Nazi Occultism : Between the SS and Esotericism (Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right)

Nazi Occultism provides a serious scholarly study of a topic that is often marred by sensationalism and misinformation. The Morning of the Magicians by Pauwels and Bergier (1960) gave rise to the idea that a secret society with wide powers, the "Thule society", was the hidden and ignored centre of Nazism. The influence of this very real small group is, however, only a fantasy, a myth. The author, a historian specializing in neo-Nazism, looks back on this speculative construction, its origins, its ideological tinkering and the practices which have succeeded in forming a sort of radical and sulphurous counterculture which has created a fascination with esotericism and Nazism and the SS. To better understand it, he also paints a portrait of some of the authors who contributed to this extremist subculture, such as the Italian esotericist Julius Evola, the Argentine anthropologist Jacques-Marie de Mahieu, Chilean neo-Nazi Miguel Serrano, and the writer Jean-Paul Bourre. This book will appeal to scholars, researchers and activists as well as general readers with an interest in the history of Nazism and the occult.