Founded by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré on July 1, 1935, as Studiengesellschaft für Geistesurgeschichte‚ Deutsches Ahnenerbe´ e. Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. Herman Wirth (alternatively referred to as Herman Wirth Roeper Bosch or Herman Felix Wirthor Herman n) ( 6 May 1885 Utrecht - 16 February Richard Walther Darré (born Ricardo Walther Oscar Darré, 14 July 1895 - 5 September 1953 was an SS - Obergruppenführer and one of the leading "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. V. ("Study society for primordial intellectual science "German Ancestral Heritage" (registered society)"), in 1937 renamed in Forschungs- und Lehrgemeinschaft das Ahnenerbe e. V. ("Research and Teaching Community the Ancestral Heritage (registered society)") was a Nazi-era government study group that billed itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History". Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German A think tank (also called a policy institute) is an organization institute corporation or group that conducts Research and engages in advocacy in areas such
It was developed to research the anthropological and cultural history of the Aryan race, and later lent itself to experimentation and voyages intent on proving that prehistoric and mythological Nordic populations had once ruled the world. The " Aryan race " is a concept in European culture that was influential in the period of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries The Nordic race was one of the racial categories into which the Europeans were divided by anthropologists in the first half of the twentieth century
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History and Development
In January 1929, Heinrich Himmler was appointed the leader of the fledgling Schutzstaffel (SS). Heinrich Luitpold Himmler ( 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945 was a Nazi German politician and head of the Schutzstaffel (SS. The ( German for "Protective Squadron" abbreviated SS - or ( Runic)- was a major Nazi organization under Adolf Hitler and the He launched a massive recruitment campaign that took the SS from less 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. The Nordic race was one of the racial categories into which the Europeans were divided by anthropologists in the first half of the twentieth century This was to be accomplished by a new bureaucracy in the SS, the Race and Settlement Office of the SS known as RuSHA. The Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt-SS ( SS Race and Settlement Office) abbreviated RuSHA, was a Nazi organization responsible for "safeguarding He named Richard Walther Darré to lead the organisation, which determined if applicants were racially fit to be in the SS. Richard Walther Darré (born Ricardo Walther Oscar Darré, 14 July 1895 - 5 September 1953 was an SS - Obergruppenführer and one of the leading
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. SS-Leitheft ("SS-lead-booklet" was a Nazi periodical from 1934 to 1945.
On July 1, 1935 at Berlin’s SS headquarters, Himmler met with five racial experts representing Darré and with Dr. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Herman Wirth, one of Germany’s most famous pre-historians. Herman Wirth (alternatively referred to as Herman Wirth Roeper Bosch or Herman Felix Wirthor Herman n) ( 6 May 1885 Utrecht - 16 February Together they came up with an organization called “Deutsches Ahnenerbe--Studiengesellschaft für Geistesurgeschichte” (German Ancestral Heritage--Society 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.
Wirth left the project at the beginning of 1937. On February 1 of that year, Dr. Walther Wüst was appointed the new president of the Ahnenerbe. Wüst 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. The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München also known as LMU, is a University in Munich and with more These are terms concepts and ideas that are useful to understanding the political situation in the Weimar Republic. Referred to as “The Orientalist” by Sievers, Wüst had been recruited by him in May 1936 because of his ability to simplify science for the common man. [1]
After being appointed president, Wüst began improving the Ahnenerbe: moving the office to a new headquarters that had cost 300,000 Reichsmark, in the Dahlem neighborhood of Berlin. For a detailed discussion of the English translation of Reich, see Reich. Localities The Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough consists of seven localities Steglitz Lichterfelde Lankwitz 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. Karl Maria Wiligut (alias Weisthor, Jarl Widar, Lobesam and Karl Maria Weisthor) ( December 10, 1866 - January 3 [1]
The organization was incorporated into the larger SS in January 1939.
Expeditions
Bohuslän
After a slide show on February 19, 1936 of his trip to Bohuslän, a region in southwestern Sweden, Wirth convinced Himmler to launch an expedition to the region, the first official expedition financed by the Ahnenerbe. is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative Provinces of Sweden ( landskap in Swedish situated on the west coast of the country Bohuslän was known for its massive quantity of petroglyph rock carvings, which Wirth believed were part of an ancient writing system, predating all other known systems. Petroglyphs are Images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising pecking carving and abrading Himmler appointed Wolfram Sievers to be the managing director of the expedition, likely because of Wirth’s earlier troubles balancing finances. [1]
On August 4, 1936 the expedition set off on a three month trip starting with the German island of Rügen then continuing to Backa, Sweden, the first recorded rock-art site in Sweden. Rügen (ˈʁyːgən or Rugia is Germany 's largest Island. It is located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 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 year and a man standing with raised arms representing what Wirth called “the Son of God. An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek idea "idea" + grafo "to write" is a Graphic symbol that represents an Idea ”[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 Rødøya.
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. Franz Altheim ( October 6 1898 &ndash October 17 1976) was a German Historian, best known for his trip with Erika The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. 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 Göring, an old friend of Trautmann who led the Reich’s Four-Year Plan. Hermann Wilhelm Göring (also spelled Goering) (12 January 1893 15 October 1946 was a German Politician, Military leader and a leading member For a high school academic guidance plan see 4-year plan. The Four Year Plan was a series of Economic reforms created by the Nazi [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. The Dacians ( Lat Daci, Gr Dákai) were a Thracian people the ancient inhabitants of Dacia (located in the area Bucharest ( Romanian: Bucureşti) is the Capital city, industrial and commercial centre of Romania. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania 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. The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given in English to a Far-right ultra- nationalist Antisemitic, fascist movement and political party
After traveling through Istanbul and Athens, the researchers went to Damascus. Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Damascus ( دمشق,, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. Here they were not welcomed by the French (who ruled over Syria as a colony at the time), but they were by the Syrian people, who saw Hitler as an ally to help combat the Jews who were flooding into their country, many fleeing persecution in Germany. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية
The newly-sovereign Iraq was being courted for an alliance with Germany[1], and 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. This article includes an overview from prehistory to the present in the region of the current state of Iraq in Mesopotamia. Parthia ( Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq
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. Assur also spelled Ashur, from Assyrian Aššur, was one of the capitals of ancient Assyria. The tribe of Shammar ( Arabic: ar شمّر Šammar) is one of the largest Tribes of Arabia, with over 1 million strong in Saudi Arabia concentrated The Bedouin, (from the Arabic (ar بدوي pl badū) are a desert-dwelling Arab Nomadic pastoralist, or previously 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. King Saud King Faisal Mohammed King Khaled Nasr Saad [1] With his support, the team traveled to their final major stop--the ruins of Hatra on the border of the Roman and Persian empires. Hatra (الحضر) is an ancient ruined city in the Ninawa Governorate and al-Jazira region of Iraq.
Karelia
In 1935, Himmler contacted author Yrjö von Grönhagen, after seeing one of his articles about the Kalevala folklore, published in a Frankfurt newspaper. The Kalevala is a book and epic poem which the Finn Elias Lönnrot compiled from Finnish and Karelian Folklore in the nineteenth Grönhagen agreed to lead a voyage through the Karelia region of Finland, to record pagan sorcerers and witches. Karelia ( Karelian and Finnish Karjala, Карелия ( Kareliya) Karelen the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. A magician is a person skilled in the mysterious and hidden art of magic, the ability to attain objectives acquire knowledge or perform works of wonder using Supernatural Witchcraft, in various historical anthropological religious and mythological contexts is the use of certain kinds of Supernatural or magical powers 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 magnetophone hoping to record the pagan chants. This article is about the music group For the tape recorder see Magnetophon Magnétophone are an electronic / Fritz Bose is unrelated to Amar Bose (1929- ), a Bengali-American who founded the Bose Corporation in 1964. Amar Gopal Bose ( Bengali: অমর গোপাল বসু Amar Gopal Boshu) (born November 2, 1929) is the chairman and founder of Bose
The team departed for their expedition in June 1936. The team’s first success was with a traditional singer, Timo Lipitsä, who knew a song closely resembling one in the Kalevala although he was unaware of the book. Later, in Tolvajärvi, the team photographed and recorded Hannes Vornanen playing a traditional Finnish kantele. Kantele (other names kannel, sormikantele) is a Finnish traditional Plucked string instrument.
One of the trip’s 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. The Finnish sauna is a substantial part of Finnish culture. There are five million inhabitants and over two million saunas in Finland - an average of one per
Germany
Murg Valley
In 1936, Wiligut and Gunther Kirchhoff undertook a study of the Murg Valley in the Black 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. For the town in Baden-Württemberg see Murg Germany. The Murg is a right tributary of the Rhine, located in Baden-Württemberg, For the suburb of Adelaide, please see Black Forest South Australia; for the CDP in Colorado, please see Black Forest Colorado. [2] In 1937 and 1938, Gustav Riek led an excavation of the Grosse Heuneberg, where an ancient fortress had been discovered much earlier. in Stuttgart in 1900 Gustav Riek was an archaeologist from the University of Tübingen who worked with the SS Ahnenerbe in their excavactions They also studied the nearby Tumulus burial mounds, which continue to be excavated today. [3]
Mauern
Quite likely the Ahnenerbe’s greatest discovery in Germany was in the southern Jura mountains of Bavaria. The Jura Mountains are a small Mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of 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. Cro-Magnon ( French) is one of the main types of Homo sapiens of the European Upper Paleolithic, living approximately 40000 to 10000 years
In fall 1937, Dr. Assien Bohmers, a Frisian nationalist who applied to the SS Excavations Department earlier that year, took over the excavation. Frisia ( West Frisian: Fryslân; North Frisian: Fraschlönj, Freesklöön, Freeskluin, Fresklun, and His team proceeded to find artifacts such as burins, ivory pendants, and a woolly mammoth skeleton. Burin from the French burin meaning "cold Chisel " has two specialised meanings for types of tools in English one meaning a Steel The woolly mammoth ( Mammuthus primigenius) also called the tundra mammoth, is an extinct species of Mammoth. 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. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. [1]
France
At the Parisian Institute for Human Paleontology, Bohmers met with Abbé Henri Breuil, an expert on cave art. Henri Édouard Prosper Breuil ( February 28, 1877, Mortain, Manche, Normandy – August 14, 1961, L'Isle-Adam Cave paintings are Paintings on Cave walls and ceilings and the term is used especially for those dating to Prehistoric times Breuil arranged for Bohmers to visit Les Trois-Frères, 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. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Then Bohmers moved on to Les Trois-Frères, “where Himmler and where so many other Nazis had long dreamed of standing--in the shrine of the ancient dead, in the dark embrace of the ancestors. ”[1]
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. The Bayeux Tapestry (Tapisserie de Bayeux is a 50 cm by 70 m (20 in by 230 ft long embroidered cloth which explains the events leading up to the 1066 Norman invasion of The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group In June of 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. Juaye-Mondaye is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northern France. In August of 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. The Allies of World War II were the countries officially opposed to the Axis powers during the Second World War. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France Contrary to Himmler’s orders, however, they chose not to attempt to enter the Louvre, most likely because of the strong presence of the French Resistance in the historic area. The French Resistance is the collective name used for the French Resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German
Tibet
In 1937 Himmler decided he could increase the Ahnenerbe’s visibility by investigating Hans F. K. Günther’s 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. Hans Friedrich Karl Günther ( February 16 1891 in Freiburg – September 25 1968 also in Freiburg China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Siddhārtha Gautama ( Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual Teacher from Ancient India and the founder Walther Wüst 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.
Members
Ernst Schäfer was a member of the SS when he showed up at the German consulate in Chung-King in 1935. Ernst Schäfer (1910-1992 was a famous German hunter and zoologist in the 1930s specializing in Ornithology. Bruno Beger (27 April 1911- 2004 was a German Racial anthropologist who worked for the Ahnenerbe. Ernst Schäfer (1910-1992 was a famous German hunter and zoologist in the 1930s specializing in Ornithology. Chongqing ( Postal map spelling: Chungking; Wade-Giles: Ch'ung-ch'ing) is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China Schäfer had just returned from a trip through parts of Asia, mainly India and China, in which the other two heads of the expedition had abandoned him in fear of native tribes. [1] Schäfer turned the expedition from a complete failure into a great success, and the SS took note, sending him a letter informing him of a promotion to SS-Untersturmführer and summoning him back to Germany from Philadelphia where he was organizing the collection from his voyage. Untersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the German Schutzstaffel first created in July 1934. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə In June 1936, Schäfer met with Himmler, who consequently informed Sievers and Galke to start organizing an expedition to Tibet.
Schäfer recruited young, fit men who would be well suited for an arduous journey. [1] At age 24, Karl Wienert (an assistant of Wilhelm Filchner, a famous explorer) was the team’s geologist. Wilhelm Filchner ( September 13, 1877 - May 7, 1957) was a German explorer Also age 24, Edmund Geer was selected as the technical leader to organize the expedition. A relatively old teammate at the age of 38 was Ernst Krause (not to be confused with the German biologist of the same name) was to double as a filmmaker and entomologist. Bruno Beger was a 26 year old Rassekunde expert and student of Günther who was to be the team’s anthropologist. Bruno Beger (27 April 1911- 2004 was a German Racial anthropologist who worked for the Ahnenerbe.
Expedition details
The first problem to come up for the Tibetan expedition occurred during a duck hunting accident on November 9, 1937 when Schäfer, his wife of four months, and two servants were in a rowboat. A sudden wave caused Schäfer to drop his gun which broke in two and discharged, mortally wounding his wife. Despite subsequent emotional problems, Schäfer was back to work on the expedition in eight weeks. [1]
In July 1937 the team suffered another setback when Japan invaded China, ruining Schäfer’s plans to use the Yangtze River to reach Tibet. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Schäfer flew to London to seek permission to travel through India, but was turned down by the British government who feared an imminent war with Germany.
In a move that lost the Ahnenerbe’s support, Schäfer asked Himmler for permission to just show up in India and try to barge his way into Tibet. Himmler willingly accepted, even helping Schäfer by contacting influential people, including Germany’s foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946 was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945 On April 21, 1938 the team departed from Genoa, Italy on their way to Ceylon where they would then travel to Calcutta, India. Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country
The day before the team left Europe the Völkischer Beobachter ran an article on the expedition, alerting British officials of their intentions. The Völkischer Beobachter (" Völkisch Observer" or less strictly "People's Observer" was the newspaper of the National Schäfer and Himmler were both enraged: Schäfer complained to the SS headquarters and Himmler in turn wrote to Admiral Barry Domvile. Admiral Sir Barry Edward Domvile KBE CB CMG (1878-1971 was a distinguished Royal Navy officer who turned into a leading British Fascist Domvile was a Nazi supporter and former head of British naval intelligence who gave the letter to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain who allowed the SS team permission to enter Sikkim, a region bordering Tibet. Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869 &ndash 9 November 1940 was a British Conservative Politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sikkim ( Nepali:, also Sikhim) is a Landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas It is the least populous state in India [1]
In Sikkim’s capital of Gangtok, the team assembled a 50-mule caravan and searched for porters and Tibetan interpreters. Gangtok ( Nepali and Hindi: गंगटोक is the capital and largest town of the Indian state of Sikkim. A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who carries objects Language interpreting or interpretation is the intellectual activity of facilitating oral and sign-language communication either simultaneously or consecutively between two Here, the British official, Sir Basil Gould observed them, describing Schäfer as “interesting, forceful, volatile, scholarly, vain to the point of childishness, disregardful of social convention,” and noted that he was determined to enter Tibet regardless of permission. Sir Basil John Gould (1883 -1956 was a British Political Officer in Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet from 1935 to 1945 [1]
The team began their journey June 21, 1938, traveling through the Teesta River valley and then heading north. The River Teesta (टिस्ता खोला Tista Khola তিস্তা নদী Tista Nodi) said to be the lifeline of the Indian state Krause worked light traps to capture insects, Wienert toured the hills making measurements, Geer collected bird species and Beger offered locals medical help in exchange for allowing him to take measurements of them.
In August 1938, a high official of the Rajah Tering, a member of the Sikkimese royal family living in Tibet, entered the team’s camp. Although Beger wished to ask the guest’s permission to measure him, he was dissuaded by the Tibetan porters who encouraged to wait for Schäfer to return from a hunting trip. Schäfer met with the official, and presented him with mule-loads of gifts. [1]
In December 1938 the Tibetan council of ministers invited Schäfer and his team to Tibet, although forbid them from killing any animals during their stay, citing religious concerns. [4] After a supply trip back to Gangtok, where Schäfer learned he had been promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer, and the rest of the team had been promoted to SS-Obersturmführer. Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945 Obersturmführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi party that was used by the Schutzstaffel and also as a rank of the SA. [1]
During the trip to Tibet’s highlands, Beger began making facial casts of local people, including his personal servant, a Nepalese Sherpa named Passang. Nepal (नेपाल) is a Landlocked country in South Asia. For other uses of the word Sherpa see Sherpa (disambiguation. During the first casting, paste got into one of Passang’s nostrils and he panicked, tearing at the mask. Schäfer threatened the employment of the porters who had seen the incident, if they told anyone. However, most of the Tibetians had a much more friendly and light-hearted attitude, and a solid amount of photographic and film footage remains of smiling and laughing Tibetians undergoing facial and skull feature measurements.
On January 19, 1939, the team reached Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Lhasa, ( in English l̥ʰásə or in Tibetan; Chinese: 拉萨 Pinyin: Lāsà sometimes spelled Lasa, is the administrative capital of the Schäfer proceeded to pay his respects to the Tibetan ministers and a nobleman. He also gave out Nazi pennants, explaining the shared symbol’s reverence in Germany. [1] His permission to remain in Lhasa was extended, and he was permitted to photograph and film the region. The team spent two months in Lhasa, collecting information on agriculture, culture, and religion, even receiving a copy of the 108-volume encyclopedia of Lamaism (only three copies of which had been given to Europeans and had never been translated). Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including [1]
After leaving Lhasa, the team traveled to the Yarlung Valley--a region British officials had been denied entry into. Annapurna ( Sanskrit, Nepali, Nepal Bhasa: अन्नपूर्णा is a series of peaks in the Himalaya, a -long Massif The team observed the valley and the ancient stronghold of Yumbulagang, but the approaching war threatened their research, and they began preparing plans to return via a flight from Calcutta to Baghdad, and eventually back to Germany. Yumbulagang or Yumbu Lhakhang is an ancient fort in the district of Nêdong in the vicinity of Zêtang in the county Shannan, in the Tibet Their final inventory included nearly 2,000 photographs, 17 head casts and the measurements of 376 people, as well as having sent back specimens of three breeds of Tibetan dogs, rare feline species, wolves, badgers, foxes, animal and bird skins, and the seeds for 1,600 types of barley, 700 varieties of wheat, 700 varieties of oats and hundreds of other types of seeds. In addition, the team had been given a Tibetan mastiff, a gold coin and the robe of a lama (believed by Schäfer to have been worn by the Dalai Lama) to be gifted to Adolf Hitler. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people according to Tibetan Buddhism. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately [1]
Schäfer arrived in Munich on August 4, 1939, and was greeted personally by Himmler, who presented him a Totenkopfring. The SS-Ehrenring ("SS Honour Ring" unofficially called Totenkopfring (English "Death's head ring" Because of the war, Schäfer’s writings about the trip were not published until 1950, under the title Festival of the White Gauze Scarves: A research expedition through Tibet to Lhasa, the holy city of the god realm.
Poland
After the invasion of Poland, Sievers wrote to Himmler about the need to appropriate exhibits from numerous museums. The Invasion of Poland (1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small German-allied [5]
The Reich Main Security Administration’s Standartenführer Franz Six oversaw SS-Untersturmführer Peter Paulsen, who was commanding a small team’s foray into Kraków, with the intent of obtaining the 15th century Veit Stoss altar. The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Head Office was a subordinate organization of the SS. Dr Franz Alfred Six ( August 12 1909 in Mannheim - July 9 1975 in Bolzano) was a Nazi official who was Kraków, in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow (ˈkrækaʊ M-W: krăk'ou krāk'ō is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland The altarpiece of Veit Stoss (Ołtarz Wita Stwosza Krakauer Hochaltar also St
Because the Poles had foreseen the German interest in the altar, they had disassembled it into 32 pieces which were shipped to different locations--however Paulsen was able to locate 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. For a detailed discussion of the English translation of Reich, see Reich. [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 Kraków in order to seize additional museum collections. Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( 7 March 1904 &ndash 4 June 1942) was an SS - Obergruppenführer, chief [1] But Göring had already sent a team of his own men, commanded by SS-Sturmbannführer Kajetan Mühlmann, to loot the museums. Mühlmann agreed to let Paulsen take the scientific items back to the Ahnenerbe, while keeping the artwork for Göring.
During the looting however, Hans Frank--leader of the German-controlled Polish General Government--issued a November 22, 1939 order prohibiting the “unapproved export” of Polish items. Hans Michael Frank ( May 23 1900 &ndash October 16 1946) was a German Lawyer who worked for the Nazi party The General Government (Generalgouvernement refers to a part of the territories of Poland (and Ostrava Czechoslovakia under German Military occupation Paulsen obeyed the order, but his colleague Hans Schleif arranged for five freightcars of loot from the Warsaw Archaeological Museum to be shipped to Poznań,which was outside Frank’s control. Poznań Lublin Voivodeship This article is about the city in Poland In return, Schleif was appointed as a trustee for Wartheland. Reichsgau Wartheland (initially Reichsgau Posen, sometimes briefly called Warthegau) was the name given by Nazi German government to the largest subdivision Paulsen later tried to take credit for the freightcars contents in his report to RSHA, but was reassigned. [1][6]
Crimea
After the German army conquered the Crimea in early July 1942, Himmler sent Dr. Crimea (kraɪˈmiːə or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Крим Автономна Республіка Крим Avtonomna Respublika Krym; Крым 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. Kerch (Керч Керчь Keriç Old East Slavic: Кърчевъ Ancient Greek: Pantikapaion) is a city (2001 pop 157000 on the Kerch Peninsula
Jankuhn met with senior officers of Einsatzkommando 11, part of Einsatzgruppe D while waiting at the field headquarters of the 5th SS Panzer Division. Einsatzgruppen ( German: "task forces" "intervention groups" were Paramilitary groups formed by Heinrich Himmler and SS Division (motorised Wiking was a German Waffen SS division recruited from foreign volunteers Commander Otto Ohlendorf gave Jankuhn information about the Crimean museums. Otto Ohlendorf ( February 4, 1907 &ndash June 7, 1951) was a German SS - Gruppenführer and head of the interior division [7]
Traveling with the 5th SS Panzer, Jankuhn’s team eventually reached Maikop, where they received a message from Sievers that Himmler wanted an investigation of Manhup-Kale, an ancient mountain fortress. Maykop (Майко́п Мыекъуапэ/ Myequape) is a city in Russia, capital of the Republic of Adygea, located on the right bank of Jankuhn sent Kersten to follow up on Manhup-Kale, while the rest of the team continued trying to secure artifacts that hadn’t already been taken by the Red Army. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya Einsatzkommando 11b’s 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 remained--but they contained Greek and stone-age artifacts, rather than Gothic. [1]
Ukraine
In June 1943, 27-year-old Untersturmführer Heinz Brücher, who held a PhD from Tübingen in botany, was tasked with an expedition to the Ukraine and Crimea. Heinz Brücher ( January 14, 1915 - December 17, 1991) was a member of special science unit SS Ahnenerbe, PhD "PhD" redirects here for other uses see PhD (disambiguation. Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen ( German: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, sometimes called the "Eberhardina Carolina" is a public university Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life Hauptsturmführer Konrad von Rauch and an interpreter identified as “Steinbrecher” were also involved in the expedition. Hauptsturmführer was a Nazi rank of the SS which was used between the years of 1934 and 1945
In February of 1945, Brücher was ordered to destroy the 18 research facilities that were being studied, to avoid their capture by advancing Soviet forces. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. He refused, and after the war continued his work as a botanist in Argentina and Trinidad. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Trinidad ( Spanish: " Trinity " is the largest and most populous of the two major islands and [8]
Italy
In 1937 the Ahnenerbe sent to Val Camonica the archaeologist Franz Altheim and his wife photographer Erika Trautnann to study prehistoric rock inscriptions. Valcamonica Lombard valleys of the biggest and as famous as for its battails facts in ancient stories to noble families and very honorable and men who were distinguished for letters for weapons Franz Altheim ( October 6 1898 &ndash October 17 1976) was a German Historian, best known for his trip with Erika The two returned to Germany claiming they found traces of Nordic runes on the rocks confirming that ancient Rome was originally of Nordic descent.
Cancelled expeditions
Bolivia
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. For a detailed discussion of the English translation of Reich, see Reich. Edmund Kiss (1886 - 1960 was a German Archaeologist and writer best known for his writings on Tiwanaku in Bolivia. The Andes form the world's longest exposed Mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. He claimed their similarity to ancient European construction indicated they were designed by Nordic migrants, millions of years earlier. [9]
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. Welteislehre ( World Ice Theory) also known as Glazial-Kosmogonie ( Glacial Cosmogony) is a notion first "discovered" by the Austrian Arthur Posnansky had been studying a local site called Tiwanaku, which he also believed supported the theory. Arthur Posnansky (1873 - 1946 often called "Arturo" was a Polish engineer explorer and Archaeologist. Tiwanaku (Spanish spellings Tiahuanaco and Tiahuanacu) is an important Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia.
After contacting Posnansky, Kiss approached Wüst 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 Lake Titicaca, take aerial photographs of ancient Incan roads they believed had Nordic roots. Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Bolivia and Peru. By late August 1939, the expedition was nearly set to embark, however the September first invasion of Poland saw the trip postponed indefinitely. Fall Weiss ("Case White" German spelling Fall Weiß) was a German strategic plan for a war with Poland prepared before 1939 and Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland
Behistun
In 1938, Ahnenerbe president Walther Wüst proposed a trip to Iran to study the Behistun Inscription, which had been created by order of the Achaemenid Shah Darius I--who Wüst believed to have been of Nordic origin. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The Behistun Inscription (also Bisitun or Bisutun, Modern Persian: بیستون; Old Persian: Bagastana, meaning "the god's The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of Shah is an Iranian term for a Monarch (leader that has been adopted in many other languages Darius I the Great (c 549 BC&ndash486 BC 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavahuš: "Possessing goodness" Having ascended to power amidst controversy and bloodshed The Nordic race was one of the racial categories into which the Europeans were divided by anthropologists in the first half of the twentieth century [1] The inscriptions were recorded atop steep cliffs using scaffolding that was removed after the inscriptions were made. Scaffolding is a temporary framework used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures Unable to afford the cost of erecting new scaffolds, Wüst proposed that he, his wife, an amanuensis, an Iranian student, a photographer, and an experienced mountaineer be sent with a balloon-mounted camera. Amanuensis əˌmænjuˈɛnsɪs is a Latin word adopted in various languages including English for certain persons performing a function by hand either writing down the words of another “Alpinist” redirects here See also Alpinist (magazine Mountaineering is the Sport, Hobby or Profession of 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 tresses--facts which Wirth believed indicated that the islands had once been inhabited by Nordics. The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish The Nordic race was one of the racial categories into which the Europeans were divided by anthropologists in the first half of the twentieth century His colleague Dr. Otto Huth proposed a Fall 1939 expedition to study the ancient Islanders’ racial origins, artifacts and religious rites, their racial origins and artifacts. Otto Huth was a German ethnologist archeologist and an expert on folklore At the time, the Canary Islands were under the control of Franco’s Spain. Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco y Bahamonde (born December 4, 1892 in Ferrol, died November 20, 1975 in Madrid 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. Bruno Schweizer ( May 3 1897 &ndash 1958 was a German linguist best-known for his work with the Nazi Ahnenerbe division Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( [1]
The first setback for the expedition was the ridicule of the Scandinavian press, publishing stories in February of 1939 claiming 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 Himmler’s personal staff was unable to get enough Icelandic crowns--Iceland’s currency. The króna (plural krónur) ( sign: kr; code: ISK) is the Currency of Iceland. 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.
When Britain occupied neutral Iceland it not only broke international law, but it also interned Dr. Bruno Kress, a German researcher who was in the country at the time. Kress was sent to Ramsey Camp, but was still allowed to correspond with Sievers through letters. [1] After the war in 1955 his studies were published in East Germany.
Other Ahnenerbe activities
Master Plan East
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, northern Poland and the Crimea would be the focal points of these colonies intended to spread the Aryan race. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Crimea (kraɪˈmiːə or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Крим Автономна Республіка Крим Avtonomna Respublika Krym; Крым The Crimean colony was called Gotengau, or “Goth district” in honor of the Goths who had settled there and were believed to be Aryan ancestors of Germans. The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s [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. The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of Trees and Shrubs in the Genus Quercus (from Latin For the babyfood see Beech-Nut. Beech ( Fagus) is a genus of ten Species of Deciduous Trees in the To achieve the latter end, Himmler ordered a new institution set up by the Ahnenerbe and headed by Schäfer. A station was then set up near the Austrian town of Graz where Schäfer set to work with seven other scientists to develop new crops for the Reich. Graz (etymologically from Slovene: Gradec IPA /gradeʦ/ "little castle" with a population of around 290000 as of 2008 (of which 252852 have principal
The final piece of the puzzle fell in place after Hitler read work by Alfred Frauenfeld which suggested resettling inhabitants of Bolzano-Bozen, believed by some to be descendants of the Goths, to the Crimea. The Province of Bolzano-Bozen (Provincia autonoma di Bolzano Autonome Provinz Bozen Ladin: Provinzia In 1939 the people of Bolzano-Bozen were allowed by Hitler and Benito Mussolini to vote on whether they remain in Italy and accept assimilation or alternatively emigrate to Germany or its new territories. Most chose the latter. Himmler presented Master Plan East to Hitler and received approval in July, 1942. War would have priority over it, but a small colony was to be founded around Himmler’s field headquarters at Hegewald, near Kiev. Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the
Starting on October 10, 1942, Himmler’s troops deported 10,623 Ukrainians from the area in cattle cars before bringing in trains of ethnic Germans 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. Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca 56 &ndash ca 117 was a senator and a Historian of the Roman Empire. The Germania ( Latin title De Origine et situ Germanorum, English for the Origin and Situation of the Germans) written by Gaius 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. Ancona (Ankon is a city and a seaport in the Marche, a region of central Italy, population 101909 (2005 [10]
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. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat The large port city of Hamburg, Germany, was very heavily bombed many times by the Royal Air Force (RAF and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF during The extensive library was moved to a castle in Ulm while the staff was moved to the tiny village of Waischenfeld near Bayreuth, Bavaria. Ulm (ˈʊlm is a City in the German Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. Bayreuth ( pronounced) is a City in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Frankish Alb 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]
Institutions
The Ahnenerbe had several different institutions for it's departments of research. Most of these were archeological but others included the Welteislehre Institute headed by Hans Robert Scultetus and the Lur Institute headed by Himmler. Welteislehre ( World Ice Theory) also known as Glazial-Kosmogonie ( Glacial Cosmogony) is a notion first "discovered" by the Austrian Hans Robert Scultetus - the head of the Nazi Ahnenerbe division studying theories of Hans Hörbiger 's Welteislehre, Hans Robert Scultetus The Lur Institute was name after the lur - a Bronze Age musical instrument and specialized in musicology. Himmler himself analyzed everything from folk music to Gregorian chants to determine the essence of German music.
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. For a detailed discussion of the English translation of Reich, see Reich. Deutsche Bank AG (literally "German Bank" ˈdɔɪtʃə,) is an international Universal bank with a broad private clients franchise headquartered in ( BMW) (Bavarian Motor Works is an independent German automobile manufacturer founded in 1916 Daimler-Benz AG was a German manufacturer of automobiles motor vehicles and engines which was founded in 1926 [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 pedals--of which the Ahnenerbe received a share of the profits, 77,740 Reichsmark in 1938. [1]
Medical experiments
Dachau
Dr. Sigmund Rascher, one of the Ahnenerbe’s senior researchers, was tasked with helping the Luftwaffe determine what was safe for their pilots--because aircraft were being built to fly higher than ever before, Rascher received permission from Himmler to requisition camp prisoners to place in vacuum chambers to simulate the high altitude conditions that pilots might face. Sigmund Rascher (born February 12, 1909 in Munich, executed April 26, 1945 in the Dachau concentration camp) was a ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. [1]
Rascher was also tasked with discovering how long German airmen would be able to survive if shot down above freezing water--so he placed subjects in watertanks and measured their pulse and internal temperature through a series of electrodes. He also experimented with ways of reviving those exposed to the freezing water, including traditional methods such as hot baths and heated sleeping bags, to less conventional methods such as placing the subject in bed with women who would try to sexually stimulate him. [11]
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. The beet or beetroot is a Flowering plant species ( Beta vulgaris) in the family Chenopodiaceae. Pectin (from Greek πηκτικός - pektikos, "congealed curdled" a white to light brown powder is a Heteropolysaccharide Coagulation is a complex process by which Blood forms Clots It is an important part of Hemostasis (the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel whereby The field of wound ballistics largely comprises the study of the physiology and medical effects of Projectile Weapons (chiefly but not exclusively Bullets Subjects were given a Polygal tablet, and shot--then their wounds were watched for clotting. [1]
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 20th, to speak with Ploetner and the non-Ahnenerbe Wilhelm Beiglboeck, who ultimately carried out the experiments. Prof Dr Wilhelm Beiglböck (born October 10, 1905, Hochneukirchen, Lower Austria, Austria &ndash November 22 1963
Skulls
Walter Greite rose to leadership of the Ahnenerbe’s Applied Nature Studies division in January 1939, and began taking detailed measurements of 2,000 Jews at the Vienna emigration office--but 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. [12] During the later Nuremberg Trials, Dr. The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after Friedrich Hielscher testified that Sievers had initially been repulsed at the idea of expanding the Ahnenerbe to human experimentation, and that he had “no desire whatsoever to participate in these. Friedrich Hielscher (1902-1990 was a poet/philosopher with connections to the German Nazi party in pre-WWII years during which period he edited the journal Der Vormarsch ” (v:II pg:37)
Beger collaborated with Dr. August Hirt, from the Reich University of Strassburg, in creating a Jewish bone collection for research. August Hirt ( April 28 1898 in Mannheim – June 2 1945 in Schönenbach / Schwarzwald) an SS- Hauptsturmführer The bodies of 79 Jewish men, 30 Jewish women, 2 Poles, and 4 Asians were ultimately collected and macerated. Maceration is a bone preparation technique whereby parts of a Vertebrate corpse are left to Rot inside a closed container at near-constant temperature to get
Institute for Military Scientific Research
Created in the late summer of 1942, the Institute for Military Scientific Research was an organization within the Ahnenerbe to oversee medical experiments being performed on concentration camp prisoners. [13] Sievers had founded the organization on the orders of Himmler, who had appointed him director with two divisions headed by Rascher and Hirt, funded by the Waffen-SS. The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron"
Post-World War Two
Trials
- 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. The Doctors' Trial (officially United States of America v Karl Brandt et al 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. Friedrich Hielscher (1902-1990 was a poet/philosopher with connections to the German Nazi party in pre-WWII years during which period he edited the journal Der Vormarsch [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. Landsberg Prison is a penal facility located in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about 30 miles (65 km A Tibetan chant was performed upon his corpse.
- Richard Walther Darré: An Ahnenerbe founder, Darré was tried in the Ministries Trial. Richard Walther Darré (born Ricardo Walther Oscar Darré, 14 July 1895 - 5 September 1953 was an SS - Obergruppenführer and one of the leading The Ministries Trial (or officially The United States of America vs 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 offender”--a classification which allowed him to only take a manual labor job. Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland Diabetes mellitus (ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz or /ˌdaɪəˈbiːtəs/ /məˈlaɪtəs/ or /ˈmɛlətəs/ often referred to simply as diabetes ( Ancient Greek: grc 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 Wüst: Although the president of the Ahnenerbe from 1937 until the end of the war, Wüst’s 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. The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München also known as LMU, is a University in Munich and with more [1]
- Bruno Beger: In February 1948, Beger was classified as “exonerated” by a denazification tribunal unaware of his role in the skeleton collection. Denazification (Entnazifizierung was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society culture press economy judiciary and politics of any In 1960, an investigation in Ludwigsburg began investigating the collection, and Beger was taken into custody on March 30, 1960. Ludwigsburg is a city in Germany, about 12 km (7 miles north of Stuttgart 's city center near the river Neckar. 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]
Report of mass grave
In 2002, Ukraine announced the discovery of a mass-grave containing dozens of Nazi soldiers in the southern region of the country. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Some had been trepanned, others had their spinal cords sawn lengthwise, or were missing their skulls. Trepanation (also known as trepanning, trephination, trephining or burr hole) is surgery in which a hole is Drilled or scraped into Pravda reported it to be the aftermath of an Ahnenerbe experiment, although no further information was given. Pravda (Правда "The Truth" was a leading Newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the [2] (And it should be pointed out that 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
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. Michael Wood refers to Michael Wood (academic, former chair of the Princeton University English Department Michael Wood (historian Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began Secret History was a long running British Television documentary series However, inaccurate depictions of the Ahnenerbe are common in fantasy fiction, and have become part of the background of conspiracy theories, largely because of confusion between themselves and the Thule Society, or even the Vril. A conspiracy theory attributes the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually Political, Social or Historical events or the concealment The Thule Society (Thule-Gesellschaft originally the Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum 'Study Group for Germanic Antiquity' was a German Occultist The Coming Race (original title also reprinted as Vril The Power of the Coming Race, is a novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, first published
- The Ahnenerbe organization was the basis for the Nazi archaeologist villains in Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones” films. Dr (also Col Henry Walton Jones Jr, better known as Indiana Jones or Indy after his pet dog is a fictional Adventurer, Soldier
- The Hellboy series of comics’ main antagonists are Project Ragna Rok, a fictionalized version of Ahnererbe who were focused on bringing demonic aid to change the course of World War II. Hellboy is a Fictional character, created by writer-artist Mike Mignola, that first appeared in Comic books published by Dark Horse Comics Project Ragna Rok is a fictional plan from Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics
- The Delta Green sourcebook for the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game claims the Ahnenerbe spawned another organization, “Karotechia,” which practiced ritual magic. Delta Green is a setting for the ''Call of Cthulhu'' Role-playing game created by Adam Scott Glancy, Dennis Detwiller, and John Call of Cthulhu is a Horror fiction Role-playing game based on H Magic, sometimes known as sorcery, is a Conceptual system that asserts human ability to control the natural world (including events objects people and
- The video game Return to Castle Wolfenstein portrays an organization (SS Paranormal Division) based on the Ahnenerbe practicing occult rituals and magic. Return to Castle Wolfenstein is a First person shooter Computer game published by Activision and originally released on November 19
- Charles Stross features fictional Ahnenerbe activities in his novel The Atrocity Archives. Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born Leeds, 18 October 1964 is a writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Atrocity Archives (2004 ISBN 1-930846-25-8 contains two stories by British author Charles Stross, consisting of the short novel The Atrocity Archive
- The Ahnenerbe, led by Sievers, and former Grand Master of the Thule Society, Rudolf von Sebottendorf, are portrayed as the driving force behind a secret holocaust of vampires in Nazi death camps in Juan Miguel de la Torre's novel Las Increíbles Aventuras de Rex Stark y el Holocausto Secreto. Rudolf Freiherr von Sebottendorff (or von Sebottendorf) was the alias of Adam Alfred Rudolf Glauer ( November 9, 1875 &ndash May 8
- 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.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Pringle, Heather, The Master Plan: Himmler’s Scholars and the Holocaust, Hyperion, 2006. This article describes speculative theories about Nazism Semi-religious developments within post-1945 Nazism are discussed under the term Neo-völkisch movements. The Reichsforschungsrat was created in Germany in 1937 under the Education Ministry for the purpose of centralized planning of all basic and applied research with the exception of aeronautical The Thule Society (Thule-Gesellschaft originally the Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum 'Study Group for Germanic Antiquity' was a German Occultist
- ^ Baker, Alan; Invisible Eagles (dissertation)
- ^ Kater, Michael; Das “Ahnenerbe” der SS 1935–1945. Ein Beitrag zur Kultur-politik des Dritten Reiches, Munich 1997
- ^ Christopher Hale. Himmler’s Crusade: The Nazi Expedition to Find the Origins of the Aryan Race, p200. Hoboken, N. J. : John Wiley & Sons, 2003. ISBN 0-471-26292-7
- ^ Sievers to Himmler, 4. 9. 1939, BA (ehem BDC) Ahnenerbe: Paulsen, Peter (8. 10. 1902).
- ^ Sievers, “Aktenvermerk,” 20. 05. 1940, BA (ehem. BDC) Ahnenerbe: Paulsen, Peter (08. 10. 1902)
- ^ Jankuhn to Sievers, 06. 09. 1942, BA (ehem. BDC) Ahnenerbe: Jankuhn, Herbert (08. 08. 1905)
- ^ Heim, Susanne. Autarkie und Ostexpansion. Pflanzenzucht und Agrarforschung im Nationalsozialismus. 2002. Göttingen
- ^ Kiss, Edmund. Göttingen ( ˈgœtɪŋən, Low German: Chöttingen is a College town in Lower Saxony, Germany. Das Sonnentor von Tihuanaku,p. 106-107.
- ^ Schama, Simon. Simon Michael Schama, CBE (born 13 February 1945 is a British professor of history and art history at Columbia University. Landscape and Memory 1995.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Sievers, “Tagebuch: 10. 12. 1941,” BA, NS 21/127.
- ^ Peter Witte et al. , eds. , Der Dienstkalender Heinrich Himmlers 1941/32, pp. 390-391.
External links
- "Das Ahnenerbe" at Deutsches Historisches Museum, Lebendiges Museum Online (LeMO) (in German)
- Das Ahnenerbe in Greece Article on the Ahnenerbe activities in Greece
- Article on the Ahnenerbe from Archaologist
- The Nazi Connection with Shambhala and Tibet Article on Nazi researchers went to Tibet for finding connection with Aryan roots and culture
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