Inside the Nazis’ Supernatural Obsession | A Conversation with Historian Eric Kurlander

HISTORY This Week

June 4, 1941. Reinhard Heydrich transmits a message to all regional governors in the Third Reich: prepare for “action against occult teachings.”

Heydrich is carrying out the orders of Adolf Hitler, who is furious at his Deputy Führer, Rudolf Hess. Inspired by a horoscope reading, Hess decided to fly a secret mission to Great Britain and sue for peace. But Hess crash-lands in Scotland—the plan doesn’t pan out—and his failure becomes an international embarrassment.

So in retaliation, Hitler cracks down on mysticism throughout Germany. Magicians, spiritualists, and faith healers are arrested, their homes get searched, and their books are confiscated.

And yet, the “Hess Action” only lasts a few weeks. Because Hitler and many of the top Nazi leaders are also obsessed with the occult, the supernatural, and the fringes of science.

How does Nazi Germany embrace the metaphyiscal, mysticism, and mythology? And how do they use these ideas to strengthen their fascist regime?

This episode features a conversation with Eric Kurlander, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of History at Stetson University and author of Hitler's Monsters: A Supernatural History of the Third Reich.

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