Many theories, guesses, and studies explore the connection between Nazism and occultism. These ideas became popular in the 1940s during World War II and became even more common in the 1960s.
In his 1985 book, The Occult Roots of Nazism, British historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke discussed the connection between certain ideas from Ariosophy and Nazi beliefs. He also pointed out that many books about this topic exaggerated how closely Nazism was connected to the occult. He tried to separate scientific study and social factors from the myths in many books that describe Nazism as being influenced by mysterious or evil forces. He said that most books about Nazi occultism from 1960 to 1975 were not well researched and focused more on excitement than facts.
Ariosophy
In 1985, historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke wrote a book called The Occult Roots of Nazism, which explores possible connections between occult ideas and the beliefs of Nazism. The main focus of the book is a movement called Ariosophy, which combined racist ideas with occult beliefs. This movement was an important part of nationalist secret beliefs in Germany and Austria during the 1800s and early 1900s. Goodrick-Clarke describes his work as a study of hidden history, examining myths, symbols, and ideas that influenced the development of extreme, controlling, and Nazi-like thinking. He argues that these ideas can become powerful forces when they are accepted as true beliefs and become part of groups and societies.
According to Goodrick-Clarke, the Ariosophy movement was influenced by earlier ideas from the Völkisch movement, which promoted traditional German values as a response to changes like industrialization and city life. However, Ariosophy linked the problems of the modern world to the supposed wrongdoings of groups like Freemasonry, Kabbalah, and Rosicrucianism, claiming that the modern world was built on false and harmful ideas. These ideas and symbols spread to several anti-Semitic and nationalist groups in Germany near the end of the 19th century. From these groups, the early Nazi Party formed in Munich after World War I. Goodrick-Clarke also shows connections between two Ariosophists and Heinrich Himmler.
Contemporary claims
In the essay included in the German edition of The Occult Roots of Nazism, also published in a short book titled Unknown Sources: National Socialism and the Occult, translated by Goodrick-Clarke, Hans Thomas Hakl, an Austrian writer, looks back at several works from the early 1940s that discuss the connection between Nazism and occultism. In 1933, a writer using the name Kurt van Emsen described Hitler as a "demonic personality," but this work was soon forgotten.
The first suggestions that Hitler was influenced by occult forces, later expanded by other authors, came from René Kopp, a French Christian esotericist. In two articles published in the monthly journal Le Chariot in June 1934 and April 1939, Kopp tried to link Hitler’s power to supernatural forces. The second article was titled L'Enigme du Hitler. Hakl found no similar ideas in other French esoteric journals from the 1930s. In 1939, another French author, Edouard Saby, wrote a book titled Hitler et les Forces Occultes. Saby mentioned Hanussen and Ignaz Trebitsch-Lincoln. Hakl suggests that Saby may have been the first to popularize the idea of Nazi occultism.
A well-known book from 1939 is Hitler Speaks by Hermann Rauschning. In the chapter titled "Black and White Magic," it states that "Hitler surrendered himself to forces that carried him away… He turned himself over to a spell, which can, with good reason, be described as demonic magic." Another chapter, "Hitler in private," was removed from the German edition published in 1940.
One of the earliest claims about Nazi occultism appears in Lewis Spence’s book Occult Causes of the Present War (1940). Spence argued that Alfred Rosenberg and his book The Myth of the Twentieth Century promoted pagan, occult, and anti-Christian ideas that influenced the Nazi Party.
Modern mythology
By the early 1960s, people could clearly see a growing interest in the ideas and symbols of Nazism. These ideas were often shown in a dramatic and imaginative way in books, movies, and other media, but without explaining their real political or historical background. At that time, this topic was considered exciting and attracted many readers.
Goodrick-Clarke criticized much of the popular writing about this subject. He said that many books described Hitler and the Nazis as being controlled by a hidden force, such as a spiritual power or a secret group from another time or place. He called this type of writing "Nazi Mysteries" and described it as "crypto-history," meaning that it relies on unproven or hidden sources to explain events.
Goodrick-Clarke noted that many books written between 1960 and 1975 about Nazi occultism were not well-researched and often made false claims. Most authors ignored important historical records, and many repeated incorrect information about groups like the Thule Society or secret connections between the Nazis and other regions.
Scholars believe that the modern interest in Nazi occultism began with the 1960 book The Morning of the Magicians (Le Matin des magiciens in French). This book discussed conspiracy theories and other strange ideas, with one section focusing on Nazi-occult connections. A writer named Stéphane Françoise said in 2023 that this book helped spread the idea of Nazi occultism to more people and increased public interest in the topic.
In his 2002 book Black Sun, Goodrick-Clarke revisited the topic of Nazi occultism, dedicating a chapter to the subject. Other historians, including German scholars, have also written about the development of this genre. A German book titled The Occult Roots of Nazism includes an essay about the origins of speculation about Nazi occultism, which Goodrick-Clarke later translated into English. Another German historian, Michael Rißmann, wrote about Nazi occultism in his book on Adolf Hitler’s religious beliefs.
Goodrick-Clarke said that interest in Nazi occultism came from people’s fascination with Nazism after World War II. He explained that Nazism was seen as a strange and troubling event in history, different from other times because of Hitler’s influence, the short time the Nazis controlled parts of Europe, and their extreme hatred of Jewish people. Many people believed Nazism represented evil in a modern society, like a return to ancient pagan beliefs in Europe.
Books that are part of this trend include:
Claims
For evidence of demonic influence on Hitler, some people refer to Hermann Rauschning’s book Conversations with Hitler. However, most modern historians do not trust Rauschning’s account. As Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke explains, recent research shows that Rauschning likely made up most of the conversations. The best way to describe Rauschning’s claims is that they may reflect Hitler’s real ideas, but only through guesses and imagination.
August Kubizek, a childhood friend of Hitler, said Hitler once told him, “returning Germany to its former glory.” Kubizek described the moment as if Hitler’s words came from someone else, deeply affecting both of them.
An article titled “Hitler’s Forgotten Library” by Timothy Ryback, published in The Atlantic in 2003, mentions a book from Hitler’s private library written by Ernst Schertel. Schertel had interests in unusual topics, such as dance, occultism, and nudism. Before 1933, he worked for sexual freedom but was imprisoned by the Nazis and lost his doctorate. He sent a copy of his 1923 book Magic: History, Theory, Practice to Hitler in the 1920s. Hitler marked parts of the book, including a line that says, “He who does not have the demonic seed within himself will never give birth to a magical world.”
In his book The Occult Reich, James Herbert Brennan writes that Hitler’s mentor, Dietrich Eckart (to whom Hitler dedicated Mein Kampf), wrote to a friend in 1923: “Follow Hitler! He will dance, but I have called the tune. We have given him the ‘means of communication’ with Them. Do not mourn for me; I shall have influenced history more than any other German.”
The Vatican’s chief exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, believed Hitler and other Nazi leaders were influenced by demons.
Some conspiracy theories claim that German National Socialism was a precursor to the New World Order. Nazi propaganda used the term Neuordnung, which means re-arranging European borders and securing economic control for Germany. While this could be seen as a form of a new world order, there is no proof that Hitler or the Thule Society worked together to create one.
Unconfirmed rumors suggest the occultist Aleister Crowley tried to contact Hitler during World War II. However, there is no evidence of such a meeting. In 1991, John Symonds, one of Crowley’s literary executors, published a fictional book titled The Medusa’s Head or Conversations Between Aleister Crowley and Adolf Hitler. The book’s limited print run (only 350 copies) added to the mystery. A letter from René Guénon to Julius Evola in 1949 also mentioned a possible contact between Crowley and Hitler, but no sources support this claim.
It is unclear whether Hitler met Hanussen. No other sources confirm they met before March 1927. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Hanussen made political predictions in his newspaper, Hanussens Bunte Wochenschau, which later favored Hitler. For example, in 1929, Hanussen predicted that Emperor Wilhelm II would return to Germany in 1930 and that unemployment would end by 1931.
An article by Manfred Nagl titled “SF (Science Fiction), Occult Sciences, and Nazi Myths” in Science Fiction Studies discusses how Nazi mysticism was linked to German culture. Nagl notes that science fiction stories, such as The Last Queen of Atlantis by Edmund Kiss, promoted ideas of racial superiority tied to Ariosophy and Aryanism. These stories often featured powerful leaders chosen by fate and advanced technology. Nagl argues that such stories helped Nazi leaders like Hitler and Himmler justify their actions, encouraging public support for Nazi ideology. He describes this as a shift away from reason and toward a belief in “supra-rational magic.”
Documentaries
More than 60 years after the end of the Third Reich, many history documentaries still discuss Nazism and Adolf Hitler. From the perspective of scholars who study history, these documentaries are often seen as problematic because they do not help people understand the real issues connected to studying Nazism and Neo-Nazism. Mattias Gardell, a historian who studies groups that want to separate from others, explains that in some documentaries about the Third Reich, Hitler is shown as a powerful figure who controls people through magic. These films often include scenes of Hitler speaking to large crowds, mixing footage of him shouting with images of soldiers marching under the swastika symbol. Instead of translating his speeches, the documentaries sometimes use different voices to narrate, which creates a misleading picture of Hitler as a dangerous leader who tricked the German people into following him until Allied forces ended his rule. This portrayal is convenient but not accurate. In reality, many ordinary German workers, farmers, and business owners supported the Nazi program. These people likely saw themselves as good citizens, which is more concerning than if they had been evil. At least one documentary, Hitler's Search for the Holy Grail, includes footage of a 1938–1939 German expedition to Tibet. The documentary calls this journey "the most ambitious expedition" of the SS. This original footage was shared again by Marco Dolcetta in his 1994 series Il Nazismo Esoterico. An interview Dolcetta conducted with Ernst Schäfer does not support claims about Nazi occultism. Reinhard Greve's 1995 article "Tibetforschung im SS Ahnenerbe" (translated as "Tibet Research Within the SS Ahnenerbe") also does not support these theories, though it mentions them. Hakl suggests Greve should have focused more on the unreliability of certain authors, such as Bergier, Pauwels, or Angbert. Schäfer’s own report from the expedition criticizes the "useless activities" of "a group of unqualified people" who made false claims about Asia, especially Tibet.