Wewelsburg - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Wewelsburg Castle, seen from theAlme valley

Wewelsburg Castle, also seenfrom the Alme valley

Aerial photo of Village of

Wewelsburg (the castle is locatedin the left half of the picture)

Wewelsburg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the village of Wewelsburg see Village of Wewelsburg

Wewelsburg (German pronunciation: [ˈveː vəlsˌbʊɐ̯k]) is a Renaissance castlelocated in the northeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the village ofWewelsburg, which is a quarter of the city Büren, Westphalia, in district ofPaderborn in the Alme Valley. The castle has the outline of a triangle (aerialphoto (http://www.wewelsburg.de/wAssets/img/historisches-museum/luftbild_burg.jpg)). After 1934, it was used by the SS under HeinrichHimmler and was to be expanded to the central SS-cult-site.[1] After 1941,plans were developed to enlarge it to the so-called "Center of the World".[2]

Contents

1 Early history1.1 Predecessor buildings1.2 The castle in possession of the prince-bishops of Paderborn1.3 The castle in possession of the Prussian state1.4 The castle in possession of the district of Büren

2 SS history2.1 Introduction2.2 The Wewelsburg SS School

2.2.1 Fields of activity2.2.2 Crew

Coordinates: 51°36′23″N 8°39′06″E

Wewelsburg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wewelsburg

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Location ofWewelsburg Castle inGermany

Eastwing with access-bridge

2.2.3 Design2.2.4 Directors2.2.5 Other activities2.2.6 Financing2.2.7 Construction and modifications from 1938 on2.2.8 Meetings of SS-Leaders

2.3 The death's head rings2.4 SS plans2.5 Description of the North Tower2.6 Blasting operation2.7 Members2.8 Legends, rumors and interpretations2.9 Niederhagen Camp

3 Post-War4 In fiction

4.1 In books4.2 In comics4.3 In computer and video games

5 See also6 Footnotes7 External links

Early history

In its current form the Wewelsburg was built from 1603 to 1609 as secondary residencefor the prince-bishops of Paderborn, namely Fürstbischof Dietrich von Fürstenberg[3]

(also see Bishopric of Paderborn).[4] Its location is near what was then believed to bethe site of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.

Predecessor buildings

Predecessor buildings existed: Wifilisburg was used during the 9th and 10th centuriesagainst the Hungarians; another one was built in 1123 by Earl Friedrich von Arnsberg.After his death in 1124, the building was demolished by farmers that he oppressed. In1301, Earl von Waldeck sold the Wewelsburg to the prince-bishop of Paderborn. Adocument about this acquisition proves that two fortress-like buildings stood on thehill: the Bürensche- and the Waldecksche-house.

The castle in possession of the prince-bishops of Paderborn

From 1301 to 1589, the prince-bishops of Paderborn assigned the estate tomiscellaneous liege lords.[3]

The masonry of both predecessor-buildings was integrated in the now-existingtriangular Renaissance castle, which was built from 1603 to 1609.

The Wewelsburg was destroyed several times during its history, during the Thirty


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Inner courtyard

Years' War in 1646[5] by the occupation of Swedish troops[6] – namely by the armyunder the Swedish general Carl Gustav Wrangel. Since 1654, the widely destroyedcastle was rebuilt by prince-bishop Theodor Adolf von der Recke and his successorFerdinand von Fürstenberg. He carried out some architectural changes; the three towersof the castle got their baroque domes.[7]

From 1589 to 1821, the castle was place of residence of a bursary officer.[7] Two witchtrials took place in the Wewelsburg in 1631 (a former inquisition room is placed inthe basement next to the east tower).[8] Legend suggests that the castle held thousandsof accused witches during the 17th century, who were tortured and executed within its walls.

During the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the basement rooms were probably used as a military prison. Until theend of the prince-bishops' times in 1802, prison cells existed in a dungeon in the basement of the west tower.[8]

The castle in possession of the Prussian state

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the castle fell progressively into ruin. In 1802, the castle fell to the ownershipof the Prussian state (secularization). On 11 January 1815, the North Tower was gutted by a fire that was startedby a lightning strike; only the outer walls remained. From 1832 to 1934, a rectory existed in the eastern part of thesouth wing of the castle.

The castle in possession of the district of Büren

In 1924,[9] the castle became the property of the district of Büren and was changed into a cultural center. In 1925,the castle had been renovated into a local museum, banquet hall, restaurant and youth hostel.[2] At the end of theTwenties, the North Tower again proved to be the weak point of the architecture, and had to be supported by guywires in winter 1932/33; the preservation of the castle was supported by the "Club for the preservation of the

Wewelsburg" (Verein zur Erhaltung der Wewelsburg). After 1925, the renovation activities decreased.[3]

SS history

Introduction

In 1934, SS-leader Heinrich Himmler signed a 100-mark, 100-year lease with the Paderborn district, initiallyintending to renovate and redesign the castle as a "Reich SS Leadership School" ("Reichsführerschule SS").[10]

Whoever called Himmler's attention to the castle is unknown.[11] There is speculation that Karl Maria Wiligutadvised him; Wiligut allegedly was inspired by the old Westphalian legend of the "Battle at the birch tree"(Schlacht am Birkenbaum).

The saga tells about a future "last battle at the birch tree", in which a "huge army from the East" is beatendecisively by the "West". Wiligut supposedly predicted to Himmler that the Wewelsburg would be the "bastion".Himmler expected a big conflict between Asia and Europe.[12]

Another source reports that the NS district president of the city of Minden von Ohnhausen called Himmler'sattention to the Wewelsburg. Nevertheless, Himmler certainly knew the apocalyptic saga of the "Battle at the birchtree", which takes place in the Wewelsburg region.[13]

Himmler wanted a castle in the "core-region of Hermann der Cherusker" for the SS. He was seeking for a castle


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for the purposes of the SS-Rasseamt (SS-race-office).[14] Originally he was interested in Castle Schwalenberg.[15]

Himmler visited the Wewelsburg for the first time on 3 November 1933. He was impressed by the triangular shapeof the castle and the north-south-axis of the castle. On the same day he decided to restore the castle. In January

1934, the voluntary labour service started with the rebuilding work.[15] On 22 September 1934, a ceremonialtransfer to Himmler took place.[16]

It was to be enlarged to accommodate the planned SS-leader school (SS-Führerschule).[17] In the planned school,besides physical training, a uniform ideological orientation of the leading cadre of the SS was to be realized.[10]

Courses for SS-officers in pre- and early history, mythology, archaeology, astronomy[18] and art were intended asmental warehouse for an ideological-political schooling.[19]

The Wewelsburg SS School

Actual instruction never took place. The first SS commandant of the castle, SS Obersturmbannfuhrer ErichSchupping, envisioned a kind of Nordic academy.[15] Scientists in the SS practiced "Germanic applied research"("germanische Zweckforschung") at the castle, with a purpose of supporting the racial doctrine of the SS. From theautumn of 1935, the projected work was called "SS-Schule Haus Wewelsburg" (that is, "SS School, HouseWewelsburg").[20]

Fields of activity

Wewelsburg castle was also a center for archaeological excavations in the region. Fields of activity included studyof prehistory and ancient history (directed by Wilhelm Jordan, who led excavations in the region), study ofmedieval history and folklife (directed by Karlernst Lasch from March 1935), build-up of the "Library of theSchutzstaffel in Wewelsburg" (directed by Dr. Hans Peter des Coudres), and strengthening the National Socialistworldview in the village of Wewelsburg (directed by Walter Franzius; this included such work as renovation of atimbered house in the center of the village of Wewelsburg – the "Ottens Hof" – between 1935 and 1937 for use as

a village community center;[21] Franzius also undertook various other architectural tasks).

Crew

The castle crew consisted of members of both SS branches, the "General SS" ("Allgemeine SS") and the "Armed

SS" ("Waffen SS").[22] Also working at the castle were proponents of a kind of SS esotericism consisting ofGermanic mysticism, an ancestor cult, worship of runes, and racial doctrines:[10] Himmler, for example, adaptedthe idea of the Grail to create a heathen mystery for the SS.[23]

Design

No proof exists that Himmler wanted a Grail castle, but redesign of the castle by the SS referred to certaincharacters in the legends of the Grail:[24] for example, one of the arranged study rooms was named Gral ("Grail"),and others, König Artus ("King Arthur"), König Heinrich ("King Henry"), Heinrich der Löwe ("Henry the Lion"),Widukind, Christoph Kolumbus ("Christopher Columbus"), Arier ("Aryan"), Jahrlauf ("course of the seasons"),Runen ("runes"), Westfalen ("Westphalia"), Deutscher Orden ("Teutonic Order"), Reichsführerzimmer ("Room ofthe Empires Leader(s)"; "Reichsführer-SS", or "the Empire's Leader of the SS" was Himmler's title), Fridericus(probably in reference to Frederick II of Prussia), tolle Christian (probably referring to Christian the Younger ofBrunswick, Bishop of Halberstadt), and Deutsche Sprache ("German language"). In addition to these study rooms,the SS created guest rooms, a dining room, an auditorium, a canteen kitchen, and a photographic laboratory withan archive.


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Oak was used to panel and furnish these rooms, though (according to contemporary witnesses) only sparely. Allinterior decoration was shaped by an SS sensibility in art and culture; the preferred elements of design were basedon runes, swastikas, and Germanically interpreted sense characters.[25] Tableware, decorated with runes andGermanic symbols of salvation, was manufactured specifically for Wewelsburg castle, and Himmler's privatecollection of weapons was housed in the castle.[26] From 1939, the castle was also furnished with miscellaneousobjects of art,[27] including prehistoric objects (chiefly arranged by the teaching and research group "DasAhnenerbe"), objects of past historical eras, and works of contemporary sculptors and painters (mainly works bysuch artists as Karl Diebitsch, Wolfgang Willrich, and Hans Lohbeck – that is, art comporting with the aestheticsof National Socialism).

In 1934, the eastern castle bridge was built and the castle moat lowered.[9] The exterior plaster was removed tomake the building look more castle-like. The following year, a smithy was established on the ground floor of theNorth Tower for manufacture of the wrought-iron interior decoration of the castle.[28] The western and southernwings of the castle were rebuilt between 1934 and 1938; the eastern, between 1936 and 1938. The first newbuilding, the guardhouse (Wachgebäude), was constructed next to the castle[7] in 1937; historical documentationof "Wewelsburg 1933–1945" has been housed there since 1982. An SS sentry post and a small circular location(Rondell) were placed next to the guardhouse, as was a no longer extant SS staff building (SS-Stabsgebäude).[9]

The North Tower was strengthened and rebuilt between 1938 and 1943.[29]

Directors

The first commandant of the castle (Burghauptmann von Wewelsburg), from August 1934, wasObersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Erich Schupping.[15] He was partial to Karl Maria Wiligut's religioustheories. The opinion of other SS-scientists about Wiligut were absolute negative. SS ObersturmbannfuhrerSchuepping was succeeded by Siegfried Taubert on 30 January 1938. Because Taubert was consigned to variousother tasks he was absent from the castle for longer periods.[30]

Other activities

So called "SS-marriage-consecrations" (SS-Eheweihen) took place at the castle.[31]

Since 1936, Himmler (who was often present at the castle) wanted more and more to expand the Wewelsburg tobe a representative and ideological center of the SS Order.[10] Consequently, although at first planned to be aneducational training center, during the 1930s increasing measures were taken to transform the castle into anisolated central meeting place for the highest ranking SS-officers.[32]

Financing

For financing the project Himmler founded in 1936 the "Gesellschaft zur Förderung und Pflege deutscherKulturdenkmäler e.V." (Association for the advancement and maintenance of German cultural relics (registeredassociation)) and assigned the association as building developer. In contrast to the SS, the association was allowedto receive donations and loans. Until 1943, the project cost 15 million Reichsmark.[15] In 1939, Himmler forbade

publishing anything about the castle.[33]

Construction and modifications from 1938 on

After the Freiwilliger Arbeitsdienst FAD (voluntary labour service) the Reichsarbeitsdienst RAD (Reich Labour


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Service) carried out the modifications of the castle. In 1938, the RAD was relocated to the "Westwall" (Siegfried

Line).[15] Between 1939 and 1943, prisoners from the Sachsenhausen and Niederhagen concentration camps wereused as labourers to perform much of the construction work on Wewelsburg, under the design of architect

Hermann Bartels.[34] Due to a decree of 13 January 1943, all building projects which were unimportant for thewar – including the Wewelsburg – had to be stopped.[15]

In 1938 after the Reichskristallnacht 17 Jews[35] from the 10 km away Salzkotten were shut in the dungeon in thebasement of the west tower before their further transport to the Buchenwald concentration camp.[8]

In the middle of the Thirties Himmler had a private safe mounted in the basement of the west tower. Only thecommandant of the castle knew about it. The whereabouts of its content after the Second World War is unclear.[26]

Meetings of SS-Leaders

Swearing-in ceremonies were planned at the castle. Meetings of SS-Group-Leaders (equivalent to lieutenant-generals) at so called "spring conferences" were planned since 1939. Probably some talks took place atWewelsburg Castle; the only documented "Gruppenführer"(generals')-meeting was held from 12 to 15 June 1941

– one week before the beginning of Operation Barbarossa.[2] The highest ranking SS-officers, who planned theSS-operation in the Soviet Union or who were intended to be used for the operation, were called up by Himmler.Concrete decisions were not made. The meeting's purpose was the ideological preparation of the attendantSS-leaders for the campaign.[32] Another source mentions three or four ceremonies a year of SS-leaders whichtook place at the castle.[36]

Towards the end of the war Himmler ordered that Wewelsburg castle should become the "Reichshaus derSS-Gruppenführer" (Reich-House of the SS-Gruppenführer).[37]

The death's head rings

In 1938, Himmler ordered the return of all death's head rings (German: Totenkopfringe) of dead SS-men andofficers. They were to be stored in a chest in the castle. This was to symbolize the ongoing membership of thedeceased in the SS-Order.[38] The whereabouts of the approximately 11,500 rings after the Second World War isunclear, but it has been suggested that they were entombed in a local mountain by blasting closed the entrance to acave.

SS plans

Himmler's plans included making it the "center of the new world" ("Zentrum der neuen Welt") following the "finalvictory".[39] The monumental estate was never realized; only detailed plans and models exist. The installation of a15 to 18-meter-high wall in the shape of a three-quarter circle[7] with 18 towers including the actual castle areacentred on the North Tower of the castle, 860 m in diameter, was planned. The real purpose of the project wasnever clearly defined.[40] Inside of this castle area buildings were planned for the exclusive purposes of theReichsführung-SS (Reich leadership SS).

The main road of an SS village was also to be centered on the North Tower of the castle with a diameter of1270 m. This road was to be connected with three radial roads and gates with the castle area. The residential areawas to be placed in the northwest, the center of the village in the north, and the SS-barracks in the west of thecastle area; between the barracks and village a villa colony for higher SS-leaders; in the southwest farmsteads.

In the architectural plans from 1941, the estate had the shape of a spear pointing towards the north; the 2 km long


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SS blueprint for the plannedconstruction of the area aroundWewelsburg. The small triangle inthe center of the circle, forming

the tip of the "spear", isWewelsburg.

access avenue with four tree rows[41] road looks like a spear shaft with anaccess to the Rhynern – Kassel Reichsautobahn (freeway) to the south.[42]

The plan from 1944 shows the castle as the top of a triangular estatesurrounded by further buildings.[43] The plans also included a "hall of the

High Court of the SS" (Saal des Hohen Gerichtes der SS),[44] streets,parkways, magnificent buildings,[7] a dam with a power plant, freewayaccesses and an airport.[26] From 1941 on (after Hitler's successful militarycampaigns against Poland and France) the architects called the complex the"Center of the World". It was to be finished within twenty years. The complexwas to be a center of the "kind accordant" religion (artgemäße Religion) and arepresentative estate for the SS-Führerkorps (SS leader corps).[6] If the planshad been realized, the entire village of Wewelsburg and adjacent villageswould have disappeared. The population was to be resettled. The valley was

to be flooded.[19] 250 million Reichsmark were budgeted for the estate.[17]

Description of the North Tower

Inside the North Tower two mythologic designed rooms were created(1938–1943):

The Obergruppenführersaal (SS Generals' Hall) and the Gruft (vault). Their ceilings were cast in concrete andfaced with natural stone. On the upper floors a further hall was planned. The axis of this tower was to be the actual"Center of the World" (Mittelpunkt der Welt). A preparation for an eternal flame in the vault, a swastika ornamentin its zenith, and a sun wheel embedded in the floor of the "Obergruppenführersaal" lie on this axis. Both

redesigned rooms were never used. Nothing is known about the plans for designated ceremonies in the tower.[10]

The vault

Where a primary cistern was originally located, a vault after the model of Mycenaean domed tombs was hewn intothe rock, possibly to serve as some kind of commemoration of the dead. The room is unfinished. The floor was

lowered 4.80 meters.[45] The fundament of the tower was firmed with concrete.[2] In the middle of the vaultprobably a bowl with an eternal flame was planned. In the middle of the floor a gas pipe is embedded. Around thepresumed place for the eternal flame at the wall twelve pedestals are placed; their meaning is unknown. Above thepedestals, wall niches existed.[45] In the zenith of the vault a swastika (which ends run out in an ornamental way)is walled in. Despite its antisemitic connotation the swastika (Hakenkreuz) was also understood as "the symbol ofthe creating, acting life" (das Symbol des schaffenden, wirkenden Lebens) and as a "race emblem of Germanism"

(Rasseabzeichen des Germanentums).[46] The vault has special acoustics and illumination.

The Obergruppenführersaal (SS Generals' Hall)

On the ground floor the "Obergruppenführersaal" (literally translated: Upper-Group-Leaders-Hall, referring to theoriginal twelve highest ranking SS-generals, called Obergruppenführer)), a hall with twelve columns joined by agroined vault, twelve window- and door-niches and eight longitudinal windows was created (see photos of theroom: 1 (http://www.roland-harder.de/burgen-und-schloesser/imageTA6.JPG), 2 (http://www.hansgruener.de

/pictures/hermannsborn/7809_02.jpg)). The room was almost finished; the rebuilding work stopped in 1943.[45]

Assumedly it was to serve as a representative hall for the SS-Obergruppenführer. In the center of the marbledwhitish/grayish floor a dark green sun wheel (Sonnenrad) is embedded (see photo (http://www.ruedigersuenner.de/schwarze%20sonne.jpg)). The axis of the sun wheel consisted of a circular plate of pure gold, which was to

symbolize the center of the castle and thus the entire "Germanic world empire".[47] After the Second World War


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Obergruppenführersaal (SS Generals'Hall)

the ornament was called the "Black Sun". It is not known if the SS had aspecial name for the ornament nor if they attributed a special meaning to it.Possibly the sun wheel had a relation to the Germanic light- andsun-mysticism[48] which was propagated by the SS. Today it is used as asymbol in Odinism and Neo-Nazism and in occult currents ofIrminenschaft or Armanenschaft-inspired esotericism. However, theornament has only been linked to the esoteric neo-Nazi concept of theBlack Sun after 1991.[49] The Latin inscription above the entrance "Domusmea domus orationis vocabitur" (My house is called a house of prayer)reminds of the prince-episcopalian chapel which was placed in the groundfloor of the tower originally.[11][50]

The upper floors

The upper floors were to be completed as a multi-storied hall with a bigdome.[51] It was to be a prestigious meeting hall for the entire corps of the SS-Gruppenführer. This room was onlyplanned. In order to realize the hall the upper half of the tower was dismantled in winter 1941/42.[9]

Blasting operation

When the "final victory" failed to materialize, the castle commander, SS Capt. Siegfried Taubert, fled on 30 Marchas the U.S. 3rd Armored Division closed in on the Paderborn area in the final phases of the war. Meantime, at hisheadquarters in Brenzlau, Himmler ordered adjutant SS Maj. Heinz Macher, with 15 of his men, to destroy theWewelsburg. This took place on Saturday, 31 March only three days before the 83rd Armored ReconnaissanceBattalion, 3rd Armored Division seized the grounds after reports from a nearby Burgomeister that "SS men hadset fire to their barracks in the castle, changed into civilian clothes and fled." Because Macher's company ran outof explosives, they placed tank mines only in the unimportant southeast tower, the guard-building and the

SS-cadre-building[45] which was completely destroyed. The castle was set on fire and – according to informationof the village citizens – the castle was given free for looting[52]

Members

Heinrich Himmler: AegisErich Schupping: CommandantSiegfried Taubert: CommandantKarl Elstermann von Elster Stabsführer: replaced by Paul HübnerWalter Muller: HauptsturmführerJosef Schneid: Hauptsturmführer also known as PepiWalter Franzius: architect brought on board in October 1935Karl LaschDr. Hans-Peter de Courdes: until May 1939Dr. Bernhard Frank: SS Commander of the ObersalzburgDr. Heinrich Hagel (physician): ObersturmbannführerWilhelm JordanElfriede Wippermann

Legends, rumors and interpretations

According to rumors the Death's Head Rings were to be buried in the vault. The vault, allegedly dubbed the


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Himmler Crypt, was (allegedly) dedicated to Heinrich I, founder and first king of the medieval German state(see East Francia), of whom Himmler reportedly believed himself to be the reincarnation, and where he

hoped to be interred after his death.[53] This assertion is unproven. In Himmlers's opinion Heinrich I

protected Germany from invaders from the "East", as popularized in Richard Wagner's Lohengrin opera.[19]

Leading representatives of the Third Reich were fascinated by the story of the "Holy Grail". Hitler admired

Richard Wagner's Lohengrin and Parsifal. Hitler himself never visited the castle.[11]

Himmler reportedly imagined the castle as a focus for the rebirth of the Knights of the Round Table andappointed twelve SS officers as his followers, who would gather at various rooms throughout the castle andperform unknown rites. The SS had twelve main departments (SS-Hauptämter) with twelve leaders. Thenumber twelve plays a major role in the design of the North Tower: twelve pedestals in the vault, twelvepillars and niches in the "Obergruppenführersaal", and twelve spokes of the sun wheel. In the study onancient sense characters during the Third Reich the sun in general was interpreted as "the strongest andmost visible expression of God", the number twelve as documented for "the things of the target and the

completion".[54] With reference to the number 12 in their studies on Germanic mythology a relation wasdrawn to "the twelve Æsir of divine kind who have (according to the Edda) twelve domiciles and twelve

stallions" and to the "twelve rivers which flow from the fountain Hwergelmir in Niflheim".[55]

Quote of former SS-General Karl Wolff referring to the Obergruppenführersaal: "This was a part of the mythwhich was to be introduced here. These are the twelve compartments(*), they were created according to mystic-confused things with which Himmler liked to play, of the Round Table of King Arthur. In fact we were twelve maindepartment leaders (Hauptamtchefs) who represented equally next to each other their service areas becauseHimmler didn't have the courage to appoint a Deputy-Reichsführer-SS or a Deputy Chief of the German

police."[26] (* German original sound record: "Postamente": this could refer to the twelve columns; there is alsospeculation about twelve heraldic emblems[26] for the twelve leading SS-Generals which were to be placed insidethe hall.)

Allegedly the "Obergruppenführersaal" has similarities with the Mausoleum of Theodoric in Ravenna[26]

When one of the officers died, his ashes would be interred in the castle. There is speculation that the urns ofdead SS leaders would have been placed on the pedestals in the vault. The vault is also named

"consecration-hall" (Weihehalle).[56]

The exact meaning of the vault is unknown. Nevertheless, the room is significant for the quasi-religiousaspects of National Socialism – especially the ancestral cult. A possible interpretation of the symboliccharacter of the eternal flame in general according to solemn beliefs which had established during the

NS-era especially in SS circles:[57] in the fire they wanted to feel the soul of ancestors. The symbol of the

eternal flame[58] stood for the aspiration of the ancestral soul from which man arises at his birth and which

he reenters at his death. Consecration-sites and -events suggested the immortality of the people's soul.[59]

By sacral-architecture and spectacular mass-events the subconsciousness of the masses was influenced bypseudo-religious ideas. The two cult rooms inside the North Tower were built to deepen the own

"mission".[60]

In 1938, Siegfried Taubert was in charge of developing the castle, when Himmler inquired about the cost of

installing a planetarium[citation needed]. To round off the subjects taught at the Wewelsburg SS school ateacher was sought who should draw cross connections between astronomy and history and the folklife ofthe ancestors so that the historical and ideological schooling was to be enhanced and deepened by the

"cosmic view" (kosmische Schau).[18]

Niederhagen Camp


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Main article: Niederhagen concentration camp

Just offsite of Wewelsburg was the smallest German KZ, Niederhagen prison and labour camp.[61] Begun on June17, 1940, the camp was completed the following year and named after Niederhagen Forest, the name Himmlerhad given to the forest outside the castle several years earlier.

It began with 480 prisoners from Sachsenhausen, and grew to 1200, consisting chiefly of Soviet POWs andcaptured foreign labourers shipped to Germany, although early in its life it was also a gathering point for Jehovah'sWitness prisoners. During the SS's December 1942 Korherr Report it was reported to have only housed 12 Jews,all of whom had died.[62]

Of the 3900 prisoners held during the camp's existence, 1285 died of typhus and 56 were formally executed. InAugust 1942, the Allies began deciphering death tolls transmitted from the camps; Niederhagen had reported 21deaths for that month.[1] (http://www.fpp.co.uk/bookchapters/WSC/Typhuswar.html) The camp was dissolved in1943 with most of the prisoners resettled in Buchenwald, though several dozen prisoners remained behind, housed

directly in Wewelsburg.[63]

Hauptsturmführer Adolf Haas, who had overseen the camp from its beginning, was transferred to a commandposition at Bergen-Belsen, while Schutzhaftlagerführer Wolfgang Plaul was transferred to Buchenwald.Untersturmführer Hermann Michl had last been recorded at the camp in 1942, and later appeared at the Rigaghetto.

Post-War

In 1948/49 the castle was restored.[64] On June 29, 1950 the castle was reopened as a museum and youth hostel,while the Niederhagen kitchen had been renovated into a village fire station.

In 1973, a two-year project was begun to restore the North Tower, and by 1977 it had been decided to restore theentire site as a war monument. It opened on March 20, 1982, with several survivors of the Niederhagen camppresent. Karl Hueser of the University of Paderborn was considered influential in the reopening project, and WulffBrebeck would become the head of Kreismuseum Wewelsburg (http://www.wewelsburg.de/) (Wewelsburg DistrictMuseum).[65]

Due to a local government reform the Wewelsburg became property of the district of Paderborn in 1975. In 1996the Historical Museum of the Bishopric of Paderborn (Historisches Museum des Hochstifts Paderborn) opened inthe east- and south-wing.[5] The museum documents the history of the "Hochstift Paderborn" (Bishopric of

Paderborn) which was one of territories of the Holy Roman Empire.[66] In 2010 the museum's contemporaryhistory department was reopened as "Wewelsburg 1933–1945 Memorial Museum". The new permanent exhibition"Ideology and terror of the SS" now presents the history of the Schutzstaffel's activities in Wewelsburg within thebroader context of the SS as a whole.

A memorial was built in honour of the deceased Niederhagen prisoners in 2000, four years later the KreismuseumWewelsburg was granted DM 29,400 for restoring and moving the remnants of the Niederhagen camp, as well asproducing an educational film on the Ukrainian and Russian prisoners who were housed there.[67] In 2006 and2007 it hosted the annual Internacia Seminario, a meeting of Esperanto youth.

The youth hostel which is mainly placed in the east-wing of the castle is one of the largest in Germany (204beds).[68]


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In fiction

In books

The attempted destruction of the castle by Heinz Macher is the setting for the climax of the thriller BlackCamelot by Duncan Kyle (published in 1978 by William Collins Sons & Co Ltd). While the burning istaking place, the protagonists of the novel attempt to obtain secret papers stored there by Himmler about theinvolvement of British and American companies with German industry during World War II.

The town and castle of Wewelsburg, the Reichs SS Leadership School, and some of the castle's illustriouspatrons and visitors like Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, Karl Maria Willigut, SS-Obengrupenführer andchief of the SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt (including the Gestapo and Kripo) Reinhard Heydrich, andSS-Gruppenführer Arthur Nebe play a prominent part in the 1990 novel The Pale Criminal by Philip Kerr.This novel was also released as a part of the 1993 Bernie Gunther trilogy Berlin Noir.

The vault in Wewelsburg Castle and a modified version of the Schwarze Sonne mosaic is used in JamesTwining's The Black Sun (2005).

The castle is mentioned in Tova Reich's satirical novel, My Holocaust: A Novel (2008).[69]

Wewelsburg Castle is one of the settings in the 2009 novel Release by Nicole Hadaway.[70]

Wewelsburg Castle is the site Josef refers to when thinking back on his training with the SS in Jodi Picoult'snovel The Storyteller (2013).

In comics

In the Italian comic book Martin Mystère (first published in 1982), Aslaug, the daughter of the ValkyrieBrynhildr, with the help of Karl Weisthor, attempted to open a portal to Hindarfjall in theObergruppenführersaal in Wewelsburg in 1936, but she was stopped by the agent of the American secret

service "Elsewhere", who was unknowingly working for Loki, the god of fire.[71]

The comic title Green Lantern Annual #3 (1994) includes the story "Rings of Evil", set in an alternateuniverse wherein the SS rose to world domination. This victory was made possible by Himmler's magic

practice within Castle Wewelsburg.[72]

In computer and video games

The castle was an inspiration for the Castle Wolfenstein in the series of Wolfenstein video and computergames.

Wewelsburg is also featured in the video game Medal of Honor: Underground (2000), in a mission whereinFrench Resistance Fighter Manon is sent to uncover Himmler's occult activities in the castle.

See also

Heinz MacherNazi architecture


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Nazism and occultismKarl Maria Wiligut

Footnotes

^ Documentation "Wewelsburg 1933–1945. Cult- andterror place of the SS" (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/txt/normal/txt234.pdf) p. 214

1.

^ a b c d The North Tower of Wewelsburg Castle(http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.net/nrw/en/wewelsburg/thema_1/nordturm.html)

2.

^ a b c Die Wewelsburg (History of the Castle)(http://www.wewelsburg-alte-muehle.de/text/wburg.htm)

3.

^ Kreismuseum Wewelsburg(http://www.wewelsburg.de/pages/startseite/willkommen.shtml) (in German)

4.

^ a b Timetable (official website)(http://www.wewelsburg.de/wewelsburg/pages/geschichte/geschi.php?navanchor=1010001) (inGerman)

5.

^ a b SS – Die Wewelsburg(http://www.nationalsozialismus.de/lexikon/ss-die-wewelsburg) (in German)

6.

^ a b c d e The Wewelsburg (http://www.wewelsburg-alte-muehle.de/text/wburg.htm) (History of the castle –in German)

7.

^ a b c District museum Wewelsburg – Virtual tour(http://www.wewelsburg.de/wewelsburg/pages/rundgang/burg_vr_statisch.php) (in German)

8.

^ a b c d Plan of the castle (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_4/index.html#burgplan) (in German)

9.

^ a b c d e Die SS Schule "Haus Wewelsburg"(http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/index.html) (in German)

10.

^ a b c The Wewelsburg near Paderborn(http://www.dergral.de/rlc/historie/wewelsburg.htm)(in German)

11.

^ Karl Maria Wiligut (http://www.relinfo.ch/wiligut/info.html) (in German)

12.

^ Wewelsburg 1933–45 – Cult-site of the SS-Order(http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/input_felder/seite1_westf_bild.php?urlID=331) (in German)

13.

^ Wewelsburg 1936–45 – Cult-site of the SS-Order(http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/input_felder/seite1_westf_bild.php?urlID=331) (in German)

14.

^ a b c d e f g 22 September 1934 – Takeover of theWewelsburg by Heinrich Himmler (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/input_felder/langDatensatz_ebene4.php?urlID=497&

15.

url_tabelle=tab_websegmente) (in German)^ Documentation "Wewelsburg 1933–1945. Cult- andterror place of the SS" (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/txt/normal/txt234.pdf) p. 223

16.

^ a b Die Wewelsburg bei Paderborn(http://www.dergral.de/rlc/historie/wewelsburg.htm)Himmlers Kult- und Ordensburg der SS im DrittenReich

17.

^ a b The SS was seeking an astronomy teacher for theWewelsburg (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/finde/langDatensatz.php?urlID=1044&url_tabelle=tab_quelle) (in German)

18.

^ a b c DVD Schwarze Sonne19.^ Information about "Zweckforschung"(http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/ss_zweckforschungen.html) at WewelsburgCastle (in German)

20.

^ Country inn Ottens Hof – History(http://www.ottenshof.de/html/geschichte.html) (inGerman)

21.

^ Documentation "Wewelsburg 1933–1945. Cult andterror place of the SS" (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/txt/normal/txt234.pdf) p. 212(in German)

22.

^ SS-esotericism (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/ss_esoterik.html) (inGerman)

23.

^ Interview with the Vize-Director of thememorial-place Wewelsburg (http://www.dergral.de/rlc/interviews/john-stucke.htm) (in German)

24.

^ Documentation "Wewelsburg 1933–1945. Cult andterror place of the SS" (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/txt/normal/txt234.pdf) pp.218, 224, 225, 226 and 277 (in German)

25.

^ a b c d e f Karl Höffkes, Stuart Russell: DieWewelsburg – Das weltanschauliche Zentrum der SS

26.

^ Documentation "Wewelsburg 1933–1945. Cult andterror place of the SS" (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/txt/normal/txt234.pdf) pp.225–29 (in German)

27.


28.


29.


12 of 15 4/21/2013 3:32 PM

^ Documentation "Wewelsburg 1933–1945. Cult- andterror place of the SS" (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/txt/normal/txt234.pdf) pp.281 and 243 (in German)

30.

^ Ideology and self-conception of the SS(http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/ss_ideologie.html) (in German)

31.

^ a b Historical background(http://www.wewelsburg.de/de/wewelsburg-1933-1945/historischer-hintergrund.php) (in German)

32.

^ Documentation "Wewelsburg 1933–1945. Cult- andterror place of the SS" (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/txt/normal/txt234.pdf) pp.222–23 (in German)

33.

^ Wewelsburg – Overview (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/finde/langDatensatz.php?urlID=133&url_tabelle=tab_texte)(in German)

34.

^ History of the Jewish population of Salzkotten(http://www.judentum-in-salzkotten.de/Geschichte/geschichte.html) (in German)

35.

^ Nicholas Goodrick Clarke: Die okkulten Wurzen desNationalsozialismus (The Occult Roots of Nazism), p.197

36.

^ Wewelsburg – Historischer Hintergrund(http://www.wewelsburg.de/de/wewelsburg-1933-1945/historischer-hintergrund.php)

37.

^ Nicholas Goodrick Clarke: Die okkulten Wurzen desNationalsozialismus (The occult roots of nationalsocialism), p. 163

38.

^ Information about Heinrich Himmler(http://www.nationalsozialismus.de/lexikon/heinrich-himmler) (in German)

39.

^ Wewelsburg from 1933 to 1945, place of cult andterror (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.net/nrw/en/wewelsburg/thema_1/index.html#)

40.

^ Grossly exaggerated architect's plans for the OrderCastle Wewelsburg (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/finde/langDatensatz.php?urlID=485&url_tabelle=tab_medien) (in German)

41.

^ See architectural drawing (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/med/normal/bh-124-10.jpg).

42.

^ See another drawing (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/bild_41.html) and model (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/modell.html) from 1944.

43.

^ SS future plans (http://www.nationalsozialismus.de/lexikon/ss-zukunftsplane) (in German)

44.

^ a b c d Interview (http://www.dergral.de/rlc/interviews/john-stucke.htm) (in German)

45.

^ Walther Blachetta: Das Buch der deutschenSinnzeichen (The book of German sense characters);reprint of 1941; p. 47

46.

^ Information about the original look of the sun wheel47.

(http://www.nationalsozialismus.de/lexikon/ss-zukunftsplane) – end of the article (in German)^ Drachen, Helden, Nachtmeerfahrten – DieArchetypenlehre von C.G. Jung(http://www.ruedigersuenner.de/drachen.html)

48.

^ Julian Strube: Die Erfindung es esoterischenNationalsozialismus im Zeichen der Schwarzen Sonne.In: Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft, 20(2), 2012:pp. 223–268.

49.


50.

^ Wewelsburg: SS-cult and KZ-terror(http://kriegsende.ard.de/pages_std_lib/0,3275,OID1192336,00.html) (in German)

51.

^ 60 years end of war – Wewelsburg: SS-cult undKZ-terror (http://kriegsende.ard.de/pages_std_lib/0,3275,OID1192336,00.html) (in German)

52.

^ Frischauer, Willi. Himmler, the Evil Genius of theThird Reich. London: Odhams, 1953, pp. 85–88;Kersten, Felix. The Kersten Memoirs: 1940–1945.New York: Macmillan, 1957. p. 238.

53.

^ Walther Blachetta: Das Buch der deutschenSinnzeichen (The book of German sense characters);reprint of 1941; p. 15/16: interpretation of the sun and,p. 80: interpretation of the number twelve.

54.

^ Walther Blachetta: Das Buch der deutschenSinnzeichen (The book of German sense characters);reprint of 1941; p. 80: interpretation of the numbertwelve.

55.

^ History of the castle (http://www.wewelsburg-alte-muehle.de/text/wburg.htm) (in German)

56.

^ DVD Schwarze Sonne57.^ DVD Schwarze Sonne, bonus material, interview58.^ Excerpt "Black Sun" (http://www.ruedigersuenner.de/leseprobe.html) (in German)

59.

^ Film description – "Black Sun: Mythologicalbackgrounds of National Socialism"(http://www.ruedigersuenner.de/schwarze%20sonne.html) (in German)

60.

^ IVM.org (http://www.iwm.org.uk/upload/package/55/ConferenceWebsite/downloads/Panel23.pdf)

61.

^ NS-archive.de (http://www.ns-archiv.de/verfolgung/korherr/faksimile-lang/korherr-lang-13.php)

62.

^ The concentration camp Niederhagen(http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_1/) (in German)

63.

^ The history of the castle (http://www.wewelsburg.de/pages/geschichte/geschi.shtml?navId=2) (in German)

64.

^ NS-gedenkstaetten.net (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.net/nrw/en/wewelsburg/entstehung/index.html)

65.


66.

^ Europa.eu.int (http://europa.eu.int/comm/culture67.


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/eac/other_actions/support_eur_org/pdf_word/resultsEAC33_2004.xls)^ SS – Die Wewelsburg(http://www.nationalsozialismus.de/lexikon/ss-die-wewelsburg)

68.

^ My Holocaust: A Novel (April 1, 2008). HarperPerennial. ISBN 0061173479. Missing or empty|title= (help)

69.

^ Vamplitpublishing.com70.

(http://vamplitpublishing.com/2009/08/release-nicolehadaway/)^ Martin Mystère: The Black Sun (http://www-en.sergiobonellieditore.it/auto/scheda_speciale?collana=71&numero=292&subnum=)

71.

^ DeVries, David M.; Zachary, Dean; Pepoy, Andrew.Rings of Evil. Green Lantern Annual #3. New York,DC Comics, 1994.

72.

External links

60 years end of war – Wewelsburg: SS-cult and KZ-terror (http://kriegsende.ard.de/pages_std_lib/0,3275,OID1192336,00.html) (German)The SS school "House Wewelsburg" (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/index.html) (German)SS – The Wewelsburg (http://www.nationalsozialismus.de/lexikon/ss-die-wewelsburg) (German)History of the castle (http://www.wewelsburg-alte-muehle.de/text/wburg.htm) (German)Wewelsburg Castle near Paderborn (http://www.dergral.de/rlc/historie/wewelsburg.htm) Himmler's Cult-and Order-Castle of the SS during the Third Reich (German)22 September 1934 – Takeover of the Wewelsburg by Heinrich Himmler (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/input_felder/langDatensatz_ebene4.php?urlID=497&url_tabelle=tab_websegmente) (German)Grossly exaggerated architect's plans for the Order Castle Wewelsburg (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/finde/langDatensatz.php?urlID=485&url_tabelle=tab_medien) (German)Interview (http://www.dergral.de/rlc/interviews/john-stucke.htm) (German)Topography of the concentration camp Niederhagen (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_2/index.html) (German)Area of the former concentration camp Niederhagen (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_4/bild_10.html) (German)Wewelsburg and concentration camp forced labour (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_1/) (German)The "Small Camp" (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_1/kleines_lager.html) witha photo of about 1941 and the Wewelsburg in the background (German)Virtual tour through the village of Wewelsburg (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_4/index.html#ortsplan) (German)Kreismuseum Wewelsburg (http://www.wewelsburg.de/) – the official Website (German)Website of the Village Wewelsburg (http://www.wewelsburg.org) (German)Historical photos of the Wewelsburg (http://www.ns-gedenkstaetten.de/nrw/de/wewelsburg/thema_3/ss_architektur.html) (German)Film clip about architectural plannings (http://www.dergral.de/Filme/german/wewelsburg.wmv) [2 MB](German)Documentation "Wewelsburg 1933–1945. Cult- and terror place of the SS" 4.83 MB (http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/txt/normal/txt234.pdf) (German)Hosteling International Page for Wewelsburg Hostel (http://www.hihostels.com/dba/hostels-Wewelsburg-022586.en.htm)

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