MDMD23: German Mysticks

Sat Mar 2 12:05:07 CST 2002

Thanks for digging that up and passing it along, Dave.

Somebody -- Chris K perhaps? -- suggested during the first M&D group
reading that it might be worth looking into Mozart's_The Magic Flute_, too.

Among many things that Pynchon might be doing with these occult references,
I think in M&d he's working his way backwards from the Nazis in GR, who
have taken and twisted some of these occult lines of thought and study with
an Aryan spin, to the dark side.  See _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 for a
literary study of how occult thinking helped to shape Nazi ideology.

The same author recently published a new book, _Black Sun: Aryan Cults,
Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity_ .  I haven't read it but
Publisher's Weekly says (from the Amazon.com site for this book), "This
comprehensive inquiry examines the disturbing historical and contemporary
connections between certain religious cults and Nazi ideology.
Goodrick-Clarke (Hitler's Priestess; The Occult Roots of Nazism) begins
with a consideration of the origins of American neo-Nazism and ends with a
thorough discussion of well-known, current far-right groups: the European
skinheads, the Aryan Nations and the World Church of the Creator movement,
which inspired the 1999 shooting spree in the Midwest. In between, the
author focuses on the intersection between Nazi ideology and religious and
cultural oddities, showing, for example, how some Nazi leaders,
particularly Heinrich Himmler, were obsessed with esoterica and strange
historical justifications for pro-Aryan racial theory. Over the past 75
years, Nazi ideology has been mixed with Hinduism, magic, alchemy and the
occult as a rebellion against the status quo. In Nazi Satanism, "the
swastika and Third Reich imagery join black candles, skulls and magical
pentagrams in a tableau of ritualized transgression." And during the
post-WWII era, many fascists saw UFO sightings as an indication that Nazis
would come back to rule the world. Throughout, Goodrick-Clarke catalogues
the ideologies, histories, personalities and appeals of the groups, most of
which have always found young white men to be their most receptive
audience. There's little evaluation of the potential that the small,
splinter groups now active might have to commit future atrocities, but the
author adds to our knowledge of the broad, frightening tentacles of Nazi
ideology."

continuing from the book's Amazon.com page:
"From Library Journal
Goodrick-Clarke's The Occult Roots of Nazism examined the influence of late
19th- and early 20th-century German and pagan mysticism on National
Socialist thought. This sequel, based on the writings of past and
contemporary adherents of these ideas, continues this study among modern
American and European racist groups. The new angle is the glorification of
Hitler and Nazism. Goodrick-Clarke shows how a strange mix of racism,
paganism, Eastern religion, Christianity, Satanism, rock music, and science
fiction is being used to support the revival of fascist ideas; adherents
see Hitler himself as an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu who survived World
War II at a secret German flying-saucer base located in Antarctica. This
disturbing work presents a troubling picture of the mindset of the modern
Far Right. For all libraries. Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ.

Parkersburg

Walter Laqueur, author of Fascism: Past, Present, Future
"Goodrick-Clarke has done pioneering work . . . [he] performs the same
invaluable service with regard to the ideological fantasies of post-war
neofascism."

Norman Cohn, author of the Pursuit of the Millennium
"An enthralling and a deeply disturbing work. It deserves the most serious
attention--and a wide readership."

Book Description
"Anyone who remembers the devastation wrought by Nazi fanaticism can only
be astonished and dismayed by this book. Who could have foreseen that half
a century after the defeat of the Third Reich the jews would once again be
perceived as a demonic power intent on destroying the 'Aryan race', or that
Hitler would be imagined as a divine being who is about to return to earth
to complete the Holocaust? For the matter, who could have foreseen that the
preposterous 'pagan' cult developed by Heinrich Himmler would ever be
revived?

Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke shows not only that these things have indeed
happened but how and why they have happened. He also suggests what dangers
they may portend. Black Sun is both an enthralling and a deeply disturbing
work. It deserves the most serious attention - and a wide readership." -
Norman Cohn, author of The Pursuit of the Millennium and Warrant for
Genocide.

Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke has done pioneering work in the field of the
occult roots of Nazism. In the present volume he performs the same
invaluable service with regard to the ideological fantasies of post war neo
fascism. -Walter Laqueur

More than half a century after the defeat of Nazism and fascism, the far
right is again challenging the liberal order of Western democracies.
Radical movements are feeding on anxiety about economic globalization,
affirmative action, and third-world immigration, flashpoint issues to many
traditional groups in multicultural societies. A curious mixture of
Aristocratic paganism, anti-Semitic demonology, Eastern philosophies and
the occult is influencing populist antigovernment sentiment and helping to
exploit the widespread fear that invisible elites are shaping world events.

Black Sun examines the new neofascist ideology, showing how hate groups,
militias and conspiracy cults attempt to gain influence. Based on
interviews and extensive research into underground groups, Black Sun
documents the new Nazi and fascist sects that have sprung up from the 1970s
through the 1990s and examines the mentality and motivation of these
far-right extremists. The result is a detailed, grounded portrait of the
mythical and devotional aspects of Hitler cults among Aryan mystics, racist
skinheads and Nazi satanists, Heavy Metal music fans, and in occult
literature.

Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke offers a unique perspective on far right
neo-Nazism viewing it as a new form of Western religious heresy. He paints
a frightening picture of a religion with its own relics, rituals,
prophecies and an international sectarian following that could, under the
proper conditions, gain political power and attempt to realize its
dangerous millenarian fantasies.

About the Author
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke is the author of several books on ideology and the
Western esoteric tradition. His book, The Occult Roots of Nazism, has
remained in print since its publication in 1985 and has been translated
into eight languages. "

>Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 09:31:03 -0800 (PST)
>From: Dave Monroe <davidmmonroe at yahoo.com>
>Subject: MDDM23: German Mysticks
>
>"We observe Link-men waiting in a double line, as if
>at some ceremony of German Mysticks, their torches
>sparking intensely yellow at the edges as they
>illuminate the falling Snow-Flakes." (M&D, Ch. 36, p.
>363)
>
>"There, over the Evening, he will find, among the
>Clientele, German Enthusiasts ..."  (M&D, Ch. 30, p.
>298)

[snip good stuff]