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Title: Unholy Alliance: History of the Nazi Involvement With the Occult by Peter Levenda, Norman Mailer, Peter Lavenda ISBN: 0-8264-1409-5 Publisher: Continuum Pub Group Pub. Date: June, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (6 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: The Nazi Cult
Comment: _Unholy Alliance: A History of Nazi Involvement with the Occult_ by Peter Levenda is a bizarre book on how Nazism was created by right-wing extremist occult secret societies after the First World War. The back cover says the book will appeal to an audience anxious about something great and unseen, beyond morality and our individual perceptions of reality, that is "constricting our existence." This certainly describes me. _Unholy Alliance_ begins with the author's first person narrative of a trip he made to Chile back in the seventies to investigate a rumored Nazi compound known as Colonia Dignidad, which apparently served as a torture center for Pinochet's regime. Levenda's history of occult Nazism begins describing the histories of Madame Blavatsky's Theosophy and Alestier Crowley: the British occultist who founded the OTO (Order of the Eastern Temple) known for his practice of sex-magic. The "volkish" pagan mystic Guido von List and the ex-Cistercian monk Lanz von Leibenfels promoted esoteric metaphysical theories concerning the secret history of the Aryan/Germanic race and the corrupting nature of Christianity and Judaism. The "volkish" paganism they expounded rejected Christianity, the Jews, democracy and modernism. They romanticized the German peasantry and traditional, irrational, cultic beliefs and rituals, and placed an emphasis on the organic unity of the race, (the "volk,") and nation. The mythical Holy Grail was viewed as an Aryan symbol, not the container of Christ's blood, but instead a metaphor for the racially pure blood of the German race. _Ostara_ was a noted occultist publication in this genre and Hitler was among its readers. Following World War I, Germany was a shambles and faced a takeover by socialists and communists. The Thule Society was formed to promote a nationalist reaction against the forces of revolution. The Thule created the German National Socialist Worker's Party/Nazi Party to appeal to a wide working class audience. Hitler, according to Levenda, was a product of the occult societies. _Mein Kampf_ is dedicated to Hitler's mentor, Dietrich Eckhardt, a proto-Nazi poet and mystic. Levenda documents the role that secret societies, astrologers, psychics and assorted mystics played in the Third Reich and the British intelligence service during the war. Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy; Heinrich Himmler, the fuhrer of the SS; Alfred Rosenburg, a Nazi philosopher and Haushaufer, the chief Nazi geo-politician, were all seriously involved in occult theories and doctrines. After the defeat of the Third Reich, the SS, inspired by the memory of Gnosticism, Manicheanism, the Knights Templar, the Cathars, and the Arthurian guardians of the Holy Grail, went underground. Nazism gets credit for being a religiously anti-modern philosophy, but remaining anti-Christian, millenarian, utopian, and romantic in character. Even Charles Manson is mentioned--and it appears that the Sharon Tate murders served some kind of obscure propaganda purpose. Manson, who wanted to provoke a race war and admired Hitler, even carving a swastika on his forehead, ironically tends to reinforce the Nazi image of short, bearded, brown-eyed men ravishing attractive blonde women. Levenda maintains that the Nazis still exercise an influence in the world today from their secret Chilean hideout in the Andes Mountains. He claims that Nazis orchestrated the coup against the leftist Salvador Allede in Chile and funded domestic terrorism in the United States. Although Colonia Dignidad is certainly an odd place, it is questionable that it is a center of gravity for a global Nazi underground conspiracy against democracy, socialism, Jews and non-white races. Levenda also believes that there is evidence for a white conspiracy to destroy the black race through biological warfare and mass murder. The conclusion his "Nazi Occultism Today" chapter pessimistically predicts that if the economy collapses and Americans loose faith in the current political establishment, Nazi-style cults will take over the country, a new Medievalism will prevail, and race and religion will be all that matters. This seems like a possibility, although such scenarios will probably be one where Jews encourage colored races to attack whites like they have been for the past sixty years. The foreword by Norman Mailer is also interesting, apparently to give some credit to this book. _Unholy Alliance_ covers a fascinating subject with good writing but with its sensationalistic, journalistic authorship and spurious claims, it needs to be taken with a large grain of salt.
Rating: 5
Summary: An Interesting Examination of Nazi Occultism.
Comment: Peter Levenda's _Unholy Alliance_ is at once a tale of adventure and intrigue and a useful source of information on the occult origins of Nazism. Much has been made of these occult beginnings and developments which led to the creation of Hitler's Third Reich and which have continued after its downfall in various forms of NeoNazism. In this book, Peter Levenda examines these occult aspects of Nazism from its early development in the Thule Society and among individuals such as Guido von List, Lanz von Liebenfels, and Rudolf von Sebottendorf to Nazi psychics up until the present day in which Satanism and other such dark forces have combined with Nazi occultism. Levenda rightly contends that Hitler himself was not overly influenced by occult ideas (contrary to the thesis put forth in _The Spear of Destiny_) despite his youthful readings of von Liebenfel's notorious magazine, "Ostara". However, according to Levenda the magical and occult aspects of Nazism cannot be denied. Levenda considers Nazism to be a sort of cult with an all powerful leader ("Der Fuehrer"). Much of the material in this book as far as the early roots of Nazism is available from other sources especially _The Occult Roots of Nazism_ by Nicholas Goodrick-Clark. However, Levenda provides new material in his examination of Nazi psychics, including Hanussen, his thorough discussion of the Ahnenerbe Society, his explanation of the Tibet expedition which has not previously been covered by other authors in this field, and his discussions of the notorious madman Aleister Crowley. In fact, a great deal of this book focuses on the shenanigans of Aleister Crowley but also discusses the roots of many German secret societies in the Theosophical Society of the medium Madame H. P. Blavatsky. The most interesting discussion in this book however is that of the survival of the Nazi cult in various manifestations particularly in South America. The far reaches of the tentacles of the Nazi octopus can be seen in the trail of Rudolf Hess, where he claims that he was being mind-controlled by various psychiatrists working for the Allied Powers. This is one among hundreds of bizarre instances involving the captured Nazi elite. The escaped Nazis may have traveled to South America via various underground channels. Individuals such as Klaus Barbie and Martin Bormann as well as the infamous physician, Dr. Josef Mengele, may have traveled to South America and survived in hiding under different aliases and involving themselves with various occult movements and lodges. The nation of Chile appears to be particularly likely to be infested with NeoNazis according to Levenda. Among others the occult writer and Chilean diplomat Miguel Serrano has written praising Hitler. Levenda himself investigated the secret Nazi center, the infamous "Colonia Dignidad", in Chile. This mysterious colony is run by the self-described "Baptist" zealot, Dr. Ernst Schafer, with unproven ties to Nazism. While in Chile, Levenda encountered this mysterious Nazi colony and barely managed to escape alive (luckily a report involving the statute of limitations on Nazi war crimes was being reviewed that day which may have allowed his escape). Rumors of mysterious deaths, torture, sexual abuse of children, and the practice of the black arts combining traditional Voodoo ritual with Nazi occultism have spread about the infamous "Colonia Dignidad". Whatever exactly this colony consists of, it is certainly not a wholesome affair. In the last full chapter in this book, Levenda turns his attention to NeoNazism. In particular, he examines the question of Nazi Satanism (taking a look at such organizations as the former National Renaissance Party) as well as the phenomenon of Nazi Skinheads. Nazi Satanists appear to base their rites off of those performed by the ultimate black magician and Reichsfuehrer of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, which he performed in his mysterious castle, Wewelsburg. Levenda makes some decent comparisons and analysis of Nazism and the Satanic abduction scare (in which he compares such mass murderers as Charles Manson with Nazi occultism and Satanic practices). Ultimately, upon finishing this book, it is clear to the reader that the Nazis were indeed based on an occult system of practice. While I dislike the idea that this was some form of neopaganism, it is more likely a restoration of the Gnostic heresy and a revolt against the Catholic Church, Christianity, and the Semitic religions. Levenda is unfortunately too harsh on the Catholic Church in this respect giving into many modernist and liberal biases. It is a fact that the Church tried to protect many individuals from the evils of Nazism and its death camps, despite whatever else certain of its members may have done. Also, the case against Pope Pius XII's involvement with Nazism is certainly far from being resolved in my mind at least. I believe Nazism constitutes a form of modern day Satanism and its ties to black magic and evil forms of occultism and degeneracy are all too apparent.
Also recommended: _The Morning of the Magicians_ by Pauwels and Bergier and _The Occult Roots of Nazism_ by Nicholas Goodrick-Clark.
Rating: 5
Summary: A great read!
Comment: In this readable but thoroughly researched survey of the mythic/religio/occult ideologies that formed the basis of the Nazi movement, in UNHOLY ALLIANCE, the author has succeeded in making a dense, fact-laden topic spanning hundreds of years accessible to the non-specialist reader without sacrificing accuracy. This is probably the most thorough treatment of Nazi occult ideology in English, and where it surpasses similar works is that it continues documenting neo-Nazi survivals right up to the present. Anyone who doubts Levenda's thesis that the end of WWII only changed, rather than ended, the Nazi movement, need only check the unblushing anti-Semitism of some of the other reviews here.
Writers exploring the occult and its many flamboyant personalities frequently fall into either reflexive debunking or starstruck gullibility. While the author has done plenty of first-hand investigation, even getting into the Chilean Nazi enclave Colonia Dignidad during the Pinochet years, he succeeds in giving us a clear-eyed, even-handed view.
The Norman Mailer Foreword to this edition is an unexpected plus, a fine essay on metaphysics, occultism, and current events that gave this reader, who has always considered the enormous Mailer canon a mixed bag, a pleasant surprise: Mailer has a number of deeply insightful things to say about magic and the occult. Mailer says he's read UNHOLY ALLIANCE three times--once more than I have, though my first edition is a bit ragged from the many times I've also used it as a quick reference.
UNHOLY ALLIANCE belongs on the bookshelf of anyone with a serious interest in WWII, extremist religio-political ideologies of all descriptions, modern Roman Catholic history, or any branch of occultism. Thanks to excellent source notes and an index, it's a fine reference work that--a rare bonus in this field--is also a great read. The author's update to this new edition was obviously written post-September 11, and is a good, if somewhat sketchy, summary of developments since its original publication. One would wish Levenda could have had more space to explore the similarities between Nazi occultism and the current crop of terrorists in greater detail, but this is a very small quibble about an otherwise splendid work.
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Title: The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology: The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany, 1890-1935 by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke ISBN: 0814730604 Publisher: New York University Press Pub. Date: January, 1994 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Himmler's Crusade : The Nazi Expedition to Find the Origins of the Aryan Race by Christopher Hale ISBN: 0471262927 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 03 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Hitler's Priestess: Savitri Devi, the Hindu-Aryan, Myth and Neo-Nazism by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke ISBN: 0814731112 Publisher: New York University Press Pub. Date: October, 2000 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: The Secret King: Karl Maria Wiligut, Himmler's Lord of the Runes by Stephen Flowers, Michael Moynihan, Karl Mari Wiligut ISBN: 1885972210 Publisher: Dominion Pub. Date: 12 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Spear of Destiny by Trevor Ravenscroft ISBN: 0877285470 Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser Pub. Date: June, 1987 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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