Esotericism in Germany and Austria
In 1307, King Philip IV of France mounted a "slanderous campaign"[1] to strip the Order of its economic and political influence.
[3] One of these works, the Chymische Hochzeit, appears to be an alchemical tract, while the other two (for which the authorship of Valentin Andreae is not finally proven) announce the existence of the Rosicrucian Order, which desires a "universal and general reformation of the whole world".
In either 1747 or 1757 a quasi-masonic Rosicrucian order of the name Gold- und Rosenkreuz was founded in Berlin, having a 9-grade hierarchy based on the cabalistic Tree of Life; This organisation included King Frederick William II of Prussia and Johann Christoph von Wöllner[4] as members.
[11][12] Among his circle at this time Franz Hartmann, a leader of Theosophical work who emphasized personal spiritual experience,[8] and the young Rudolf Steiner were members.
[13] Steiner, who was seeking to develop an esoteric path suitable for the modern era, and professed commitment to scientific methodology, was yet oriented towards awakening spiritual experiences in each individual rather than depending upon authorities or gurus.
Initially, this author had collaborated with Moritz von Egidy[18] on the periodical Das angewande Christentum (Applied Christianity), but later he wrote volumes on "the sexual-religion of the Aryans", thus, in the opinion of Goodrick-Clarke, anticipating Ariososophy.
There were two causes of the break; Steiner's European and Christian orientation had long been distinct from the hinduistic interest of the theosophists under the leadership of Annie Besant.
After he turned to esotericism, he became the first popular author to combine völkisch ideology and occultism into the type of esoteric doctrine that is now collectively labelled Ariosophy.
[22] In his concept of Armanism, the religion of the theocratic elite in his image of the ancient Germanic past, List borrowed material from Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism.
[26] Among other things, Lanz proposed a "frequently obscene and always radical" interpretation of the Bible, according to which it had been the purpose of the Old Testament to warn the Aryan race against interbreeding with Pygmies.
[29] Astrological texts by Karl Brandler-Pracht, Otto Pöllner, Ernst Tiede, and Albert Knief appeared at the Theosophical Publishing House at Leipzig.
[16] Aside from the developments mentioned above, there are some more of interest: "The Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) originated in the irregular masonic activities of Theodor Reuss, Franz Hartmann, and Karl Kellner between 1895 and 1906.
[5] Ernst Wachler was a völkisch author (he supported the Guido von List Society) who had founded an open-air Germanic theatre in the Harz mountains.
However, unlike many other esoteric groups in Nazi Germany, the GGG was not forced to disband, partly "because of Fahrenkrog's international status as an artist.
By contrast, an organisation founded around 1907[38] by Lanz von Liebenfels achieved more significance: the "new Templar lodge", called Ordo Novi Templi (ONT) (German: Neutempler-Orden).
On 11 November 1932, influenced by Ariosophy, an industrialist with the name Johann Walthari Wölfl also founded an association called the Lumenclub in Vienna, which overlapped in membership with the ONT.
[49] The German Faith Movement led by Jakob Wilhelm Hauer during 1933-1945 propagated a move away from Christianity towards an "Aryan-Nordic religion", partly inspired by Hinduism.
"[51] In her biography of Richard Walther Darré, the historian Anna Bramwell also remarks that a secret society called the Skald Order "was banned by the Nazis after 1933 because of its allegedly masonic nature.
Concerning Anthroposophy, a book whose title denounced Rudolf Steiner as a fraud (Schwindler) and a false prophet had been published by Gregor Schwartz-Bostunitsch in 1930.
[56][57] The full focus of the state was not aimed at religious groups until 9 June 1941[58] when Reinhard Heydrich, the head of the security police, banned lodge organizations and esoteric groups in the wake of the flight to Scotland by Rudolf Hess, who had been attracted and influenced by the organic farming theories of Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy.
"[41] Allegedly the stage magician and occultist Franz Bardon had attracted the notice of Adolf Hitler "like other workers for the Light" and was incarcerated in a concentration camp for three and a half months in 1945.
[60] The Thule Society was dissolved still in the 1920s, well before Hitler's rise to power, and the anti-Masonic legislation of 1935 closed down esoteric organisations including völkisch occultist ones.
Alfred Rosenberg, whose 1930 Myth of the Twentieth Century had been important in the foundation of Nazi racist ideology, and Heinrich Himmler, who added a number of occultist "design elements" to the Schutzstaffel, did remain high ranking party members throughout the war.
According to their private writings,[61][62] the leaders of the Nazi Party in Germany did not wish to encourage forms of paganism which did not serve to further their goals of promoting pan-Germanic ethnic consciousness.
Already in 1927, Hitler had fired the Gauleiter of Thüringen, Artur Dinter, from his post because he wanted too much to make a religion of Aryan racial purity.
[citation needed] During the COVID pandemic, Anthroposophy followers met for "walks" with anti-vaxxers and the alt-right to protest government regulations.
