Ahnenerbe En

download Ahnenerbe En

of 14

Transcript of Ahnenerbe En

  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    1/14

    Ahnenerbe 1

    Ahnenerbe

    Wikiproject Germanic Mysticism

    WikiProject

    The aim of this project is to educate readers & editorsabout the concept of Germanic Revivalism, Germanic

    mysticismand its misrepresentation and connection

    with Nazi mysticism in the commercial media.

    Notable Advocates

    Guido von List Karl SpiesbergerFreya Aswynn Andrea Haugen

    Siegfried Adolf Kummer Friedrich Bernhard MarbyKarl Maria Wiligut Lanz von Liebenfels

    Wilhelm Wulff Stephen A. McNallenHeimgest Stephen E. Flowers Ludwig Straniak

    A. Frank Glahn Peryt Shou Nigel PennickRudolf John Gorsleben Werner von BlowElse Christensen Sveinbjrn Beinteinsson

    Alexander Rud Mills Aleister CrowleyMadame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

    Adolf Schleipfer

    Organisations

    Odinic Rite Asatru Folk AssemblyArmanen-Orden Thule society

    Vril Society Ahnenerbe Artgemeinschaft

    Philospophies

    Nazi mysticismTheozoology Ariosophy Armanism

    Runic Astrology Vlkisch movement PendulumAstrology Divination Runic divination Magick

    Ouija Sami religion NeopaganismChaos magick

    Sacred Places

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chaos_magickhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Neopaganismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sami_religionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ouijahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Magic_%28paranormal%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Runic_divinationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Divinationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Astrologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pendulumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=V%C3%B6lkisch_movementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Germanic_Runic_Astrologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Armanismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ariosophyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Theozoologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nazi_mysticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Artgemeinschafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vrilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thule_societyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Armanen-Ordenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asatru_Folk_Assemblyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Odinic_Ritehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adolf_Schleipferhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helena_Blavatskyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aleister_Crowleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexander_Rud_Millshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sveinbj%C3%B6rn_Beinteinssonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Else_Christensenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Werner_von_B%C3%BClowhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rudolf_John_Gorslebenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nigel_Pennickhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peryt_Shouhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A._Frank_Glahnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ludwig_Straniakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stephen_E._Flowershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heimgesthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stephen_A._McNallenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wilhelm_Wulffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lanz_von_Liebenfelshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karl_Maria_Wiliguthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friedrich_Bernhard_Marbyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Siegfried_Adolf_Kummerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrea_Haugenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Freya_Aswynnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karl_Spiesbergerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guido_von_Listhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Germanic_mysticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Germanic_mysticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Germanic_Revivalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:GermanicMysticism.JPGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:WikiProject_Germanic_Mysticism
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    2/14

    Ahnenerbe 2

    White Horse Stone Stone Circles Stonehenge Talf'seni

    Irminsul Externsteine Teutoburg ForestTrollkyrka Queste Yrvasnth Mount la Dziady

    Incidents

    Kennewick Man White Horse Stone Teutoburg Forest

    Symbols

    Black Sun Fylfot Swastika RunesSig Rune Sigel Tiwaz rune Algiz

    Unicursal Hexagram Armanen RunesWendehorn Hagal

    Categories

    Occult Germanic neopaganismGermanic paganism Neopaganism

    Norse mythology

    Books

    The Book of Blotar The Occult Roots of Nazism The

    Secret King

    Unholy Alliance Reveal the Power of the Pendulum

    Black Sun Occult Reich Zodiac and Swastika

    Gods of the Blood Invisible Eagle Pagan Resurrection

    Emblem

    The Ahnenerbe was a Nazi German think tank that promoted itself as

    a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History." Founded on July 1,

    1935, by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther

    Darr, the Ahnenerbe's goal was to research the anthropological and

    cultural history of the Aryan race, and later to experiment and launchvoyages with the intent of proving that prehistoric and mythological

    Nordic populations had once ruled the world.

    Formally, the group was called Studiengesellschaft fr

    Geistesurgeschichte Deutsches Ahnenerbe e.V. ("Study society for

    primordial intellectual history, German Ancestral Heritage, registered

    society"), and was renamed in 1937, as Forschungs- und

    Lehrgemeinschaft das Ahnenerbe e.V. ("Research and Teaching

    Community the Ancestral Heritage, registered society").

    History and development

    In January 1929, Heinrich Himmler was appointed the leader of the fledgling Schutzstaffel (SS). He launched a

    massive recruitment campaign that took the SS fromless than three hundred members in 1929 to ten thousand in

    1931.[1] Once the SS had grown, Himmler began its transformation into a "racial elite" of young Nordic males. This

    was to be accomplished by a new bureaucracy in the SS, the Race and Settlement Office of the SS (Rasse- und

    Siedlungshauptamt-SS) known as RuSHA. Himmler named SS Obergruppenfhrer Richard Walther Darr to lead

    the organisation, which determined if applicants were racially fit to be in the SS. This brought about a sudden

    campaign meant to educate the new applicants about their Nordic past through weekly classes taught by senior

    RuSHA graduates using the periodical SS-Leitheft.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SS-Leithefthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SS-Leithefthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Walther_Darr%C3%A9http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=RuSHAhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nordic_racehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Schutzstaffelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heinrich_Himmlerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nordic_race%23Nordicismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aryan_racehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Walther_Darr%C3%A9http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Walther_Darr%C3%A9http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Herman_Wirthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heinrich_Himmlerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Think_tankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nazi_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ahnenerbe.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pagan_Resurrectionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Invisible_Eaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gods_of_the_Bloodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zodiac_and_Swastikahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Occult_Reichhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Sun_%28book_by_Goodrick-Clarke%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reveal_the_Power_of_the_Pendulumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Unholy_Alliancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Secret_Kinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Secret_Kinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Occult_Roots_of_Nazismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Book_of_Blotarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Norse_mythologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Neopaganismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Germanic_paganismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Germanic_neopaganismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:Occulthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Haglazhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wendehornhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Armanen_Runeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Unicursal_Hexagramhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Algizhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tiwaz_runehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sigelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sig_Runehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Runeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Swastikahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fylfothttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Sunhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_the_Teutoburg_Foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_Horse_Stonehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kennewick_Manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dziadyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mount_%C5%9Al%C4%99%C5%BCahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mitchell%27s_Foldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Questehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trollkyrkahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_the_Teutoburg_Foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Externsteinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Irminsulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Wrekinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stonehengehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stone_Circleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_Horse_Stone
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    3/14

    Ahnenerbe 3

    On July 1, 1935 at Berlins SS headquarters, Himmler met with five racial experts representing Darr and with Dr.

    Herman Wirth, one of Germanys most famous pre-historians. Together they came up with an organization called

    Deutsches AhnenerbeStudiengesellschaft fr Geistesurgeschichte ("German Ancestral HeritageSociety for the

    Study of the History of Primeval Ideas")later shortened to its better-known form in 1937. At the meeting they

    designated the official goal to promote the science of ancient intellectual history and appointed Himmler as the

    superintendent with Wirth serving as the president. Wolfram Sievers was appointed Reichsgeschftsfhrer, or

    General Secretary, of theAhnenerbe, by Himmler.

    Wirth left the project at the beginning of 1937. On February 1 of that year, Dr. Walther Wst was appointed the new

    president of the Ahnenerbe. Wst was an expert on India and a dean at Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich,

    working on the side as a Vertrauensmann for the SS Security Service. Referred to as The Orientalist by Sievers,

    Wst had been recruited by him in May 1936 because of his ability to simplify science for the common man.[1] After

    being appointed president, Wst began improving the Ahnenerbe: moving the office to a new headquarters that had

    cost 300,000 Reichsmark, in the Dahlem neighborhood of Berlin. He also worked to limit the influence of those he

    deemed scholarly upstarts, which included cutting communication with the RuSHA office of Karl Maria Wiligut.[1]

    The organization was incorporated into the larger SS in January 1939.

    Institutions

    The Ahnenerbe had several different institutions or sections for its departments of research. Most of these were

    archeological but others included the Pflegesttte fr Wetterkunde (Meteorology Section) headed by

    Obersturmfhrer Dr. Hans Robert Scultetus, founded on the basis that Hans Hrbiger's "Welteislehre" could be used

    to provide accurate long-range weather forecasts,[2] and a section devoted to musicology, whose aim was to

    determine "the essence" of German music. It recorded folk music in expeditions to Finland and the Faroe Islands,

    from ethnic Germans of the occupied territories, and in South Tyrol. The section made sound recordings, transcribed

    manuscripts and songbooks, and photographed and filmed instrument use and folk dances. The lur, a Bronze Age

    musical instrument, became central to this research, which concluded that Germanic consonance was in direct

    conflict to Jewish atonalism.

    Expeditions

    Karelia

    In 1935, Himmler contacted author Yrj von Grnhagen, after seeing one of his articles about the Kalevala folklore,

    published in a Frankfurt newspaper. Grnhagen agreed to lead a voyage through the Karelia region of Finland, to

    record pagan sorcerers and witches. Because there was uncertainty about whether the Karelians would allow

    photography, Finnish illustrator Ola Forsell also accompanied the team. Musicologist Fritz Bose brought along a

    magnetophon hoping to record the pagan chants.The team departed for their expedition in June 1936. The teams first success was with a traditional singer, Timo

    Lipits, who knew a song closely resembling one in the Kalevala although he was unaware of the book. Later, in

    Tolvajrvi, the team photographed and recorded Hannes Vornanen playing a traditional Finnish kantele.

    One of the trips final successes was in finding Miron-Aku, a soothsayer believed to be a witch by locals. Upon

    meeting the group, she claimed to have foreseen their arrival. The team persuaded her to perform a ritual for the

    camera and tape recorder in which she could summon the spirits of ancestors and divine future events.

    The team also recorded information on Finnish saunas.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Finnish_saunahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Psychichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Miron-Akuhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kantelehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hannes_Vornanenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tolvaj%C3%A4rvihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Timo_Lipits%C3%A4http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Timo_Lipits%C3%A4http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Magnetophonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fritz_Bosehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ola_Forsellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Witchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Magician_%28paranormal%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Finlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kareliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kalevalahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yrj%C3%B6_von_Gr%C3%B6nhagenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atonalismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Consonancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lurhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Musicologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Welteislehrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hans_H%C3%B6rbigerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hans_Robert_Scultetushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karl_Maria_Wiliguthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steglitz-Zehlendorfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_reichsmarkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Glossary_of_the_Weimar_Republichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ludwig_Maximilians_University_of_Munichhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Walther_W%C3%BCsthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wolfram_Sievershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Herman_Wirthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Berlin
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    4/14

    Ahnenerbe 4

    Bohusln

    Scan from Wirth's 1931 book Was

    Heisst Deutsch?

    After a slide show on February 19, 1936 of his trip to Bohusln, a region in

    southwestern Sweden, Wirth convinced Himmler to launch an expedition to the

    region, the first official expedition financed by the Ahnenerbe. Bohusln was

    known for its massive quantity of petroglyph rock carvings, which Wirth

    believed were part of an ancient writing system, predating all other knownsystems. Himmler appointed Wolfram Sievers to be the managing director of the

    expedition, likely because of Wirths earlier troubles balancing finances.[1]

    On August 4, 1936 the expedition set off on a three month trip starting with the

    German island of Rgen then continuing to Backa, Sweden, the first recorded

    rock-art site in Sweden. Despite scenes showing warriors, animals and ships,

    Wirth focused on the lines and circles he thought made up a prehistoric alphabet.

    While his studies were largely based on personal belief, rather than objective

    scientific research, Wirth made interpretations about the meaning of ideograms

    carved in the rock, such as a circle bisected by a vertical line representing a yearand a man standing with raised arms representing what Wirth called the Son of God.[1] His team proceeded to make

    casts of what Wirth deemed the most important carvings and then carried the casts to camp where they were crated

    and sent back to Germany. Once satisfied with their work in Sweden, the team set out on a trek through Sweden,

    eventually reaching the Norwegian island of Lauvylandet.

    Italy

    "Runes" in Val Camonica

    In 1937, the Ahnenerbe sent to Val Camonica the archaeologist

    Franz Altheim and his wife photographer Erika Trautnann to study

    prehistoric rock inscriptions. The two returned to Germany

    claiming they found traces of Nordic runes on the rocks

    confirming that ancient Rome was originally of Nordic descent.

    Also an expedition of SS-Ahnenerbe was planned in Sardinia, in

    the 30's, but the reasons of it are still unknown.

    Middle East

    In 1938, Dr. Franz Altheim and his research partner Erika

    Trautmann requested the Ahnenerbe sponsor their Middle East trek to study an internal power struggle of the Roman

    Empire, which they believed was fought between the Nordic and Semitic peoples. Eager to credit the vast success of

    the Roman Empire to a Nordic background, the Ahnenerbe agreed to match the 4,000RM put forward by Hermann

    Gring, an old friend of Trautmann who led the Reichs Four-Year Plan.[1]

    In August 1938, after spending a few days traveling through remote hills searching for ruins of Dacian kingdoms, the

    two researchers arrived at their first major stop in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Here Grigore Florescu, the

    director of the Municipal Museum, met with them and discussed both history and the politics of the day, including

    the activity of the Iron Guard, a fascist and anti-Semitic group.

    After traveling through Istanbul, Athens and Lebanon, the researchers went to Damascus. Here they were not

    welcomed by the French (who ruled over Syria as a colony at the time). The newly-sovereign Kingdom of Iraq was

    being courted for an alliance with Germany,[1] and Dr. Fritz Grobba, the German envoy to Baghdad, arranged for

    Altheim and Trautmann to meet with local researchers and be driven to Parthian and Persian ruins in southern Iraq,as well as Babylon.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Babylonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Persian_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parthiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fritz_Grobbahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kingdom_of_Iraqhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_Iraq%23The_Iraqi_Monarchyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=French_Mandate_of_Syriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Damascushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lebanonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Athenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Istanbulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iron_Guardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Romaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bucharesthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dacianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Four_year_planhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hermann_G%C3%B6ringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hermann_G%C3%B6ringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Middle_Easthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Erika_Trautmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Erika_Trautmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Franz_Altheimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sardiniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rock_Drawings_in_Valcamonicahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Franz_Altheimhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Val_Camonicahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Iscrizione_-_Naquane_R_50_-_Capo_di_Ponte.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Val_Camonicahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Camunic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lauv%C3%B8ylandethttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ideogramshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Backa%2C_Swedenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=R%C3%BCgenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wolfram_Sievershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Petroglyphhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bohusl%C3%A4nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:WirthBookScan.jpg
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    5/14

    Ahnenerbe 5

    Through Baghdad the team went north to Assur where they met Sheikh Adjil el Yawar, a leader of the Shammar

    Bedouin tribe, and commander of the northern Camel Corps. He discussed German politics and his desire to

    duplicate the success of Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud who had recently ascended to power in Saudi Arabia.[1] With his

    support, the team traveled to their final major stopthe ruins of Hatra on the border of the Roman and Persian

    empires.

    Grnhagen in his youth.

    New Swabia

    See 1938 New Swabia expedition for full article

    The third German Antarctic Expedition took place between 1938 and 1939. It was led by

    Capt. Alfred Ritscher (18791963).

    Germany

    Murg Valley

    In 1936, Wiligut and Gunther Kirchhoff undertook a study of the Murg Valley in theBlack Forest, where there was a settlement described as consisting of old half-timbered

    houses, architectural ornament, crosses, inscriptions, and natural and man-made rock

    formations in the forest, which they theorized showed it to be an ancient Krist settlement. [3] In 1937 and 1938,

    Gustav Riek led an excavation of the Grosse Heuneberg, where an ancient fortress had been discovered much earlier.

    They also studied the nearby Tumulus burial mounds, which continue to be excavated today.[4]

    Mauern

    Quite likely the Ahnenerbes greatest discovery in Germany was in the southern Jura mountains of Bavaria. During

    an excavation of the Mauern caves, R.R. Schmidt had discovered red ochre, a common pigment for cave paintings

    made by the Cro-Magnon.

    In fall 1937, Dr. Assien Bohmers, a Frisian nationalist who applied to the SS Excavations Department earlier that

    year, took over the excavation. His team proceeded to find artifacts such as burins, ivory pendants, and a woolly

    mammoth skeleton. They also discovered Neandertal remains buried with what appeared to be throwing spears and

    javelins, a technology thought to have been developed by the Cro-Magnons.

    Bohmers interpreted this to mean Cro-Magnons had left these stones in the caves over seventy thousand years before

    and this was therefore the oldest Cro-Magnon site in the world. To validate his claims, Bohmers travelled Europe

    speaking with colleagues and visiting exhibitions through the Netherlands, Belgium and France.[1]

    FranceAt the Parisian Institute for Human Paleontology, Bohmers met with Abb Henri Breuil, an expert on cave art.

    Breuil arranged for Bohmers to visit Les Trois-Frres, a site whose owners only allowed a small number of people to

    visit.[1] First, however, Bohmers took a quick trip to London, followed by a tour of several other French points of

    interest: La Fond de Gaume (a site featuring Cro-Magnon cave paintings), Teyat, La Mouthe and the caves of

    Dordogne. Then Bohmers moved on to Les Trois-Frres, where Himmler and where so many other Nazis had long

    dreamed of standingin the shrine of the ancient dead, in the dark embrace of the ancestors.[1]

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Les_Trois-Fr%C3%A8reshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cave_paintinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henri_Breuilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belgiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Netherlandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Woolly_mammothhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Woolly_mammothhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Burinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frisiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Assien_Bohmershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cro-magnon_manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=R.R._Schmidthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mauern_caveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jura_mountainshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gustav_Riekhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Foresthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alfred_Ritscherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Swabia%23New_Swabia_expeditionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Yrjo_no_caption.JPGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hatrahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ibn_Saud_of_Saudi_Arabiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bedouinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shammarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Assur
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    6/14

    Ahnenerbe 6

    Bayeux Tapestry

    The Ahnenerbe took great interest in the 900-year-old Bayeux Tapestry, reportedly since it contained images of the

    Germanic Franks solidly defeating their enemies. In June 1941, they oversaw the transport of the tapestry from its

    home in the Bayeux Cathedral, to an abbey at Juaye-Mondaye, and finally to the Chateau de Sourches. In August

    1944, after Paris was liberated by the Allies, two members of the SS were dispatched to Paris to retrieve the tapestry

    which had been moved into the basement of the Louvre. Contrary to Himmlers orders, however, they chose not toattempt to enter the Louvre, most likely because of the strong presence of the French Resistance in the historic area.

    Tibet

    In 1937, Himmler decided he could increase the Ahnenerbes visibility by investigating Hans F. K. Gnthers claims

    that early Aryans had conquered much of Asia, including attacks against China and Japan in approximately 2000

    BC, and that Gautama Buddha was himself an Aryan offspring of the Nordic race. Walther Wst would later expand

    upon this, stating in a public speech that Adolf Hitler s ideologies corresponded with those of Buddha, since the two

    shared a common heritage.

    Poland

    The altar of Wit Stwosz

    After the invasion of Poland, Sievers wrote to Himmler about

    the need to appropriate exhibits from numerous museums.[5]

    The Reich Main Security Administrations Standartenfhrer

    Franz Six oversaw SS-Untersturmfhrer Peter Paulsen, who

    was commanding a small teams foray into Krakw, with the

    intent of obtaining the 15th century Veit Stoss altar.

    Because the Poles had foreseen the German interest in the

    altar, they had disassembled it into 32 pieces which were

    shipped to different locationshowever Paulsen was able tolocate each piece, and on October 14, 1939, he returned to

    Berlin with the altar in three small trucks, and had it stored in

    the locked treasury of the Reichsbank.[1] After conferring with

    Hitler, who had not initially been told of the operation to

    capture it, it was decided to send the altar to an underground

    vault in Nuremberg, for safety.

    Reinhard Heydrich, then head of RSHA, sent Paulsen back to

    Krakw in order to seize additional museum collections.[1]

    But Gring had already sent a team of his own men,commanded by SS-Sturmbannfhrer Kajetan Mhlmann, to

    loot the museums. Mhlmann agreed to let Paulsen take the

    scientific items back to the Ahnenerbe, while keeping the artwork for Gring.

    During the looting however, Hans Frankleader of the German-controlled Polish General Governmentissued a

    November 22, 1939 order prohibiting the unapproved export of Polish items. Paulsen obeyed the order, but his

    colleague Hans Schleif arranged for five freightcars of loot from the Warsaw Archaeological Museum [6] to be

    shipped to Pozna, which was outside Franks control. In return, Schleif was appointed as a trustee for Wartheland.

    Paulsen later tried to take credit for the freightcars' contents in his report to RSHA, but was reassigned.[1][7]

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reichsgau_Warthelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pozna%C5%84http://www.culture.pl/en/culture/instytucje/muzea/in_mu_archeologiczne_warszawahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Freightcarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=General_Governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hans_Frankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kajetan_M%C3%BChlmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reinhard_Heydrichhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reichsbankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=O%C5%82tarz_Wita_Stwoszahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Krak%C3%B3whttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Paulsenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Franz_Sixhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=RSHAhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Invasion_of_Poland_%281939%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Krakow_oltarz_Stwosza.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gautama_Buddhahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Japanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hans_F._K._G%C3%BCntherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=French_Resistancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louvrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Allies_of_World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Juaye-Mondayehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frankshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bayeux_Tapestry
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    7/14

    Ahnenerbe 7

    Crimea

    After the German army conquered the Crimea in early July 1942, Himmler sent Dr. Herbert Jankuhn, as well as Karl

    Kersten and Baron Wolf von Seefeld, to the region in search of artifacts to follow up the recent displaying of the

    Kerch Gothic crown of the Crimea in Berlin.

    Jankuhn met with senior officers of Einsatzkommando 11, part of Einsatzgruppe D, while waiting at the field

    headquarters of the 5th SS Panzer Division. Commander Otto Ohlendorf gave Jankuhn information about theCrimean museums.[8]

    Traveling with the 5th SS Panzer, Jankuhns team eventually reached Maikop, where they received a message from

    Sievers that Himmler wanted an investigation of Manhup-Kale, an ancient mountain fortress. Jankuhn sent Kersten

    to follow up on Manhup-Kale, while the rest of the team continued trying to secure artifacts that had not already

    been taken by the Red Army. Einsatzkommando 11bs commander Werner Braune aided the team in their efforts.

    Jankuhn was ultimately unable to find Gothic artifacts denoting a German ancestry, even after receiving intelligence

    about a shipment of seventy-two crates or artifacts shipped to a medical warehouse. Unfortunately, the area had been

    ravaged by the time the team arrived, and only twenty crates remainedbut they contained Greek and stone-age

    artifacts, rather than Gothic.[1]

    Ukraine

    In June 1943, 27-year-old Untersturmfhrer Heinz Brcher, who held a PhD from Tbingen in botany, was tasked

    with an expedition to the Ukraine and Crimea. Hauptsturmfhrer Konrad von Rauch and an interpreter identified as

    Steinbrecher were also involved in the expedition.

    In February 1945, Brcher was ordered to destroy the 18 research facilities that were being studied, to avoid their

    capture by advancing Soviet forces. He refused, and after the war continued his work as a botanist in Argentina and

    Trinidad.[9]

    Cancelled expeditions

    Bolivia

    The Gateway to the Sun in Tiwanaku.

    After winning 20,000 Reichsmark in a writing

    contest, Edmund Kiss traveled to Bolivia in 1928

    to study the ruins of temples in the Andes

    mountains. He claimed their similarity to ancient

    European construction indicated they were

    designed by Nordic migrants, millions of years

    earlier.[10]

    He also claimed that his findings supported the

    World Ice Theory, which claimed the universe

    originated from a cataclysmic clash between

    gigantic balls of ice and glowing mass. Arthur

    Posnansky had been studying a local site called

    Tiwanaku, which he also believed supported the

    theory.

    After contacting Posnansky, Kiss approached Wst for help planning an expedition to excavate Tiwanaku and a

    nearby site, Siminake. The team would consist of twenty scientists and would excavate for a year as well as explore

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tiwanakuhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Posnanskyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Posnanskyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Welteislehrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edmund_Kisshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_reichsmarkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:TiahuanacoGateEGSquier1877.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trinidadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Argentinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Soviethttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Konrad_von_Rauchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hauptsturmf%C3%BChrerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Botanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=University_of_T%C3%BCbingenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=PhDhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heinz_Br%C3%BCcherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Werner_Braunehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red_Army%23The_Great_Patriotic_War%2C_1941_-_1945http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manhup-Kalehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maikophttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Otto_Ohlendorfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=5th_SS_Panzergrenadier_Division_Wikinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Einsatzgruppen%23Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kerchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wolf_von_Seefeldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karl_Kerstenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karl_Kerstenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Herbert_Jankuhnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crimea
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    8/14

    Ahnenerbe 8

    Lake Titicaca, take aerial photographs of ancient Incan roads they believed had Nordic roots. By late August 1939,

    the expedition was nearly set to embark, however the September first invasion of Poland saw the trip postponed

    indefinitely.

    Behistun

    In 1938, Ahnenerbe president Walther Wst proposed a trip to Iran to study the Behistun Inscription, which had beencreated by order of the Achaemenid Shah Darius Iwho had declared himself to have been of Aryan origin in his

    inscriptions.[1] The inscriptions were recorded atop steep cliffs using scaffolding that was removed after the

    inscriptions were made. Unable to afford the cost of erecting new scaffolds, Wst proposed that he, his wife, an

    amanuensis, an Iranian student, a photographer, and an experienced mountaineer be sent with a balloon-mounted

    camera. The onset of the war however, saw the trip postponed indefinitely.

    Canary Islands

    Early travelers to the Canary Islands had described the Guanche natives as having golden-blond hair and white skin,

    and mummies had been found with blond tressesfacts which Wirth believed indicated that the islands had once

    been inhabited by Nordics. His colleague Dr. Otto Huth proposed a Fall 1939 expedition to study the ancientislanders racial origins, artifacts and religious rites. At the time, the Canary Islands were part of Francisco Franco s

    Spanish State (Estado Espaol). Because Franco refused to side with the Axis when the war started however, the trip

    was cancelled.

    Iceland

    Dr. Bruno Schweizer had already traveled to Iceland three times in 1938 when he proposed an Ahnenerbe expedition

    with seven others to the country in order to learn about their ancient farming practices and architecture, record

    folksongs and dances, and also collect soil samples for pollen analysis.[1]

    The first setback for the expedition was the ridicule of the Scandinavian press, publishing stories in February 1939claiming the expedition was based on false ideas about Icelandic heritage and sought old church records which did

    not even exist. An enraged Himmler publicly shut down the trip completely, but after calming down he allowed the

    planning of the trip to be secretly continued. The final setback occurred when Himmlers personal staff was unable to

    get enough Icelandic crownsIcelands currency. Not being able to quickly solve this problem, the trip was

    rescheduled for the summer of 1940.[1] In May 1940, the British invaded neutral Iceland, but when the war had

    started the expedition had already been shelved.

    In 1940, following the British occupation of Iceland, the Ahnenerbe-funded Dr. Bruno Kress, a German researcher

    who was in the country at the time, was rounded up along with other German nationals present on the island. Kress

    was interned in Ramsey on the Isle of Man, but was allowed to correspond with Sievers through letters.[11] Kress s

    Grammar of Icelandic was eventually published in East Germany in 1955. Kress also later worked for the EastGerman Staatssicherheit (Stasi).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Staatssicherheithttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=East_Germanyhttp://www.george-broderick.de/ns_docs/ns-kress_letters.dochttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Isle_of_Manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ramsey%2C_Isle_of_Manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_Iceland%23World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Icelandic_kr%C3%B3nahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Icelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bruno_Schweizerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spanish_Statehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Francisco_Francohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Otto_Huthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nordic_theoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guancheshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canary_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mountaineeringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amanuensishttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scaffoldinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aryanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Darius_I_of_Persiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Achaemenid_dynastyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Behistun_Inscriptionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iranhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Polandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fall_Wei%C3%9F_%281939%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lake_Titicaca
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    9/14

    Ahnenerbe 9

    Other Ahnenerbe activities

    Master Plan East

    Himmler inspects a cotton crop in the

    Crimea.

    After being appointed Commissioner for the Strengthening of the German

    Race, Himmler set to work with Konrad Meyer on developing a plan for three

    large German colonies in the eastern occupied territories. Leningrad, northernPoland and the Crimea would be the focal points of these colonies intended to

    spread the Aryan race. The Crimean colony was called Gotengau, or Goth

    district in honor of the Crimean Goths who had settled there and were

    believed to be Aryan ancestors of the Germans.[1]

    Himmler estimated Aryanization of the region would take twenty years, first

    expelling all the undesirable populations, then re-distributing the territory to

    appropriate Aryan populations. In addition to changing the demographics of

    the region, Himmler also intended to plant oak and beech trees to replicate

    traditional German forests, as well as plant new crops brought back from

    Tibet. To achieve the latter end, Himmler ordered a new institution set up by the Ahnenerbe and headed by Schfer.

    A station was then set up near the Austrian town of Graz where Schfer set to work with seven other scientists to

    develop new crops for the Reich.

    The final piece of the puzzle fell in place after Hitler read a work by Alfred Frauenfeld which suggested resettling

    inhabitants of South Tyrol, believed by some to be descendants of the Goths, to the Crimea. In 1939 the South

    Tyrolean were ordered by Hitler and Benito Mussolini to vote on whether they wanted to remain in Italy and accept

    assimilation or alternatively emigrate to Germany. Over 80% chose the latter (for details see: South Tyrol Option

    Agreement). Himmler presented Master Plan East to Hitler and received approval in July, 1942.

    Full implementation of the plan was not feasible because of the ongoing war, but a small colony was in fact founded

    around Himmlers field headquarters at Hegewald,[12] near Kiev. Starting on October 10, 1942, Himmlers troopsdeported 10,623 Ukrainians from the area in cattle cars before bringing in trains of ethnic Germans (volksdeutsche)

    from northern Ukraine.[1] The SS authorities gave families needed supplies as well as land of their own, but also

    informed them of quotas of food they needed to produce for the SS.

    Failed seizure of Tacitus' writings

    The Ahnenerbe had tried to gain possession of one of the best-known copies of Tacitus' Germania, since it was an

    early description of the German people, and favourably described them as a modern and moral society. Although

    Mussolini had originally promised it as a gift in 1936, it remained in an aristocratic library outside Ancona, where

    the Ahnenerbe tried to obtain it after Mussolini was deposed.

    [13]

    Headquarters relocation

    On July 29, 1943, the Royal Air Force's firebombing of Hamburg led Himmler to order the immediate evacuation of

    the main Ahnenerbe headquarters in Berlin. The extensive library was moved to a castle in Ulm while the staff was

    moved to the tiny village of Waischenfeld near Bayreuth, Bavaria. The building selected was the 17th century

    Steinhaus. While much of the staff was not ecstatic about the primitive conditions, Sievers seems to have embraced

    the isolation.[1]

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bayreuthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ulmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bombing_of_Hamburg_in_World_War_II%23Battle_of_Hamburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Royal_Air_Forcehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anconahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benito_Mussolinihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Germania_%28book%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tacitushttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quotahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Volksdeutschehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kievhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hegewald_%28colony%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=South_Tyrol_Option_Agreementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=South_Tyrol_Option_Agreementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benito_Mussolinihttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Province_of_Bolzano-Bozenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alfred_Frauenfeldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grazhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beechhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_peoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crimean_Gothshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crimeahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saint_Petersburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Konrad_Meyerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Himmler_inspecting_cotton.jpg
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    10/14

    Ahnenerbe 10

    Financing

    Originally funded with modest grants from the German Research Foundation and the Reich Agricultural

    Organization, the Ahnenerbe began needing more resources. To meet this end, they created the Ahnenerbe

    Foundation, which sought out private donations to help fund the research. One of the largest donations,

    approximately 50,000 Reichsmark, came from Deutsche Bank boardmember Emil Georg von Strauss associates,

    including BMW and Daimler-Benz.[1]

    In 1936, the SS formed a joint company with Anton Loibl, a machinist and driving instructor. The SS had heard

    about reflector pedals for bicycles, that Loibl and others had been developing. Assuring that Loibl got the patent

    himself, Himmler then used his political weight to ensure the passing of a 1939 law requiring the use of the new

    reflective pedalsof which the Ahnenerbe received a share of the profits, 77,740 Reichsmark in 1938.[1]

    Medical experiments

    The Institut fr Wehrwissenschaftliche Zweckforschung ("Institute for Military Scientific Research"), which

    conducted extensive medical experiments using human subjects, became attached to the Ahnenerbe during World

    War II. It was managed by Wolfram Sievers.[14]

    Sievers had founded the organization on the orders of Himmler,who appointed him director with two divisions headed by Sigmund Rascher and August Hirt, and funded by the

    Waffen-SS.

    Dachau

    Dr. Sigmund Rascher was tasked with helping the Luftwaffe determine what was safe for their pilotsbecause

    aircraft were being built to fly higher than ever before. He applied for and received permission from Himmler to

    requisition camp prisoners to place in vacuum chambers to simulate the high altitude conditions that pilots might

    face.[1]

    Rascher was also tasked with discovering how long German airmen would be able to survive if shot down above

    freezing water. His victims were forced to remain out of doors naked in freezing weather for up to 14 hours, or kept

    in a tank of icewater for 3 hours, their pulse and internal temperature measured through a series of electrodes.

    Warming of the victims was then attempted by different methods, most usually and successfully by immersion in

    very hot water, and also less conventional methods such as placing the subject in bed with women who would try to

    sexually stimulate him, a method suggested by Himmler.[15][16]

    Rascher also experimented with the effects of Polygal, a substance made from beets and apple pectin, on coagulating

    blood flow to help with gunshot wounds. Subjects were given a Polygal tablet, and shot through the neck or chest, or

    their limbs amputated without anaesthesia. Rascher published an article on his experience of using Polygal, without

    detailing the nature of the human trials and also set up a company to manufacture the substance, staffed by

    prisoners.

    [17]

    Similar experiments were conducted from July to September 1944, as the Ahnenerbe provided space and materials to

    doctors at Dachau to undertake seawater experiments, chiefly through Sievers. Sievers is known to have visited

    Dachau on July 20, to speak with Ploetner and the non-Ahnenerbe Wilhelm Beiglboeck, who ultimately carried out

    the experiments.

    Skulls

    Walter Greite rose to leadership of the Ahnenerbes Applied Nature Studies division in January 1939, and began

    taking detailed measurements of 2,000 Jews at the Vienna emigration officebut scientists were unable to use the

    data. On December 10, 1941, Beger met with Sievers and convinced him of the need for 120 Jewish skulls. [18]

    During the later Nuremberg Trials, Dr. Friedrich Hielscher testified that Sievers had initially been repulsed at theidea of expanding the Ahnenerbe to human experimentation, and that he had no desire whatsoever to participate in

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friedrich_Hielscherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nuremberg_Trialshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Walter_Greitehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wilhelm_Beiglboeckhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wound_ballisticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coagulatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pectinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beethttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Luftwaffehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Waffen-SShttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=August_Hirthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sigmund_Rascherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wolfram_Sievershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Anton_Loiblhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daimler-Benzhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BMWhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emil_Georg_von_Strausshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deutsche_Bankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_reichsmark
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    11/14

    Ahnenerbe 11

    these. (v:II pg:37)

    Beger collaborated with Dr. August Hirt, of the Reich University of Strassburg, in creating a Jewish bone collection

    for research. The bodies of 79 Jewish men, 30 Jewish women, two Poles, and four Asians were ultimately collected

    and macerated.

    Post-World War II

    Trials

    Sievers at trial (lower-right corner)

    Wolfram Sievers: In Waischenfeld American

    troops captured a slew of documents that would be

    used in the case against Sievers which would be a

    part of the Doctors' Trial. Sievers was charged for

    aiding in the skeleton collection and human medical

    experiments at Dachau and Natzweiler. In his

    defense, Sievers claimed he had helped a resistance

    group since 1929, which was supported by

    testimony from Dr. Friedrich Hielscher on April 15,

    1947.[1] Sievers was nevertheless found guilty on all

    four counts on August 21, 1947 and sentenced to

    death. He was hanged on June 2, 1948 at Landsberg

    Prison. A Tibetan chant was performed upon his

    corpse.

    Richard Walther Darr: An Ahnenerbe founder, Darr was tried in the Ministries Trial. He received seven years

    imprisonment after being found not guilty on more serious charges.

    Edmund Kiss: His Bolivia trip having been cancelled, Kiss would serve in the armed forces the rest of the war,taking command of SS men at Wolfschanze near the end. While interned in the Darmstadt camp after the war, he

    was released in June 1947 due to severe diabetes but classified as a major offendera classification which

    allowed him to only take a manual labor job. Following this decision, Kiss hired a lawyer to protest this decision,

    a major component of his case being he had never been a member of the Nazi party.[1] After somewhat

    renouncing his past, Kiss was reclassified as a fellow traveler in 1948 and fined 501 DM.

    Walther Wst: Although the president of the Ahnenerbe from 1937 until the end of the war, Wsts claims that

    he was unaware of any medical experiments were acknowledged, and in 1950 he was classified as a fellow

    traveler and released, returning to the University of Munich as a professor-in-reserve.[1]

    Bruno Beger: In February 1948, Beger was classified as exonerated by a denazification tribunal unaware of his

    role in the skeleton collection. In 1960, an investigation in Ludwigsburg began investigating the collection, andBeger was taken into custody on March 30, 1960. He was released four months later, but the investigation

    continued until coming to trial on October 27, 1970. Beger claimed that he was unaware the Auschwitz prisoners

    he measured were to be killed. While two others indicted in the trial were released, Beger was convicted on April

    6, 1971, and sentenced to three years in prison for being an accomplice in the murder of 86 Jews. Upon appeal

    however, his sentence was reduced to three years of probation.[1]

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ludwigsburghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Denazificationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=University_of_Munichhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diabeteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Darmstadthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wolfschanzehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ministries_Trialhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Walther_Darr%C3%A9http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Landsberg_Prisonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Landsberg_Prisonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Friedrich_Hielscherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Doctors%27_Trialhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wolfram_Sievershttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Wolfram_Sievers_Doctors_Trial.JPGhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maceration_%28bone%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=August_Hirt
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    12/14

    Ahnenerbe 12

    Report of mass grave

    In 2002, Ukraine announced the discovery of a mass-grave containing dozens of German soldiers in the southern

    region of the country. Some had been trepanned, others had their spinal cords sawn lengthwise, or were missing their

    skulls. Pravda reported it to be the aftermath of an Ahnenerbe experiment, although no further information was

    given.[19] However,Pravda has run several incorrect stories about the Ahnenerbe before, and the article contained

    factual errors about the origin of the organization.

    Fantasy vs. reality

    Much misinformation about the Ahnenerbe has circulated, due in part to adaptations of the group in fiction, and

    historically dubious conspiracy theories which sometimes confuse the Ahnenerbe with the roughly contemporaneous

    Thule Society, or the historically unverified Vril society.

    One of the most in-depth analyses of Ahnenerbe was historian Michael Wood's Channel 4 (UK) documentary

    Hitler's Search for the Holy Grail, part of its Secret History series, broadcast in August 1999.

    Ahnenerbe in fiction The Ahnenerbe organization was the basis for the Nazi archaeologist villains in Steven Spielbergs "Indiana

    Jones" films.

    TheHellboy series of comics main antagonists are Project Ragna Rok, a fictionalized version of Ahnererbe who

    were focused on summoning supernatural aid to change the course of World War II.

    The Delta Green sourcebook for the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game claims the Ahnenerbe spawned another

    organization, Karotechia, which practiced ritual magic.

    The video gameReturn to Castle Wolfenstein portrays an organization (SS Paranormal Division) based on the

    Ahnenerbe practicing occult rituals and magic.

    Charles Stross features fictional Ahnenerbe activities in his novel The Atrocity Archives.

    The Ahnenerbe, led by Sievers, and former Grand Master of the Thule Society, Rudolf von Sebottendorf, areportrayed as the driving force behind a secret holocaust of vampires in Nazi death camps in Juan Miguel de la

    Torre's novelLas Increbles Aventuras de Rex Stark y el Holocausto Secreto.

    The Ahnenerbe was portrayed as the Nazi organization behind the development of the "1st SS Nazi Vampire

    Brigade Ostmark" in the Fantasy/Horror Short The Golden Nazi Vampire Of Absam 2.

    The video game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves features a Ahnenerbe expedition in Tibet, lead by Karl Schfer.

    See also

    List of Ahnenerbe institutes

    Nazi mysticism Reich Research Council

    Thule Society

    Notes

    [1] Pringle, Heather, The Master Plan: Himmlers Scholars and the Holocaust, Hyperion, 2006.

    [2] Gratzer, Walter Bruno (2001). The Undergrowth of Science: Delusion, Self-deception, and Human Frailty. Oxford University Press.

    pp. 235236. ISBN 0198604351.

    [3] Baker, Alan;Invisible Eagles (dissertation)

    [4] Kater, Michael;Das Ahnenerbe der SS 19351945. Ein Beitrag zur Kultur-politik des Dritten Reiches, Munich 1997

    [5] Sievers to Himmler, 4.9.1939, BA (ehem BDC) Ahnenerbe: Paulsen, Peter (8.10.1902).

    [6] http://www.culture.pl/en/culture/instytucje/muzea/in_mu_archeologiczne_warszawa[7] Sievers, Aktenvermerk, 20.05.1940, BA (ehem. BDC) Ahnenerbe: Paulsen, Peter (08.10.1902)

    [8] Jankuhn to Sievers, 06.09.1942, BA (ehem. BDC) Ahnenerbe: Jankuhn, Herbert (08.08.1905)

    http://www.culture.pl/en/culture/instytucje/muzea/in_mu_archeologiczne_warszawahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thule_Societyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reich_Research_Councilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nazi_mysticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Ahnenerbe_instituteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Uncharted_2:_Among_Thieveshttp://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Goldene_Nazivampir_von_Absam_2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Las_Incre%C3%ADbles_Aventuras_de_Rex_Stark_y_el_Holocausto_Secretohttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Juan_Miguel_de_la_Torrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Juan_Miguel_de_la_Torrehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rudolf_von_Sebottendorfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Atrocity_Archiveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Strosshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Return_to_Castle_Wolfensteinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ritual_magichttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Call_of_Cthulhu_%28role-playing_game%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Delta_Greenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Project_Ragna_Rokhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hellboyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indiana_Joneshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Indiana_Joneshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Secret_History_%28television_documentary_series%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Channel_4http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Wood_%28historian%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vrilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thule_Societyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conspiracy_theorieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pravdahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trepanationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ukraine
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    13/14

    Ahnenerbe 13

    [9] Heim, Susanne.Autarkie und Ostexpansion. Pflanzenzucht und Agrarforschung im Nationalsozialismus. 2002. Gttingen

    [10] Kiss, Edmund.Das Sonnentor von Tihuanaku,p.106-107.

    [11] http://www.george-broderick.de/ns_docs/ns-kress_letters.doc

    [12] Mazower, Mark (2008) Hitler's Empire, pg 454

    [13] Schama, Simon.Landscape and Memory 1995.

    [14] Peter Witte et al., eds.,Der Dienstkalender Heinrich Himmlers 1941/32, pp. 390391.

    [15] Mackowski, Maura Phillips (2006). Testing the Limits: Aviation Medicine and the Origins of Manned Space Flight. Texas A&M University

    Press. p. 94. ISBN 1585444391.[16] Letter from Rascher to Himmler, 17 Feb 1943 from Trials of War Criminals before the Nurenberg Military Tribunals, Vol. 1, Case 1: The

    Medical Case (Washington, D.C: u. S. Government Printing Office, 1949-1950), pp.249-251.

    [17] Michalczyk, John J. (1994).Medicine, Ethics, and the Third Reich: Historical and Contemporary Issues. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 96.

    ISBN 1556127529.

    [18] Sievers, Tagebuch: 10.12.1941, BA, NS 21/127.

    [19] Pravda. "The policy of blood and mysticism" (http://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/09/12/36496. html) (Dmitry Sudakov, trans.). 12

    September 2002. Accessed 15 March 2009.

    External links

    "Das Ahnenerbe" (http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/nazi/innenpolitik/ahnenerbe/index.html) at Deutsches

    Historisches Museum, Lebendiges Museum Online (LeMO) (in German) Das Ahnenerbe in Greece (http://www.ethniko.net/blog/ahnenerbe-greece) Article on the Ahnenerbe activities

    in Greece

    Article on the Ahnenerbe from Archaologist (http://www.archaeology.org/0603/abstracts/nazis.html)

    Ahnenerbe.net (http://www.ahnenerbe.net/) The Ahnenerbe expeditions on Google Maps

    The Nazi Connection with Shambhala and Tibet (http://www.spiritualislibrae.com/

    the-nazi-connection-with-shambhala-and-tibet/) Article on Nazi researchers went to Tibet for finding connection

    with Aryan roots and culture

    http://www.spiritualislibrae.com/the-nazi-connection-with-shambhala-and-tibet/http://www.spiritualislibrae.com/the-nazi-connection-with-shambhala-and-tibet/http://www.ahnenerbe.net/http://www.archaeology.org/0603/abstracts/nazis.htmlhttp://www.ethniko.net/blog/ahnenerbe-greecehttp://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/nazi/innenpolitik/ahnenerbe/index.htmlhttp://english.pravda.ru/main/2002/09/12/36496.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pravdahttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Simon_Schamahttp://www.george-broderick.de/ns_docs/ns-kress_letters.dochttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=G%C3%B6ttingen
  • 8/14/2019 Ahnenerbe En

    14/14

    Article Sources and Contributors 14

    Article Sources and ContributorsAhnenerbe Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=395396567 Contributors: A.Kurtz, Abune, Ahnenerbetemplar, Alfadir, Alphaios, Amarkov, Andareed, Angela, Angst72, Ansat,Antejutronic, Anym, Apeloverage, Arthur Warrington Thomas, Asav, Ave Caesar, Betacommand, Bgeer, Biruitorul, Bluemask, Bobyllib, Chochopk, Chriscruz, Cnyborg, CommonsDelinker,Copysan, Cyrruss, D6, DanMS, Davepape, David.Monniaux, DiverDave, DocWatson42, DragonRouge, Eeee, Elaragirl, Elendil's Heir, Ergative rlt, Ewlyahoocom, Felicity4711, Foxhunt king,Future Perfect at Sunrise, Gabbe, Gaius Cornelius, GirasoleDE, Goldfritha, Gugganij, Gwern, Halibutt, Hmains, JBucknoff, Jkelly, Jmm6f488, Jpgordon, Karada, Kbthompson, Keallu, KentWang, Keresaspa, Kimse, KnightRider, Koliak2991, Knsterle, Lauciusa, Law Lord, Legion fi, Liam, Lord Hidelan, MK2, Mahanga, Marudubshinki, Mayakukanja, McGeddon, Meco,Midnightblueowl, MikeyTMNT, Mkpumphrey, Moonraker12, Morgan Hauser, Morning277, Mschlindwein, Nick Cooper, Nixdorf, Noclador, Occam's Shaver, Owen, P4k, Palfrey, Paul A, Paul

    Barlow, Pcd72, Peter Kremer, Radiant chains, Remember, Rich Farmbrough, Rjwilmsi, Rmhermen, Russavia, Salmanazar, Sam Spade, Sanfranman59, See From Here, Sherurcij, Shimgray,Shyam, Smdracing, Solace098, Soulsrocker, Squideshi, Squids and Chips, Stuggi, Surv1v4l1st, The Anome, The PIPE, Trialsanderrors, Trigaranus, Tswold, Valentinian, Wetman, Wiki-SZ,Zinnmann, , 181 anonymous edits

    Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsImage:GermanicMysticism.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:GermanicMysticism.JPG License: unknown Contributors: Arthur Warrington Thomas, Kelly

    Image:Ahnenerbe.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ahnenerbe.jpg License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: Co-flens, Mattes, Ratatosk, Wyhiry

    Image:WirthBookScan.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:WirthBookScan.jpg License: unknown Contributors: Sherurcij

    File:Iscrizione - Naquane R 50 - Capo di Ponte.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Iscrizione_-_Naquane_R_50_-_Capo_di_Ponte.jpg License: Creative CommonsAttribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Luca Giarelli

    Image:Yrjo no caption.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Yrjo_no_caption.JPG License: unknown Contributors: User:OrphanBot

    Image:Krakow oltarz Stwosza.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Krakow_oltarz_Stwosza.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5 Contributors:User:Pko

    Image:TiahuanacoGateEGSquier1877.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:TiahuanacoGateEGSquier1877.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploaderwas Infrogmation at en.wikipedia

    Image:Himmler inspecting cotton.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Himmler_inspecting_cotton.jpg License: unknown Contributors: Carnildo, Foxhunt king,Sherurcij

    Image:Wolfram Sievers Doctors Trial.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Wolfram_Sievers_Doctors_Trial.JPG License: unknown Contributors: Carnildo, Foxhuntking, Sherurcij, 1 anonymous edits

    License

    Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unportedhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/