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Discomfort & Intolerance

The History & Legacy of Nazi Pseudoscience

By Jacob HerrPublished 4 years ago 8 min read
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To paraphrase a line from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, science is the study of fact; not truth. If it’s truth that one is interested in, there are numerous podcasts pertaining philosophy and theology on Spotify. However, what does a scientist do when the person who writes their checks is looking for only a certain kind of fact? Let’s say, for example, that there is a man named Joe. Joe is a learned archeologist during a time of renewed public interest in Joe’s particular field of research. New university chairs are being endowed, new museums are being opened, the older museums are receiving an increase of funding, archeological sites are becoming popular tourist attractions, multiple books and documentaries are being released to raise awareness about important local history. Yet, all that Joe has to do in order to partake in this paradise of higher learning, is to put his soul up for sale. This fictitious conundrum was exactly what the German academic community was faced with during the regime of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. It’s efforts created a Frankenstien-esc monstrosity of pseudoacademia and was used to justify their political agenda of ignorance, bigotry, racism, ethnic superiority, and genocide; only to have it’s methods continue on into the modern day (in a way which may be difficult to recognize at first glance).

Believe it or not, but Hitler was, arguably, the best thing to ever happen to pre-historic European archeology. However, such a contribution was not out of the goodness of his heart (or lack thereof). He was seeking, first and foremost, something to prove. He was seeking evidence that the German people and his "thousand year reich" were to rule the planet. All sorts of seemingly respectable and innocent people sought out to help him substantiate such a claim. From doctors, to lawyers, to historians, to religious leaders, to scientists. Yet, one figure in particular took this effort beyond what anyone else did, at the time. One of Hitler’s most infamous lapdogs; Heinrich Himmler (the founder and leader of the Waffen-SS, as well as the architect of the Holocaust). Himmler theorized that the best way to prove the superiority of the German people was by means of looking into the distant past. He personally believed that every founding idea of western culture was rooted in a racially pure, pre-historic, Germanic civilization, known as the Aryans. Furthermore, his beliefs also included the idea that the ancient culutres of Rome, Carthage, Greece, and Egypt were civilized by the southward immigration of these supposed Aryan people, and that they gave rise to such things as written language, the Pyramids, aqueducts, and homosexual romantic relations.

Being that these “theories” were generated by one of the highest ranking members of the Nazi Party, the Germans began taking large scale endeavors into archeological research to solidify Himmler’s loose ideas into solid fact. For the most part, the academics which partook in these projects (either willingly or forcibly) took their 30 pieces of silver and towed the line. Some of which were even die-hard Nazis themselves. Meanwhile, there were others who refused to tow the party line and were, eventually, replaced by more loyal participants. Although, for the most part, these German scholars were often too meek to speak out. They simply took their cut and taught what they were told to teach in the museums and universities. 
Over time would these Nazi biases begin to be confirmed. In 1935, Heinrich Himmler formed a secret society, called “Das Ahnenerbe”. A term which roughly translates to “The Forefathers’ Heritage”. Their logo, which depicted a medieval longsword encircled by ancient Norse writing was depicted on rings for which only society members were allowed to wear and were invited to attend clandestine meetings and occultist rituals inside the Wewelsburg Castle. Himmler sent his Ahnenrbe brethren to historic sites across the globe; to have them later return with rather “interesting” conclusions. These conclusions were often accompanied by mostly ancient germanic artifacts found in places like Poland, France, and Czechoslovakia; which were some of the very first sovereign states to be militarily conquered by the Wehrmacht following the outbreak of the Second World War.

However, by no means were these people incapable of smelling their own farts (metaphorically speaking). For many of these intellectuals who walked the walk and talked the talk were shameless liars, and they knew it. Even within the Nazi hierarchy, various participants believed these fanatical quests for ancient artifacts of mythical status were flat out ridiculous. Sure they appreciated the value of archeology as a propaganda tool, yet by no means did anyone believe Himmler was going to find Atlantis, or the Holy Grail. Though, Himmler himself, personally believed that he could. He was obsessed with trying to find as much evidence as he could about this supposed (and very imaginary) Aryan civilization as possible (to the degree that he kept a replica of the Holy Lance, the spearhead used to pierce the side of Christ at the Crucifixion, on his office desk as a paperweight); striving to learn about its religion, it’s culture, and apply it to modern day Europe; with the eventual goal of replacing Christianity with his own twisted perceptions of Germanic Paganism. An effort which even Adolf Hitler and fascist architect Albert Speer regarded as ludicrous.

By 1945, though, everything changed. Hitler killed himself in an underground bunker beneath the war-torn streets of Berlin. Following his suicide, many other Nazis would also meet their end; either by their own methods of suicide, death by the enemy in combat, or sentenced to die for their crimes against humanity at Nuremberg. Yet for every Nazi who faced justice, a hundred more simply merged back into the post-war population and carried on with their lives and careers. Including those archeologists, scientists, and academics, who directly benefited from Nazi funding and public interests; and for the rest of the 20th Century, many senior academics in Germany were those whose careers were made by Hitler’s regime. Sure not all of them took part in the atrocities of the Holocaust. Yet, they were certainly guilty of another misdeed. They knowingly fed the propaganda machine which drew millions upon millions of people towards the championing of genocide as the one and only solution to the world’s problems. Furthermore, like the Nazi scientists who later went on to secretly work for the United States (such as Werner Von Braun of NASA and Erich Traub of the Plum Island Research Facility) most of these scholars never had to face the consequences of their actions. Instead, they prospered and their porsperity forged a discomposed legacy

To further contextualize such a legacy one only needs only to look at the current state of human society with globalized bureaucracy, mass technological dependency, and instantaneous media to realize how little facts are regarded in the public mindset. Especially in such entities as The Flat Earth Society, The Church of Scientology, Fundamentalist Creationism, and the Ancient Astronaut Theory; which is overtly exploited on the History Channel show Ancient Aliens and the internet streaming service Gaia. By no means are people like Giorgio Tsoukalos, David Wilcock, and Erich von Däniken comparable to Heinrich Himmler. None of their ideas are nearly as dangerous as those of the Nazi Party or the Ahnenerbe. However, conspiracy theories about ancient civilizations have not been an uncommon occurrence throughout the course of the historical record. They largely came about amidst the scientific advancements of the 19th Century (a period for which the political abuse and propagandism of such advancements were being exploited through colonial “treasure hunting” evolving into modern day archeology; with an example being the discovery of the Rosetta Stone by Napoleon after militarily invading Egypt). European adventurers sought to explain monumental ancient structures and civilizations that were found in countries for which Europeans deemed “primitive”; reasoning that only white, heterosexual, men of certain European descents were robust, civilized, and intelligent enough to create these wonders; skewing the evidence to fit their theories. Even in the United States with the founding of Mormonism, does this kind of instance occur. Joseph Smith believed that the Native American mounds discovered outside his property, in upstate New York, couldn’t have possibly been build by the indigenous tribes of the region, and proclaimed that they were built by Hebrews who had immigrated to the North American Continent during biblical times.

Going back to the Nazis, their scientific efforts pertaining to eugenics and human experimentation were the culmination of centuries of theories based in scientific bigotry and colonialism. While these efforts largely died alongside Adolf Hitler, it has never been any easier to be persuaded and charmed by comforting fiction with absolutely no basis in evidence. It’s not too much of a stretch to go from ancient Aryans to ancient aliens; and, historically speaking, scholars are not immune to these auspicious hypotheses. The academic community has an obligation to be bound to what can be proven factual through observation, data collection, and conclusion though analysis of such data. Yet it is also academically healthy to be open-minded; considering the crackpot theories that reputable German scholars believed in almost 80 years ago. It’s certainly safe to say that another 100 to 1,000 years from now, people will be laughing at all of our current crackpot ideas. However, one must always beware those who have skin in the game. If someone has built their entire career advocating that ancient extraterrestrials made contact with the Egyptians and the Aztecs; helping them build the Pyramids of Giza and Tenochtitlan, then such a person may become unable or unwilling to consider the merits of contrary evidence.

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About the Creator

Jacob Herr

Born & raised in the American heartland, Jacob Herr graduated from Butler University with a dual degree in theatre & history. He is a rough, tumble, and humble artist, known to write about a little bit of everything.

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