers waned, but his daemons did not desert him completely.
One does not know what is more extraordinary: the bewitchment of the German nation; the phenomenon of Hitler himself; or the inability of most to recognise the sources of the Führer's powers.
Yet the signs are plain for all to see in the work of historians of unimpeachable integrity like Alan Bullock and Hugh Trevor-Roper.
‘Until the last days of his life,' writes Bullock, ‘he retained an uncanny gift of personal magnetism which defies analysis, but which many who met him have described ... This was connected with the curious powers of his eyes, which are persistently said to have some sort of hypnotic
quality.''
Professor Trevor-Roper concurs: ‘Hitler had the eyes of a hypnotist which seduced the wits and affections of all who yielded to their power." One does not acquire such power by accident!
Goebbels wrote about his first meeting with Hitler: "I was fascinated by Hitlers blue eyes...". Traudl Junge, his last secretary often told in interviews, that "...people were amazed about Hitler's blue eyes....".
Martha Dodd writes in her book that, "Hitler's eyes were startling and unforgettable - they seemed pale blue in color, were intense, unwavering, hypnotic."
One only acquires such power of the eyes by patient training, and undoubtedly Hitler's ability to use his eyes in such a way resulted from his time with Lodz and Eckart - and does the nickname of 'Wolf' for Hitler come from this pseudo-canine dominance trait of the eyes ?However - even when he was young Hitler's eyes were remarkable.
Kubizek has the following to say about Hitler's eyes:
'Never in my life have I seen any other person whose appearance -- how shall I put it -- was so completely dominated by the eyes.
They were the light eyes of his mother, but her somewhat staring, penetrating gaze was even more marked in the son and had even more force and expressiveness.
It was uncanny how these eyes could change their expression, especially when Adolf was speaking.
To me his sonorous voice meant much less than the expression of his eyes.
In fact, Adolf spoke with his eyes, and even when his lips were silent one knew what he wanted to say.
When he first came to our house and I introduced him to my mother, she said to me in the evening, "What eyes your friend has!" And I remember quite distinctly that there was more fear than admiration in her words.
If I am asked where one could perceive, in his youth, this man's exceptional qualities, I can only answer, "In the eyes."'
 |
| Goethe |
But the most fearful manifestation of the Daemonic is when it is seen predominating in some individual character.
During my life I have observed several instances, either closely or at a distance.
Such persons are not always the most eminent men, either in intellect or special gifts, and they are seldom distinguished by goodness of heart; a tremendous energy seems to emanate from them, and they exercise a wonderful power over all creatures, and even over the elements; and, indeed, who shall say how much further such influence may extend?
All the moral powers combined are no avail against them; in vain does the more enlightened portion of mankind attempt to throw suspicion upon them as dupes or as deceivers - the masses are attracted by them.
Seldom or ever do they find their equals among their contemporaries; nothing can vanquish them but the universe itself.'
Hence the above descriptions are ludicrous if applied to Mussolini or Stalin, but perfect if applied to men such as Rasputin, Gurdjieff or Crowley, with whom Hitler must be classed: all four men possessed to a remarkable degree this intense personal magnetism, which, in all four cases, was associated with their ‘hypnotic' eyes.One has to be inflexibly dogmatic and unscientific to deny the proposition that the human brain is capable of doing extraordinary things, in face of all the evidence, and indeed, the current intellectual fashion is to accept the existence of ESP powers as long as we can talk
about them in terms of the brain or the unconscious.
As long as our terms are sufficiently ‘modern', we are on safe ground: yoga we can label Psychocybernetics, and magic, Applied Mind Dynamics, and this almost makes them respectable.
Unfortunately, in considering Adolf Hitler, we are also forced to consider the possibility that the world of spirits and demons may have some objective existence, or at least, that Hitler thought it did.
Time and time again we come upon the phrase used to describe him, ‘the unconscious tool of higher powers'.
We may add to the testimony of witnesses we have quoted earlier the words of the French Ambassador, Francois-Poncet;
‘He entered into a sort of mediumistic trance; the expression of his face was ecstatic,' and of another Frenchman, Bouchez:
‘I looked into his eyes - the eyes of a medium in a trance ... Sometimes there seemed to be a sort of ectoplasm; the speaker's body seemed to be inhabited by something ...'
And Rauschnig said of Hitler - 'One cannot help but think of him as a medium...beyond any doubt Hitler was possessed by forces outside himself..'
Finally there is the account by those close to Hitler, which reminds one of the UnknownSupermen of Mathers and Crowley:
 |
| © Copyright Zac Sawyer 2017 |
He is seized with a panic that makes him tremble until the bed shakes.
He utters confused and unintelligible sounds, gasping, as if on
the point of suffocation.'
The same person described one of these fits in detail.
"It's he, it's he," he groaned; "he's come for me!"
His lips were white; he was sweating profusely.
Suddenly he uttered a string of meaningless figures, then words and scraps of sentences.
He used strange expressions strung together in bizarre disorder.
Then he relapsed again into silence, but his lips still continued to move.
Then suddenly he screamed: "There! there! Over in the corner! He is there!" – all the time stamping with his feet and shouting.
To quieten him he was assured that nothing extraordinary had happened, and finally he gradually calmed down.
After that he slept for a long time and became normal again.’
Is it possible that this was one of the mysterious beings which forbade him to speak about further stages in evolution ? (see below - 'Hitler Speaks')
Hitler's behaviour invites one to compare the remarks of Mathers.
The ‘string of meaningless figures, then words and scraps of sentences . . . the strange expressions strung together in bizarre disorder' all sound remarkably like the arcane languages and ‘barbarous names of evocation' used by ceremonial magicians to control their consciousness.
We cannot resolve the question of whether spirit beings have an existence independent of the human brain, or whether they are personalised components of the unconscious mind, and we leave the reader to judge.
From the above, however, it is clear that the Führer thought in terms of an objective world of spirit beings.
Admittedly it is hard to accept that such beliefs nourished one of the twentieth century's most prominent political figures, and yet he said himself, when talking of the destiny of the human race: ‘Politics are only a practical and fragmentary aspect of this destiny.'
The question remains, who or what did Hitler see in the shadows ?
Eventually, his powers deserted him completely.
The bomb plot, arranged by some of his disillusioned generals was the final blow, weakening his physical and spiritual resolve on which his essential 'Will' rested.
He had failed, and was cast aside to be reviled by History.
The bomb plot, arranged by some of his disillusioned generals was the final blow, weakening his physical and spiritual resolve on which his essential 'Will' rested.
He had failed, and was cast aside to be reviled by History.
'Who' ever or 'what' ever cast him aside was seeking a new strategy .....
H I T L E R ' S L I B R A R Y
By the time Hitler reached the age of 56 he owned an estimated 16,000 volumes.
Hitler also owned the collected works of William Shakespeare, published in German translation in 1925 by Georg Müller as part of a series intended to make great literature available to the general public.
Volume six includes 'As You Like It', 'Twelfth Night', 'Hamlet' and 'Troilus and Cressida'.
Hitler considered Shakespeare superior to Goethe (see right) and Schiller (see right).
“The first Karl May that I read was 'The Ride Across the Desert',” he recalled. “I was overwhelmed. I threw myself into him immediately, which resulted in a noticeable decline in my grades.”
A handsomely bound facsimile edition of letters by Frederick the Great (see left), specially designed for Hitler’s 50th birthday, lies on a shelf for oversized books beneath a similarly huge presentation volume on the city of Hamburg and an illustrated history of the German navy in the first world war.
Also surviving in the collection of Hitler's books is a copy of 'Mein Kampf' with Hitler’s ex-libris book plate, an analysis of Wagner’s 'Parsifal' published in 1913, a history of the swastika from 1921, and half a dozen or so spiritual and occult volumes acquired in Munich in the early 1920s, including an account of supernatural occurrences, 'The Dead Are Alive !', and a monograph on Nostradamus.
In a 1934 reprint of Paul Lagarde’s 'German Letters', a series of late-19th-century essays advocating the systematic removal of Europe’s Jewish population, there are more than 100 pages of pencilled intrusions: from page 41, where Lagarde calls for the “transplanting” of German and Austrian Jews to Palestine, extending to ominous passages where he speaks of Jews as “pestilence”.
“This water pestilence must be eradicated from our streams and lakes,” Lagarde writes on page 276, with a pencil marking bold affirmation in the margin. “The political system without which it cannot exist must be eliminated.”
'Die Toteninsel'
Arnold Böcklin
The Kehlsteinhaus - 'Adlerhorst' (the Eagle's Nest) is a chalet-style structure erected on a subpeak of the Hoher Göll known as the Kehlstein.
It was built as an extension of the Obersalzberg complex erected in the mountains above Berchtesgaden.
The Kehlsteinhaus was intended as a 50th birthday present for Adolf Hitler to serve as a retreat for Hitler and place for him to entertain visiting dignitaries.
The Kehlsteinhaus was commissioned by Martin Bormann, with construction proceeding over a 13-month period.
It was completed in the summer of 1938, prior to its formal presentation to Hitler on his 50th birthday on April 20, 1939.
It is situated on a ridge at the top of the Kehlstein mountain 1,834 m (6,017 ft), reached by a 6.5 km (4.0 mi) long and 4 m (13 ft) wide road that cost 30 million RMs to build (about 150 million euros in 2007, adjusted in line with inflation).
It includes five tunnels but only one hairpin turn and climbs 800 m (2,600 ft).
The last 124 m (407 ft)[1] up to the Kehlsteinhaus are reached by an elevator bored straight down through the mountain and linked via a tunnel through the granite below that is 124 m (407 ft) long.
The inside of the large elevator car is surfaced with polished brass, Venetian mirrors and green leather.
The main reception room is dominated by a fireplace of red Italian marble, presented by Mussolini.
Much of the furniture was designed by Paul László.
A significant event held at the Kehlsteinhaus was the wedding reception that followed the marriage of Eva Braun's sister Gretl to Hermann Fegelein on June 3, 1944.
The building is often mistakenly referred to as a "tea house", a corruption of its abbreviated name, "D-Haus", short for "Diplomatic Reception Haus".
As a result it is frequently confused with the actual tea house at Hitler's Berghof, the Mooslahnerkopf Teehaus he visited daily after lunch.
Although the site is on the same mountain as the Berghof, Hitler rarely visited the property.
It has been suggested he only visited the Kehlsteinhaus around 10 times, and most times for no more than 30 minutes, however he did receive André François-Poncet (the departing French ambassador to Germany) there on October 18, 1938.
As a result of the lack of close association with Hitler the property was saved from demolition at the end of the war.
A trail leads above the Kehlsteinhaus towards the Mannlgrat ridge reaching from the Kehlstein to the summit of the Hoher Goll.
The route, which is served by a Klettersteig, is regarded as the easiest to the top.
By the time Hitler reached the age of 56 he owned an estimated 16,000 volumes.
It was by any measure an impressive collection: first editions of the works of philosophers, historians, poets, playwrights and novelists.
For him, the library represented a Pierian spring, that metaphorical source of knowledge and inspiration.
He drew deeply there, nourishing his many ambitions.
He read voraciously, at least one book per night, sometimes more, he claimed. “When one gives, one also has to take,” he once said. “I take what I need from books.”
He ranked Don Quixote, along with 'Robinson Crusoe', 'Uncle Tom’s Cabin' and 'Gulliver’s Travels', among the great works of world literature. “Each of them is a grandiose idea unto itself,” he said.
In Robinson Crusoe he perceived “the development of the entire history of mankind”.
Don Quixote captured “ingeniously” the end of an era.
He was especially impressed by Gustave Doré’s depictions of Cervantes’s delusion-plagued hero.
Hitler also owned the collected works of William Shakespeare, published in German translation in 1925 by Georg Müller as part of a series intended to make great literature available to the general public.Volume six includes 'As You Like It', 'Twelfth Night', 'Hamlet' and 'Troilus and Cressida'.
The entire set is bound in hand-tooled Moroccan leather, with a gold-embossed eagle, flanked by his initials, on the spine.
Hitler considered Shakespeare superior to Goethe (see right) and Schiller (see right).
While Shakespeare had fuelled his imagination on the protean forces of the emerging British empire, these two Teutonic playwright-poets squandered their talent on stories of midlife crises and sibling rivalries.
Why was it, he wondered, that the German Enlightenment produced 'Nathan the Wise', the story of the rabbi who reconciles Christians, Muslims and Jews, while it had been left to Shakespeare to give the world 'The Merchant of Venice' and 'Shylock' ?
He appears to have imbibed his Hamlet. “To be or not to be” was a favourite phrase, as was “It is Hecuba to me”.
He was especially fond of 'Julius Caesar'.
In a 1926 sketchbook he drew a detailed stage set for the first act, with sinister facades enclosing the forum where Caesar is cut down. “We will meet again at Philippi,” he threatened an opponent on more than one occasion, plagiarizing the spectral warning to Brutus after Caesar’s murder.
He was said to have reserved the Ides of March for momentous decisions.
He kept his Shakespearian volumes in the second-floor study of his Alpine retreat in southern Germany, along with a leather edition of another favourite author, the adventure novelist Karl May.
Later in life, he was said to have sought solace in Karl May the way others did in the Bible.
He was well versed in the Holy Scriptures, and owned a particularly handsome tome with “Worte Christi” (Words of Christ) embossed in gold on a cream-coloured calfskin cover that even today remains as smooth as silk.
He also owned a German translation of Henry Ford’s (see right) anti-semitic tract 'The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem'.
He also owned a German translation of Henry Ford’s (see right) anti-semitic tract 'The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem'.
On his bed-stand he kept a well-thumbed copy of Wilhelm Busch’s mischievous cartoon duo Max and Moritz.
The sinews of emotional logic that once ran through this collection — Hitler shuffled his books ceaselessly and insisted on reshelving them himself — have now been severed.
A copy of his family genealogy is sandwiched between a bound collection of newspaper articles titled 'Sunday Meditations' and a folio of political cartoons from the 1920s.
 |
| Frederick the Great |
A handsomely bound facsimile edition of letters by Frederick the Great (see left), specially designed for Hitler’s 50th birthday, lies on a shelf for oversized books beneath a similarly huge presentation volume on the city of Hamburg and an illustrated history of the German navy in the first world war.
Hitler's copy of the writings of the Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz (see right), who famously declared that war was politics by other means, shares shelf space with a French vegetarian cookbook inscribed to “Monsieur Hitler - végétarien”.
 |
| Richard Wagner |
Several dozen of these surviving Hitler books contain marginalia.
Here Hitler is seen pausing to engage with the text, to underline words and sentences, to mark entire paragraphs, to place an exclamation point beside one passage, a question mark beside another, and quite frequently an emphatic series of parallel lines in the margin alongside a particular passage.
Like footprints in the sand, these markings allow us to trace the course of the journey, but not necessarily the intent, where attention caught and lingered, where it rushed forward and where it ultimately ended.
 |
| Paul Lagarde |
“This water pestilence must be eradicated from our streams and lakes,” Lagarde writes on page 276, with a pencil marking bold affirmation in the margin. “The political system without which it cannot exist must be eliminated.”
Easily two-thirds of the collection consists of books he never saw, let alone read, but there are also scores of more personal volumes Hitler studied and marked.
Hitler left no narrative of his own collection, no account of how one or the other volume came into his possession, or of its particular emotional significance, but the various inscriptions, marginalia and other details provide insight into their personal and intellectual significance for his life.
Hitler left no narrative of his own collection, no account of how one or the other volume came into his possession, or of its particular emotional significance, but the various inscriptions, marginalia and other details provide insight into their personal and intellectual significance for his life.
 |
| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
HITLER AND THE ARTS
'Die Toteninsel'
“After being appointed chancellor in 1933 the first building Hitler had erected was not a monument to his own triumph but a massive art gallery.”
Hitler’s complaint to his field commanders after Winston Churchill refused peace terms in 1940 was, “It is a pity that I have to wage war on account of that drunk, instead of serving the works of peace.”
The tasks of peace - grand architectural renovations and the promotion of German culture - were uppermost in Hitler’s mind, as Hermann Giesler has shown us throughout his memoir.
But not only Giesler.
After pondering the matter for 20 years in Spandau prison, Hitler’s other architect Albert Speer concluded that Hitler was always and with his whole heart an artist.
Hitler’s secretary Christa Schroeder recalled that his non-military conversation turned more and more to the arts.
Josef Goebbels provides numerous examples in his diaries.
In Jan.1942, after a long discussion with Hitler, he wrote:
“The intensity of the Fuehrer’s longing for music, theatre and cultural relaxation is enormous.”
“The intensity of the Fuehrer’s longing for music, theatre and cultural relaxation is enormous.”
The life he was then leading was “culturally empty,” the Fuehrer had told him, and he looked forward to the war’s end when he would “compensate for this by a dedication stronger than ever to the more beautiful sides of life.”
Giesler was in charge of designing Hitler’s retirement home overlooking Linz.
Hitler envisioned discussion of art, philosophy and matters of importance to the future of Europe by those invited to his home. “Ms. Braun,” whom he would marry when he retired after the war, would be the lady of the house.
Hitler envisioned discussion of art, philosophy and matters of importance to the future of Europe by those invited to his home. “Ms. Braun,” whom he would marry when he retired after the war, would be the lady of the house.
Hitler was no dilettante.
His knowledge of architecture was enormous, along with many other subjects.
He had supported himself from 1909-1913 in Vienna and Munich by drawing and painting architectural landmarks in watercolor and oil, selling them through dealers.
His Munich landlord, Herr Popp, said he often found his lodger reading the works of Schopenhauer and Plato, along with war histories.
Throughout the First World War Hitler carried with him a pocket edition of Schopenhauer's 'The World as Will and Idea'.
His enthusiasm for Richard Wagner’s music began as a 12 year-old boy attending a performance of Lohengrin in Linz.
He’s said to have seen 'Tristan und Isolde' up to 40 times and 'Der Meistersinger' one hundred times. He could hum or whistle all its themes.
In 1942, Hitler became equally enthused about Austrian-born composer Anton Bruckner.
He considered Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony the equivalent of Beethoven’s Ninth.
Always generous with his own funds, Hitler personally financed a centre of Bruckner studies, had his organ repaired and added to his library; he designed a monument in his honour in Linz; endowed a Bruckner Orchestra and subsidized the publication of the composer’s original scores.
No other leader of the time came close to that dedication. “Stalin as well as Lenin, Mussolini, Mao Tse-tung and their ilk … had never set foot in an art gallery.”
While possibly better-educated, Churchill, Roosevelt and Wilson were also far below Hitler’s level of cultural awareness.
It turns out, by a close study of Adolf Hitler’s biographers, memoirists, associates and the record itself, that his idea of national greatness was only fulfilled in a true national art and culture - reminiscent of the ancient Greeks he admired, wherein magnificent physical beauty combines with a brilliant mind and noble soul.
Not long after Hitler siezed the leadership of the party and became it's Fuhrer, his mentor, Eckart, introduced him to the lovely village of Berchtesgaden that was nestled in the Bavarian Alps.
It no doubt impressed Hitler to learn that the Moritz and Turken had once been the meeting places of such dignitaries as Prince-Regent Luitpold of Bavaria, the composer Johannes Brahms and even Crown prince Wilhelm of Prussia.
Having taught Hitler the oratory skills to manipulate an audience through the techniques of hand gestures, voice control and timing, Eckhart now presented his prodigy with a place that would overwhelm him with majestic and inspiring grandeur.
Little wonder that Hitler later said that it was here that he had spent his most pleasant times, and conceived his greatest ideas.
A recent expedition (August 2008) into the gigantic cave-system under the mountain revealed that it goes down so far, that its lowest point had not been reached yet.
The cave explorers had to return from their expedition without knowing how far down it goes.
According to a German newspaper report they had gone down 1056 meters before being forced to return at an abyss-like precipce.
This had been accomplished by being able to pass an extremely narrow passageway that had been previously unpassable.
They also discovered more than 800 new passageways and a lake in 930 meters depth.
Winter's widow rented the house to Hitler in 1928, and his half-sister Angela (see right) came to live there as housekeeper, although she left soon after her daughter Geli's 1931 death in Hitler's Munich apartment.
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
ECKART - HITLER - AND THE OBERSALZBURG
The area of Obersalzberg was purchased by the Nazis in the 1920s for their senior leaders to enjoy.
Hitler's mountain residence, the Berghof, was located here.
Berchtesgaden and its environs (Stanggass) were fitted to serve as an outpost of the German Reichskanzlei office (Imperial Chancellery).
Some typical Third Reich buildings in Berchtesgaden include the railway station, that had a reception area for Hitler and his guests, and the post office next to the railway station.
The Berchtesgadener Hof Hotel was a hotel where famous visitors stayed, such as Eva Braun, Erwin Rommel, Joseph Goebbels, and Heinrich Himmler, as well as Neville Chamberlain and David Lloyd George.
Not long after Hitler siezed the leadership of the party and became it's Fuhrer, his mentor, Eckart, introduced him to the lovely village of Berchtesgaden that was nestled in the Bavarian Alps.
Located near the Austrian border and only a two hour train ride south-east of Munich, Berchtesgaden was a small farming, mining and resort community.
Since about 1850 the area had been one of the summer stomping grounds for Germany's royalty and high society.
Since the first world war it had fallen on leaner times.
Under the influence of Eckart, Hitler adapted the custom of spending weekends, holidays, and vacations at the mountain retreat.
Hitler stayed with Eckart in a house, called the Sonnenhauesl, or as Hitler called it, the "Sonnenkopfl," at Lockstein.
About a year after his introduction to Berchtesgaden, Hitler and a friend made a two mile hike up to Obersalzberg.
Dotted with a few small farms and summer guest-houses, the area offered some of the most spectacular scenic views of the German and Austrian Alps.
Hitler described the region as "a countryside of indescribable
beauty."
Hitler described the region as "a countryside of indescribable
beauty."
He soon began spending most of his free time there and normally took a room at the Pension Moritz (see right).
A short walk below the Moritz was the Gasthof zum Turken (see left) (named after an innkeeper who fought the Turks) where Hitler and his friends enjoyed the "genuine goulash" and often lingered in one of the small public rooms lost in conversation.It no doubt impressed Hitler to learn that the Moritz and Turken had once been the meeting places of such dignitaries as Prince-Regent Luitpold of Bavaria, the composer Johannes Brahms and even Crown prince Wilhelm of Prussia.
Having taught Hitler the oratory skills to manipulate an audience through the techniques of hand gestures, voice control and timing, Eckhart now presented his prodigy with a place that would overwhelm him with majestic and inspiring grandeur.
Little wonder that Hitler later said that it was here that he had spent his most pleasant times, and conceived his greatest ideas.
And opposite the Eckart's Sonnenhauesl (The Little House of the Sun) was the mighty Untersberg (see right) - the massive mountain that dominates the Obersalzburg.
Interetingly, the Untersburg is no ordinary mountain, and one reason Hitler became intrigued by the mountain is because of re-occuring events, legends and tales of people gone missing, people experiencing missing time, encounters with elves and extraterrestrials and passageways to what Hitler called “the inner earth”.
Often noted by occultists as an “energy spot” or “magnetic geo-node,” many seekers came to the Untersberg to be refreshed by the water and drawn to over 400 caves and tunnels by what is described as a “strong magnetic anomaly.”
The Untersberg has been characterized by the Dalai-Lama as the “sleeping dragon,” the “heart-chakra of the world.”
The legends of time portals, missing expeditions, tunnel systems leading to fountains, temples, forests and marble rooms go back hundreds of years.
One of the most persistent rumors involves the legend of Karl the Great (of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation), known in the west as Charles the Great or Charlemagne.
Though physically buried in the German village of Aachen, it is believed that the “astral form” of this emperor sleeps in the mysterious depths of a subterranean throne room, surrounded by his strongest knights, gnomes, frost giants and fire giants, Valkyries and other “Volk,” awaiting the final liberation of his country and kinsmen; that he will rule over a thousand year kingdom of Aryan dominion.
Other accounts maintain this entity is the spirit of the emperor Frederich Barbarossa.
Within the ancient mythologies of the Nordic People are the prophecies that at a future point in time, though time itself is a variable, the “Watcher-god”, Heimdall, will sound his horn to summon the children of Loki (see right).
This semi-divine/human Sixth Race will break their bonds and unite with mystical forces to sail from the land of the Niflheim, located in an astral plane beyond the auroras, waging the final battle with the current “usurpers” of the planet to culminate in the enthronement of their vaticinated king.
It is this anticipated kingdom and its preparation that has been the goal of the ancient spirits. This is the heart of 'The Awakening of the Black Sun'.
The Untersberg is known to be inhabited by certain kinds of elemental spirits of Nature, some of which are good and benevolent, others of a wicked and malicious nature, and inimical to mankind; and there are innumerable tales circulating among the people in the neighborhood, telling about the doings of the gnomes, fairies, and giants, dwelling within caves and in gorgeous marble halls and grottoes filled with gold and precious stones that will turn into dead leaves and stones when seen in the light of day.
“Some of the friendly tribes come out of the Untersberg on certain occasions, and they are said to have sometimes associated with the inhabitants of our plane of existence, partaking in the dances and amusements of the peasants, and even taking stray children with them into the Untersberg; and, incredible as it may appear, it is even asserted by, “those who know” that marriages have taken place between citizens of our world and the inhabitants of the kingdom of gnomes.
Of course it is well known that within the mysterious depths of the Untersberg there dwells the soul of a great emperor in his astral form.
There, together with his retinue, he sleeps an enchanted sleep, waiting for the liberation of his country.
Sometimes very suddenly, even on a clear summer day, clouds are seen to issue from the sides of the mountain; grotesquely-formed ghost-like mists arise from the caverns and precipices, crawling and gliding slowly upwards toward the top, and form on the neighboring peaks also, clouds of monstrous shapes and sometimes of gigantic proportions floating on, until the head of the Untersberg is surrounded by a surging sea of vapours growing dense and dark.
Seldom included in historical analysis of the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler, is the spiritually mesmerizing impact of Mount Untersberg.
Hitler’s first direct encounter took place in 1923, upon which date the future führer would describe his feelings, “It was so wonderful! A view of the Untersberg! Indescribable!”
While not specifically recorded, it is unlikely that the youthful Hitler would have been unaware of the writings of Franz Hartmann.
His obsession with occultism and theosophy, now well documented, would explain the peculiar fascination with the “sleeping dragon” as described by the Dalai Lama.
Having rented Haus Wachenfeld, a small vacation villa across the valley from Mount Untersberg, for four years, it was in 1932, with proceeds earned from royalties from Mein Kampf, that Adolf Hitler purchased what would become the Berghof.
A major renovation of the house soon followed, including a series of extensions, a bowling alley, a library and a basement.
(see Grundstein - Foundation Stone of 1936 - left - with Thule Swastikas)
Most importantly, however, was the construction of a huge picture window, providing a completely open view of the Untersberg.
Hitler was deeply affected by the legend and remarked to Albert Speer, his architect and armaments minister:
“Look at the Untersberg over there.It is not just by chance that I have my seat across from it.”
In February of 1942, the Fuhrer commented to Heinrich Himmler, “Charlemagne was the one of the greatest men to ever live.”
It may well have been that Adolf Hitler had hoped to see some type of manifestation: his telescopes were specifically designed for earth observation.
“Those were the best times of my life,” he would later say. “My great plans were forged there.”
So magnetic was the mountain that the Führer later explained,
“I basically built the house around the window,” and he even named the structure Berghof: “The Mountain Court.”
The Berghof has been described as a “Bavarian country house guarded by 2,000 SS troops,” with Adolf Hitler gazing from a “gigantic window… across a valley to the Untersberg massif, a sheer wall of mountain that looms large in Teutonic myths.”
For almost a decade Obersalzburg had become the Holy Mountain of the Third Reich, drawing thousands of pilgrims to pay homage to their Führer.
Often noted by occultists as an “energy spot” or “magnetic geo-node,” many seekers came to the Untersberg to be refreshed by the water and drawn to over 400 caves and tunnels by what is described as a “strong magnetic anomaly.”
The Untersberg has been characterized by the Dalai-Lama as the “sleeping dragon,” the “heart-chakra of the world.”
The legends of time portals, missing expeditions, tunnel systems leading to fountains, temples, forests and marble rooms go back hundreds of years.
One of the most persistent rumors involves the legend of Karl the Great (of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation), known in the west as Charles the Great or Charlemagne.
Though physically buried in the German village of Aachen, it is believed that the “astral form” of this emperor sleeps in the mysterious depths of a subterranean throne room, surrounded by his strongest knights, gnomes, frost giants and fire giants, Valkyries and other “Volk,” awaiting the final liberation of his country and kinsmen; that he will rule over a thousand year kingdom of Aryan dominion.
Within the ancient mythologies of the Nordic People are the prophecies that at a future point in time, though time itself is a variable, the “Watcher-god”, Heimdall, will sound his horn to summon the children of Loki (see right).
This semi-divine/human Sixth Race will break their bonds and unite with mystical forces to sail from the land of the Niflheim, located in an astral plane beyond the auroras, waging the final battle with the current “usurpers” of the planet to culminate in the enthronement of their vaticinated king.
It is this anticipated kingdom and its preparation that has been the goal of the ancient spirits. This is the heart of 'The Awakening of the Black Sun'.
The Untersberg is known to be inhabited by certain kinds of elemental spirits of Nature, some of which are good and benevolent, others of a wicked and malicious nature, and inimical to mankind; and there are innumerable tales circulating among the people in the neighborhood, telling about the doings of the gnomes, fairies, and giants, dwelling within caves and in gorgeous marble halls and grottoes filled with gold and precious stones that will turn into dead leaves and stones when seen in the light of day.
“Some of the friendly tribes come out of the Untersberg on certain occasions, and they are said to have sometimes associated with the inhabitants of our plane of existence, partaking in the dances and amusements of the peasants, and even taking stray children with them into the Untersberg; and, incredible as it may appear, it is even asserted by, “those who know” that marriages have taken place between citizens of our world and the inhabitants of the kingdom of gnomes.
Of course it is well known that within the mysterious depths of the Untersberg there dwells the soul of a great emperor in his astral form.
There, together with his retinue, he sleeps an enchanted sleep, waiting for the liberation of his country.
Sometimes very suddenly, even on a clear summer day, clouds are seen to issue from the sides of the mountain; grotesquely-formed ghost-like mists arise from the caverns and precipices, crawling and gliding slowly upwards toward the top, and form on the neighboring peaks also, clouds of monstrous shapes and sometimes of gigantic proportions floating on, until the head of the Untersberg is surrounded by a surging sea of vapours growing dense and dark.
Seldom included in historical analysis of the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler, is the spiritually mesmerizing impact of Mount Untersberg.
Hitler’s first direct encounter took place in 1923, upon which date the future führer would describe his feelings, “It was so wonderful! A view of the Untersberg! Indescribable!”
While not specifically recorded, it is unlikely that the youthful Hitler would have been unaware of the writings of Franz Hartmann.
His obsession with occultism and theosophy, now well documented, would explain the peculiar fascination with the “sleeping dragon” as described by the Dalai Lama.
Having rented Haus Wachenfeld, a small vacation villa across the valley from Mount Untersberg, for four years, it was in 1932, with proceeds earned from royalties from Mein Kampf, that Adolf Hitler purchased what would become the Berghof.
(see Grundstein - Foundation Stone of 1936 - left - with Thule Swastikas)
Most importantly, however, was the construction of a huge picture window, providing a completely open view of the Untersberg.
Hitler was deeply affected by the legend and remarked to Albert Speer, his architect and armaments minister:
“Look at the Untersberg over there.It is not just by chance that I have my seat across from it.”
In February of 1942, the Fuhrer commented to Heinrich Himmler, “Charlemagne was the one of the greatest men to ever live.”
It may well have been that Adolf Hitler had hoped to see some type of manifestation: his telescopes were specifically designed for earth observation.
“Those were the best times of my life,” he would later say. “My great plans were forged there.”
So magnetic was the mountain that the Führer later explained,
“I basically built the house around the window,” and he even named the structure Berghof: “The Mountain Court.”
The Berghof has been described as a “Bavarian country house guarded by 2,000 SS troops,” with Adolf Hitler gazing from a “gigantic window… across a valley to the Untersberg massif, a sheer wall of mountain that looms large in Teutonic myths.”
For almost a decade Obersalzburg had become the Holy Mountain of the Third Reich, drawing thousands of pilgrims to pay homage to their Führer.
A recent expedition (August 2008) into the gigantic cave-system under the mountain revealed that it goes down so far, that its lowest point had not been reached yet.
The cave explorers had to return from their expedition without knowing how far down it goes.
According to a German newspaper report they had gone down 1056 meters before being forced to return at an abyss-like precipce.
This had been accomplished by being able to pass an extremely narrow passageway that had been previously unpassable.
They also discovered more than 800 new passageways and a lake in 930 meters depth.
Initially Hitler rented a chalet called Haus Wachenfeld - a holiday home built in 1916 by Otto Winter, a businessman from Buxtehude.
Winter's widow rented the house to Hitler in 1928, and his half-sister Angela (see right) came to live there as housekeeper, although she left soon after her daughter Geli's 1931 death in Hitler's Munich apartment.
By 1933 Hitler had purchased Haus Wachenfeld with funds he received from the sale of his political manifesto Mein Kampf.
The small chalet-style building was refurbished and much expanded during 1935-36 when it was re-named The Berghof.
A large terrace was built, a dining room was panelled with very costly cembra pine.
Hitler's large study had a telephone switchboard room.
The library contained books "on history, painting, architecture and music."
A great hall was furnished with expensive 'Nordic' style furniture, a large globe and an expansive red marble fireplace mantel.
Behind one wall was a projection booth for evening screenings of films.
A sprawling picture window (see right) could be lowered into the wall to give a sweeping, open air view of -the Untersberg. - And on the terrace Hitler installed the finest, very large terrestial telescopes (see left) so that he could observe the mysterious Untersberg in detail.
HITLER'S BERGHOF
Haus Wachenfeld - Later known as the Berghof
The Berghof - Final Form
Berghof - Terrace
Berghof - Salon
Berghof - The Picture Window
Berghof - Sitting Area
Berghof - Sitting Area
Berghof - Living Room
Berghof - Study
Berghof - Salon
Berghof - Dining Room
Berghof - Dining Room
Berghof - Dining Room
Berghof - Dining Room
Portrait of Adolf Hitler in Eva Braun's Bedroom
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
KEHLSTEINHAUS
*(Adlerhorst - The Eagle's Nest)
The Kehlsteinhaus - 'Adlerhorst' (the Eagle's Nest) is a chalet-style structure erected on a subpeak of the Hoher Göll known as the Kehlstein.It was built as an extension of the Obersalzberg complex erected in the mountains above Berchtesgaden.
The Kehlsteinhaus was intended as a 50th birthday present for Adolf Hitler to serve as a retreat for Hitler and place for him to entertain visiting dignitaries.
The Kehlsteinhaus was commissioned by Martin Bormann, with construction proceeding over a 13-month period.
It was completed in the summer of 1938, prior to its formal presentation to Hitler on his 50th birthday on April 20, 1939.It is situated on a ridge at the top of the Kehlstein mountain 1,834 m (6,017 ft), reached by a 6.5 km (4.0 mi) long and 4 m (13 ft) wide road that cost 30 million RMs to build (about 150 million euros in 2007, adjusted in line with inflation).
It includes five tunnels but only one hairpin turn and climbs 800 m (2,600 ft).
The last 124 m (407 ft)[1] up to the Kehlsteinhaus are reached by an elevator bored straight down through the mountain and linked via a tunnel through the granite below that is 124 m (407 ft) long.
The inside of the large elevator car is surfaced with polished brass, Venetian mirrors and green leather.
The main reception room is dominated by a fireplace of red Italian marble, presented by Mussolini.
A significant event held at the Kehlsteinhaus was the wedding reception that followed the marriage of Eva Braun's sister Gretl to Hermann Fegelein on June 3, 1944.
The building is often mistakenly referred to as a "tea house", a corruption of its abbreviated name, "D-Haus", short for "Diplomatic Reception Haus".
As a result it is frequently confused with the actual tea house at Hitler's Berghof, the Mooslahnerkopf Teehaus he visited daily after lunch.
Although the site is on the same mountain as the Berghof, Hitler rarely visited the property.
It has been suggested he only visited the Kehlsteinhaus around 10 times, and most times for no more than 30 minutes, however he did receive André François-Poncet (the departing French ambassador to Germany) there on October 18, 1938.
As a result of the lack of close association with Hitler the property was saved from demolition at the end of the war.
A trail leads above the Kehlsteinhaus towards the Mannlgrat ridge reaching from the Kehlstein to the summit of the Hoher Goll.
The route, which is served by a Klettersteig, is regarded as the easiest to the top.
click below for a fascinating insight into the occult source of Hitler's power
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
'And the Will lieth therin, which dieth not.
Who knoweth the mysteries of the Will and its vigour ?
For God is but a great Will pervading all things by the nature of its intentness.
Man doth not yield himself to the Angels nor to Death uterly, save only through the weakness of his feeble Will !'
Joseph Glanvill - (1636–1680)
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
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an excerpt from 'The Lord of the Harvest'
an excerpt from 'The Lord of the Harvest'
The real biography of Adolf Hitler
Hitler's Early Life
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2013 |
Some of List and Liebenfels's books lay on the dusty shelves of a neat bed-sit in a middle-class suburb of Vienna, the still dazzling capital of the once great Empire, now weakened and reduced by the ravages of a lost war.The room was shared by Hitler, and a friend from his school-days, August Kubizek (see right).
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| © Copyright Peter Crawford 2017 |
follow the link below for August Kubizek's own fascinating account of his friendship with Adolf Hitler
'Hitler Mein Jugendfreund'
'Hitler Mein Jugendfreund'
(Hitler - My Boyhood Friend)
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I'm very impressed by your blog, however I'm missing Martin Bormann (and his brother Albert).
ReplyDeletePeter
amazing insight i learned alot from this and i have done alot of research into all of this, or so i thought .. so thankyou
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