The Mystic Secret Weapon of The Third Reich

A look at the Occult Side of Nazi Germany

Although Eisenhower lost his beat about being in Berlin by Christmas of 1945, it was certain the European end of WWII was in the near future. There was plenty of scorched earth, bodies and inhumanity to dig out from under. There was more to figure out about the rise and fall of the Third Reich than even distinguished author William Shirer wrote in his noted work on the subject.

While most scholars will admit to the existence of an occult branch of the Third Reich, what it was and how far it reached back into history and likely even into our present is a debate that lingers today.

Hitler had at his fingertips technology that was clearly superior to anything the allies could muster. Most of us have heard of the vengeance weapons the V-1 the V-2 and the V-3, jet aircraft, advanced submarines and even diagrams recovered of disc shaped flying craft called Haunebu capable of flying up to 2,000 mph which, if they existed, might have explained the some of the so-called foo-fighter activity. Aparently, there weren't enough of them and the mistakes made in deploying this weaponry allowed the war to be concluded by the end of April 1945.

Over the past 20 years, with the advent of many more cable outlets and alternative publications, news has leaked out about the core of the manufactured belief system of the elite of the Nazi hierarchy.

Much of the discussion centers on the Thule or the Vril Society. The short story is Hitler and others were convinced that at one time in the ancient past, perhaps 250,000 years ago an alien species came from somewhere else, met with mankind and assimilated. It was believed these were powerful beings with abilities that vastly eclipsed those of present day mankind. These beings would eventually become part of this planets civilization and in turn had their powers diluted by interbreeding until they vanished. The elite of Nazi Dom wanted them restored for unifying the world under their jackboot.
The start of this restoration process had to do with practicing mental powers, using talismans, and searching for ancient archeological treasures reported to have vast powers. The Third Reich would create a group called the Ahnenebe or the Nazi Occult Bureau to search the world for anything that could be spun into their quest for racial superiority.

Certainly, George Lucas found these stories of the Nazi quest fascinating enough to create the character of Indiana Jones and his first movie going after the Ark of the Covenant.

As is often said sometimes truth is even stranger than fiction. This is one story Hollywood and academia has yet to reveal fully to the public. 

The Talisman

 

In 1907 a young Austrian wandered into a Vienna Museum and was totally taken back by a mysterious ancient relic called the Spear of Longinis. According to the legend this spear, or more aptly described as a lance was theorized to have been made from fallen meteorite ore many thousands of years ago. Such a weapon would make the owner very powerful on the battlefield and wielded by the right man, perhaps invincible in close combat.

The lance first gained attention at the crucifixation of Jesus Christ. The Captain of the Roman troops escorting Jesus, Gaius Casius was believed to be a closet Christian himself. As a family heirloom Casius held the famed lance. However, due to his poor vision he was posted to a site less inclined to be engaged in ongoing battle, a posting some believe he initially regretted.

The actual crucification and hanging of the three men at Golgatha did not allow for the normal length of time for them to expire. Due to the impending Sabbath day, the two criminals on each side of Jesus had their termination hastened with blows to the legs from a large club. When troops approached Jesus, Casius stepped ahead and approached to quickly dispatch the last man alive on the cross, somewhat of a mercy killing. Upon piercing his side with the lance, a small tip is said to have broken off and amazingly another miracle, Casius's bad sight cleared up. According to the Bible in John 19:34, but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.

There are those who have stepped away from the theological side of the text to examine what would cause this on the medical side, rest assured there is actually an explanation or two. Some believe it is the occurrence of pleural effusion when liquid gathers around the lungs and heart. Piercing the chest in the location described by Roman soldiers would likely release a white and red fluid.

Another author, Frederick Zugibe wrote The Cross and the Shroud. Zugibe is a medical examiner with over 30 years of medical work as a forensic medical examiner. He uses his skills in examining the evidence on the crucifixion; he has done experiments with cadavers and done other experiments documented in this book. 

Photo of lance and golden sleeve where it broke from Die Deutschen Reichsinsignien und Reichkleinodien by E. Lutze, 1938.  

What is the history of the Spear of Longinus after the Crucifixion?

 

Records are sketchy, but the lance turns up periodically in the hands of many leaders of conquest in the European theater. Constantine the Great, Attila the Hun, Charles "The Hammer" Martel and Charlemagne the Great between 742-814 A.D. all held the coveted talisman and won many a battle. Two principals in unifying Germany, Otto the Great and his son both held their hands on this powerful talisman. Once again adding to the legend.

As is true with mythology there is often some factual basis, the actual legend of the lance simply stated,

Whoever possesses this holy lance and understands the power it serves, holds in his hand the destiny of the world for good or evil.

By the time an 18-year-old boy Adolph Hitler saw the lance in 1907 in a Vienna Museum he was enthralled with the rich Germanic connections of the talisman. Hitler later wrote of his visits and study of the lance, "I slowly became aware of a mighty presence around it, the same awesome presence I experienced inwardly on those rare occasions in my life when I sensed that great destiny awaited me."

Hitler's destiny is now history but his legacy is still not fully understood by most. The obsession with racial purity is actually attributed mostly to an Englishman, Houston Stewart Chamberlain, whose book The Foundations of the 19th Century so gratified Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, that he called on him to be a guest in for some time. Chamberlain believed that the key to human history lies in the rise and fall of its races.

Chamberlain added to the growing anti-Semitism in Europe by depicting the Jewish population as an alien and enemy race who did much to corrupt Aryan blood. The long standing occult belief in this devolution of the Aryan race in the ancient past became linked in the early 20th century beliefs to a small group of men dedicated to changing it all. Racial purity equaled racial power in their eyes and Hitler was believed by occult leaders like Dietrich Ekhardt, Karl Haushofer and others to be the messiah to lead them to their promised victories.

In 1938 when Germany annexed Austria, one of the first trips made by his SS troops was to take charge of the Holy Lance for future use in meetings of a secret group called the Circle of the Knights of the Holy Lance or Knights of the Heilige Lanz. This was a group of men from the SS, in fact they were also knows as the Circle of the Thirteen Knights of the Blood of the SS, because only 13 would meet at any one time. These men were selected for their strength, courage and fanatical loyalty to be members. One of their trials to be accepted was to be left along in the nearby dark woods with only a spear and sword and kill a wild boar. The lance along with other artworks would leave the Vienna museum in six months.

Researching those fascinating bits of relevant but rarely spoken of history is not easy. There are basically two books on the subject. The first, written by Trevor Ravenscroft, entitled Spear of Destiny. Ravenscroft served during WW II as a Commando and was captured during the attempted assassination of Field Marshall Erwin Rommel in North
Africa. Later, he became a journalist and penned the book.

In order to understand Ravenscroft, you have to study one of his main influences, a man who was his History teacher, Walter Johannes Stein. Stein was born in Vienna in 1891, and was recognized as a Doctor of Philosophy and accomplished scientifically. Stein moved to London in 1933 due to his involvement with Daniel Nicol Dunlop and World Power/Economic Conference. Dunlop would die in 1935, but not before he clued in Winston Churchill about Stein who would be an excellent source of information about Hitler, his hierarchy and Nazi Occult interests. Stein would become one of Churchill's advisors on this subject.

A dedicated researcher into the Holy Grail, Stein believed several stories of mythology and Richard Wagner's opera were encoded with methods to the inner path of human development. Inevitably, Stein would be drawn as strongly as Hitler to the Spear of Longinus.

Ravenscroft believes Stein actually met Hitler when he bought several of his paintings outside of Demel's Café, a popular confectionary in Vienna which catered to expensive tastes with delights like: Crème Grenoble, Rasberry Ice Cream soaked in Malaga Wine or their trays of Streuselkuchen. Hitler was literally a starving artist, living in flophouses and spending time selling paintings, books or anything else to make a heller (or buck). Setting up shop near Demel's would have been a smooth move.

Previous to there first encounter Stein had been looking through Vienna's many esoteric book stores and found a copy of Parcival with commentary throughout the pages. Stein would write, "This was no ordinary commentary but the work of somebody who had achieved more than a working knowledge of the black arts! The unknown commentator had found the key to unveiling many of the deepest secrets of the Grail, yet obviously spurned the Christian ideals of the Knights and delighted in the devious machinations of the Anti-Christ. It suddenly dawned on him that he was reading the footnotes of Satan!"

After buying the paintings Stein would make the connection this artist Hitler was the same as the man with the very rare deep interest in occult powers.

The notes indicated a man definitely plummeting into the dark side, a man consumed by beliefs, which would lead mankind away from recognizing their individual human spirit. Between 1912 and 1913, usually at Steins request, Ravenscroft states they would meet and discuss their similar interests, with Hitler always referring to him as Herr Doktor or Herr Professor. Stein wanted to know Hitler, to change Hitler and later admitted he mistakenly believed he could. The pair would eventually be split by WW I with Hitler serving on the Western Front and Stein sent to war against Russia in 1914.

Much of Ravenscrofts book is written about Stein and his pursuit of understanding the spiritual side of mankind. While in his youth Stein describes what today might be called paranormal event; where he had what he described as an extrasensory experience dream. In this dream he find himself reciting verbatim whole tracts of Wolfram Von Eschenbach's Parcival. Upon waking from his dream Stein wrote down several pages as they came to him and they matched exactly the words of the book.

While serving in Russia Stein would force himself to find time to perform a particular kind of meditation three times a day. According to Ravenscroft, "He chose the Rosicrucian meditation of the Black Cross and Seven Red Roses. The separate symbols never appearing together in the sense world, such a form of meditation was already a step towards a sense-free experience. Besides this the whole thought process of this particular meditation embraced the inner significance of the blood, the central them of the search for the Grail. Ravenscroft added, " Gradually, little by little, he (Stein) became aware during these period of sustained meditation that his soul was liberating itself from the body in a similar way to entry into a condition of sleep. Yet, instead of passing over into unconsciousness, he found himself awakening to a heightened awareness of another level of existence".

Following over a year of very active duty on the front, Stein would come home for leave, due to the death of his brother Fritz. He would visit the Holy Lance and noted the strange effect it had on what he believed to be his growing clairvoyant faculties.

Still some would debate the issue of Stein actually getting to know Hitler at all. Wikpidea.com states "As for Ravenscroft's claim that Stein met Hitler in 1902, Stein himself said that he first heard Hitler in Berlin in 1932, and there is no evidence that he ever spoke personally to Hitler". As Germans were not too popular in Britain after 1939, perhaps Stein simply wanted to keep his understanding of any of the inner workings of Hitler and his crony's secret, it is certain not everyone would have not appreciated it.
Considering Churchill's interest this should give the whole Stein meeting Hitler event a measure of credibility, or perhaps Churchill was just fishing.

The other book on the subject, Adolf Hitler and the Secrets of the Holy Lance was written by a pair of WW II vets. The inside contact being, Wilhelm Bernhart (a pen name), who was assigned to a U-boat Flotilla Group Danzig in 1943. Bernhart was a Chief Torpedo Officer aboard the U-530 from August 1944 to July 17, 1945 when the ship formally surrendered at Mar del Plata, Argentina. The co-author is Colonel Howard Buechner, who served in WW II as a medical officer with the famous 45th Infantry Division and would be later recognized as an expert on tuberculosis and other diseases of the lungs.

The book delves into much of the history of the Holy Lance, the inner regard for the power it wielded and what happened to it after WW II.

The chronology of just what the lance was used for and what happened to it.
In 1938 when Germany annexed Austria, one of the principal acquisitions to be made by SS troops was to take charge of the Holy Lance for future use in meetings of a secret group called the Circle of the Knights of the Holy Lance or Knights of the Heilige Lanz. This was a group of men from the SS, in fact they were also knows as the Circle of the Thirteen Knights of the Blood of the SS, because only 13 would meet at any one time. These men were selected for their strength, courage and fanatical loyalty to be members. One of their trials to be accepted was to be left along in the nearby dark woods with only a spear and sword and kill a wild boar. The lance along with other valuable artworks would leave the Vienna museum for a location known as Wewelsburg Castle in six months.

The Knights of the Holy Lance would meet somewhat irregularly at the ancient Wewelsburg Castle to evoke the mystic power of the lance and insure victory. Hitler apparently rarely if ever attended any of these meetings instead leaving it up to Heinrich Himmler and the only man who supposedly knew how to use the power of the lance, SS Colonel Reinhard Heydrich. 

Reinhard Heydrich 1904-1942. Photo from the jewishvirtruallibrary.org

Heydrich was also known as the "Black Prince of Death" and wielded power well above his station, possibly because of his knowledge of the lance and also his access to intelligence on any and all party opposition. This black prince was greatly feared within party circles, his ruthlessness, skill and intellect made for a dangerous combination. Many believed had Hitler been assassinated in one of several attempts on his life prior to 1941, Heydrich might have assumed power and that might have drastically altered the outcome of WW II.

While membership changed, Heydrich and Himmler held the two permanent seats. There were a little less than 150 members over the 12 years the Third Reich ruled Germany. On May 27, 1942 one of the permanent members Heydrich himself would be injured in a rather botched commando attack on his motorcade in Prague, Czechoslovakia and he would die six days later. While adequately defending themselves with pistols against automatic weapons a grenade was thrown blowing up behind the seat of the vehicle he was in, a small fragment lodged in his back would terminate any future dreams of Heydrich.

During the six days before he died Heydrich is said to have left six encrypted letters on invoking the power of the lance, which apparently were not used correctly. From May of 1942 on, the military fortunes of Nazi Germany went downhill.

Following the defeat at Stalingrad many Germans knew the days were numbered, more felt the same way following the battle of Kursk in July 1943.

During the declining years the fortunes stolen from all invaded countries would be used to establish sanctuary for some and hidden treasure for later. It is generally accepted that a vast amount of stolen artwork, gold and valuables were never recovered; the exact amount could be in the many billions today.

Officially, it is believed the Spear of Longinus was recovered from underneath the Wewelsburg Castle near Nuremburg on April 30th, 1945 the exact day Hitler would put a bullet through his head in Berlin. The Spear and other treasures were supposedly taken back to where they came from in January 1946 when they were put back on display in the Hofburg Museum of Vienna.

There is another part of this story that suggests that Heinrich Himmler commissioned some of the finest Japanese sword makers to make an exact duplicate in 1935 and that is what was actually recovered in 1945. Validating this might entail destroying a part of whatever is in display in the museum, which will likely not take place.

A key to this mystery may be in the surrender in Argentina of U-boat 530, nearly two months after Germany's official surrender. American and British authorities noted a strange last mission plus unusual supplies that indicated the U-530 traveled extensively before raising the white flag.

The Expedition to recover the Holy Lance and later incursions into the same area Bernhart claims that in the Knights of the Holy Lance would be born again and would eventually mount an expedition to recover the treasure and put the knights back in business-for good or evil?

The trek begins in 1969 with an ailing Rudolph Hess getting a packaged marked with the letter H to someone called Colonel Maximilian Hartmann. Most acknowledge this to be a fictional name, but it does have that German ring to it.

Hartmann was part of putting together a submarine convoy of sorts consisting of between three to twelve submarines, probably of the very latest type, which would make them nearly impossible for the allies to catch. This convoy would transport much of the war booty, the lance and other valuable items to a secret location in the what is called Dronning or Queen Maud Land which has within it the Muhlig-Hoffman Mountain range.

In between December 1938 and April 1939, this area of Antarctica is known to have been extensively photomapped , the first of its kind really. A Captain Alfred Ritscher led the group and from the air thousands of metal balls with poles and swastika flags would be dropped to give the German claim to this portion of Antarctcia some physical sign. An area of 250,000 square kilometers was obliquely photomapped between 11 W and 20 E. If there was any kind of secret construction done in this area at anytime before 1944, there has never been any kind of official proclamation or record to that fact discovered after the war. The possibility is more than plausible considering how the elite of the Third Reich loved to dabble into so many areas of esoterica, weapons and science. However, without records the only real proof would be to go there.

After the war between 1946-47, Admiral Richard Byrd was in charge of Operation Highjump, he did go there to Antarctica that is. This was supposedly an extensive circumnavigation and exploration of the Antarctic with a sizeable military contingent. Highjump was classified then and still is today. The military force sent there consisted of carrier based planes and quite a compliment of ships. The November 1947 National Geographic issue depicting the exploration of Antarctica depicts the many incursions research and flight teams made into the icy continent.

While this doesn't prove everything, the area of the Muhlig Hoffman Mountain range and the secret Nazi bases is noticeable absent from any such exploration. Was there a secret mission? Did the loss of aircraft in the area actually occur as the result of an engagement with ice-bound Nazi's? Such speculation would never get mainstream attention as the world just wanted to forget this period and if there were surviving Nazi's they were probably more engaged in doing just that, surviving.

In 1958, three nuclear weapons were detonated in an area about 2,280 to 3,500 km to the north of Queen Maud Land between 160-750 KM above the water. The code name on this was Operation Argus. Although the detonation was well to the north, wind direction, fallout etc, could effect a wider area. But why the name Argus?

Argus is part of Greek mythology for the many-eyed creature that was guarding Io against Zeus. Argus would be found and slain and later gave rise to being part of the legend surrounding the many eye like parts of the feathers of the peacock. Could this have been an attempt to knock out a group of people watching something?

While the actual recovery of anything from a secret German base has been debunked by skeptics, there are still loose ends to follow if one is to prove one way or the other the authenticity and audacity of such a private mission. Hartmann is said to have got another envelope, which instructed him to recreate the Knight's Grand Council. The difference being the meetings would not be held in Wewelsburg Castle and this time the Knights would dedicate their efforts and the power of the Lance to world peace.

Information about money in Swiss bank accounts would provide the funding to get the expedition underway in 1979. The costs would be immense, with planes, boats and finally a helicopter used to find the secret stash, which was apparently more than could be taken back in one trip. 

According to Bernhart's description of the recovery:

 

Our lights penetrate the steel tunnel, which extends for approximately ten meters. When we arrive at the end of the tunnel, we find ourselves in a huge cavernous area. It seems warm. As we search the cavern with our lights, we notice frozen pillars of ice in strange and grotesque shapes. We penetrate into the cavern the distance of about 300 meters. It is at this point that we came to a smaller cavern, which turned towards the right and ended in a room approximately 80 meters in width and ten meters in height. It is here that the Reich treasures are hidden!!!

At this point stands a small obelisk about a meter in height, which marks the spot. There is an inscription which reads as follows: "There are truly more things in heaven and 'in' earth than man has dreamt (Beyond this point is AGHARTA) Haushofer, 1943."
Our lights immediately fall upon the treasure, which consists of eight large bronze chests. This makes two for each man and will require two trips. Can we do it? This remains to be seen. Each one of us grasps a bronze box in his hands.

Hartman was soon disappointed to realize that the weight of the boxes, in total, is too heavy for his team to carry back to their waiting helicopter. Four of the boxes had to be left behind. Hartmann continues:

The trek back is energy consuming and difficult. We stop to rest several times along the return route. The chests are growing heavier and heavier as we go along. We have to stop and rest more frequently. Finally we reach the [helicopter] just as complete exhaustion is setting in. After one more brief rest, we begin our task of loading the bronze chests aboard. Lothar and Heinz remove the extra fuel supply cell after pumping its contents into the main benzene tank... Bits and pieces of unnecessary gear are discarded. The loss of weight will compensate for the extra cargo. Eight chests would have been an impossible load.

Shortly before we are ready to leave, the chest containing the Holy Lance is opened. We all watch with profound fascination as Klauss knocks the bronze pin from the clasp. Inside the chest is a faded leather case along with a variety of other items. We carefully open the case. It is there! the Holy Lance! the lance that pierced the side of Our Lord Jesus Christ! The oil torch we have lit … makes it seem like a ceremony. I hold the Holy Lance aloft in my hand. Without thinking, the words seem to flow from my mouth, "the Holy Lance points ever towards our eternal Deutschland."

From Adolph Hitler and the Secrets of the Holy Lance Published by Thunderbird Press, Metaire, LA, U.S.A. 1988

With their talisman in hand, the knights say they now use the power of the lance for good. They stated that peace developments in Europe, the Middle East and the unification of Germany would come about. While Germany has been reunited, not much can be said about peace in the Middle East.

Whether one believes in mystic power or not, the retrieval of vast sums of gold and other precious items equates to cash…that means influence and that power is rarely questioned.

If the Knights are back in business, they certainly have the right booster to get into orbit, for whatever purpose.