Pagan beginnings
Some of the best-known uses of pagan symbolism are those that were employed by the Nazi Party and the SS – the Schutzstaffel, or 'protective echelon'. With a strong desire to instil within the German nation feelings of destiny and virtue, they incorporated a variety of ancient symbols in their banners and insignia.
The swastika
The swastika was once considered as a symbol of good luck by a variety of religions and cultures. It appears in Roman mosaics and has been found in Chinese, Indian, Japanese and Native American art.
It was also the traditional symbol of Thor, the Norse god of thunder, and was favoured by the German neo-pagan movement of the early 20th century, who called it the Hakenkreuz ('hook cross'). It was also adopted by the Thule Society, a fanatical nationalist group whose members, like the neo-pagans, had a strong anti-Christian streak.
An ancient and beneficent sign of good luck became the most potent and evil symbol of the 20th century
In 1920, a member of the Thule Society, Friedrick Krohn, suggested to Adolf Hitler that the nascent Nazi Party adopt the Hakenkreuz as its 'logo'. Hitler placed it on a white circle against a red background, to compete with the hammer and sickle of the Communist Party. Thus an ancient and beneficent sign of good luck became the most potent and evil symbol of the 20th century.
Ideologically Saxon
Equally sinister was the use of runic 'lightning flash' symbols by the SS. Their leader Heinrich Himmler co-opted many aspects of ancient religion to give his powerful 'police of the party' an image that was secretive, insular and binding to its members.
In his quest to create an Aryan/Norse-based 'pure' society, Himmler also created the Ahnenerbe, a special investigative team that would research the ancestral heritage of Germany. Its mission was to try to establish links between modern 'pure-bred Aryans' and ancient Germanic tribes, through archaeological and 'supernatural' research.
In addition, Himmler established the Association for the Promotion and Preservation of German Cultural Monuments, which concentrated on preserving sites such as the Sachsenhain ('Saxon Grove'), where, in AD 782, Charlemagne had 4,500 defeated Saxons executed. In his book, The Order of the Death's Head, Heinz Höhne suggests that the work of the association fitted with the SS's anti-Christian and anti-Slavic symbolism. He quotes Himmler as saying: 'These things interest us because they are of the highest importance in the ideological and political struggle.'
Hell's headquarters
Wewelsburg Castle, Westphalia:
Headquarters of Himmler's SS.
Werner Eickenscheidt
www.pbase.com/wennere_01
The Camelot of Himmler's SS was to be the castle at Wewelsburg in Westphalia, which became a shrine to his belief in a new world order. Wewelsburg was to be at its epicentre, a pagan powerhouse that some thought would eventually house the Holy Grail for which King Arthur's knights had quested.
In the crypt was the 'land of the dead' – a circular chamber with a stone vessel in the centre where an 'eternal flame' was to burn. If one of the commanders died, his ashes were to be placed in an urn on one of the pedestals located along the wall of the chamber. In the base of the castle's largest tower, a second Valhalla chamber existed, where four shafts of light entering the chamber from high windows intersected above a small stone altar. According to SS mythology, this was the centre of the world.
Wewelsburg was also the repository for the Totenkopfring – the 'death's head' ring presented to an SS officer after three years' service. Consisting of silver oak leaves interspersed with runes and featuring a death's head, the rings were further testament to Himmler's obsession with Germanic mythology: Thor was said to have possessed a pure silver ring on which oaths were sworn. When an SS officer died, his ring was to have been returned to Wewelsburg.
Wewelsburg Castle remains a sinister reminder of the twisted powers of a perverted philosophy.