Friedrich Hielscher
Encyclopedia
Friedrich Hielscher was a German intellectual involved in the Conservative Revolutionary movement
during the Weimar Republic
and in the German resistance
during the Nazi era
.
He was the founder of an esoteric
or Neopagan movement, the Unabhängige Freikirche (UFK, "Independent Free Church"), which he headed from 1933 until his death.
, Vogtland
, at the time part of the Kingdom of Saxony
. Baptized Fritz Johannes, he later changed his name to Hans Friedrich and finally to Friedrich.
Hielscher joined a Freikorps
in 1919. He left his unit in 1920 due to his refusal to participate in the 1920 Kapp-Putsch.
From 1920 he studied law in Berlin , where he joined the schlagende
Corps Normania Berlin and became politically active in the German People's Party
.
's nationalist journal Standarte-Arminius.
His dissertation in law was about the term Selbstherrlichkeit in German legal tradition, accepted in 1928.
Impressed by The Decline of the West
, he contacted Oswald Spengler
but was rejected.
Beginning in 1928, Hielscher gathered a circle of followers around his person. He took over the editorship of Der Vormarsch from Jünger in 1928, a post he abandoned in the summer of 1929 in order to launch a journal of his own, titled Das Reich, which appeared from 1930 until 1933.
Hielscher's concept of Reich was inspired by Stefan George
's belief in a "Secret Germany" (Geheimes Deutschland), a mystical and ethnic essentialist argument for a spiritual and cultural potential held by the German people and a German nation which existed in potentia but which had been prevented from realization in the history of the Holy Roman Empire
.
Hielscher published his vision of an ethnic German Reich in a monograph in 1931. Here he argues against a racial or biologist definition of the German nation, emphasizing the cultural and spiritual character of his vision in contrast to the Blut und Boden ideology in völkisch nationalism.
until 1924.
In 1933, he founded the Unabhängige Freikirche ("Independent Free Church", UFK), a non-Christian religious institution designed to put into practice his theological ideas. The UFK combined panentheism
with paganism
and nationalism
.
In Hielscher's theology, God
is external to the universe, or the universe contained within God. Within the universe are the "Twelve Divine Messengers" (zwölf göttliche Boten), six male and six female, identified with the pagan deities, specifically with the gods of Germanic paganism
. Hielscher elaborates the personality of three out of these twelve deities in particular, describing them as "divine couple", also "king and queen", named Wode
and Frigga
, and the "god of Easter" (Ostergott), named Fro
. The remaining nine Messengers are treated much more briefly, or not at all; they include Freya
, Loki
and Sigyn
.
The principles of his religious system are elaborated in twelve pamphlets (Leitbriefe) written in 1956/1957 and distributed to his adherents. This "pagan catechism" of Hielscher's were edited by Bahn (2009). The religious doctrine of Hielscher's UFK consists of a syncretism
of monotheistic Christianity, panentheism
as advocated by Goethe, and polytheistic reconstruction related to other currents of Germanic mysticism
at the time (such as the groups led by Jakob Wilhelm Hauer
and Ludwig Fahrenkrog
).
.
Under the Nazi regime
of 1933 to 1945, he advocated a clandestine approach to resistance, attempting to place his adherents in key positions where they could contribute to the ultimate downfall of the regime. Hielscher's UFK was not itself a cell of the German resistance, but several of its members were at the same time active in such. Via Franz Maria Liedig
and August Winnig, the UFK was well-connected with the wider resistance movement. Hielscher convinced several of his followers to seek positions within the regime, including intelligence (Abwehr
), military command, Ahnenerbe
and police (SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt), from which positions they managed to protect some of those persecuted by the Nazi regime.
Hielscher was arrested in 1944 in connection with the failed 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler.
He was released after Ahnenerbe
director Wolfram Sievers
interceded on his behalf.
When Sievers was accused of war crimes at the Doctors' Trial
at Nuremberg, Hielscher in turn interceded for him, stating that Sievers was part of his clandestine resistance. Sievers was nevertheless condemned to death and executed in 1948.
Hielscher was criticized by his own followers for his leadership, the failure of his concept of clandestine resistance, and his attempts to defend Sievers. Disillusioned, and disappointed with his failure to save Sievers from execution, Hielscher publicly announced his retirement from all political activities, resolving to restrict his efforts to the purely religious.
and Münnerstadt
and from 1964 at the secluded Rimprechtshof near Schönwald
in the Black Forest
.
He was the editor of the Deutsche Corpszeitung during the 1960s, where he published a number of essays on academic fencing
.
Hielscher continued to lead the UFK until his death in 1990.
Conservative Revolutionary movement
The Conservative Revolutionary movement was a German national conservative movement, prominent in the years following the First World War. The Conservative Revolutionary school of thought advocated a "new" conservatism and nationalism that was specifically German, or Prussian in particular...
during the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
and in the German resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
during the Nazi era
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
He was the founder of an esoteric
Esotericism
Esotericism or Esoterism signifies the holding of esoteric opinions or beliefs, that is, ideas preserved or understood by a small group or those specially initiated, or of rare or unusual interest. The term derives from the Greek , a compound of : "within", thus "pertaining to the more inward",...
or Neopagan movement, the Unabhängige Freikirche (UFK, "Independent Free Church"), which he headed from 1933 until his death.
Early life
Hielscher was born to Fritz Hielscher and Gertrud Hielscher née Erdmenger in PlauenPlauen
Plauen is a town in the Free State of Saxony, east-central Germany.It is the capital of the Vogtlandkreis. The town is situated near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic.Plauen's slogan is Plauen - echt Spitze.-History:...
, Vogtland
Vogtland
The term Vogtland refers to a region reaching across the German free states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and into the Czech Republic . The name of the region contains a reference to the former leadership by the Vögte of Weida, Gera and Plauen, which translates approximately to advocates or lord...
, at the time part of the Kingdom of Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
. Baptized Fritz Johannes, he later changed his name to Hans Friedrich and finally to Friedrich.
Hielscher joined a Freikorps
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
in 1919. He left his unit in 1920 due to his refusal to participate in the 1920 Kapp-Putsch.
From 1920 he studied law in Berlin , where he joined the schlagende
Academic fencing
Academic fencing or Mensur is the traditional kind of fencing practiced by some student corporations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and to a minor extent in Kosovo, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Flanders.- Technique :Modern academic fencing, the "mensur," is neither a duel nor a sport...
Corps Normania Berlin and became politically active in the German People's Party
German People's Party
The German People's Party was a national liberal party in Weimar Germany and a successor to the National Liberal Party of the German Empire.-Ideology:...
.
Conservative Revolutionary movement
Hielscher's first publication was a 1926 essay in Ernst JüngerErnst Jünger
Ernst Jünger was a German writer. In addition to his novels and diaries, he is well known for Storm of Steel, an account of his experience during World War I. Some say he was one of Germany's greatest modern writers and a hero of the conservative revolutionary movement following World War I...
's nationalist journal Standarte-Arminius.
His dissertation in law was about the term Selbstherrlichkeit in German legal tradition, accepted in 1928.
Impressed by The Decline of the West
The Decline of the West
The Decline of the West , or The Downfall of the Occident, is a two-volume work by Oswald Spengler, the first volume of which was published in the summer of 1918...
, he contacted Oswald Spengler
Oswald Spengler
Oswald Manuel Arnold Gottfried Spengler was a German historian and philosopher whose interests also included mathematics, science, and art. He is best known for his book The Decline of the West , published in 1918, which puts forth a cyclical theory of the rise and decline of civilizations...
but was rejected.
Beginning in 1928, Hielscher gathered a circle of followers around his person. He took over the editorship of Der Vormarsch from Jünger in 1928, a post he abandoned in the summer of 1929 in order to launch a journal of his own, titled Das Reich, which appeared from 1930 until 1933.
Hielscher's concept of Reich was inspired by Stefan George
Stefan George
Stefan Anton George was a German poet, editor, and translator.-Biography:George was born in Bingen in Germany in 1868. He spent time in Paris, where he was among the writers and artists who attended the Tuesday soireés held by the poet Stéphane Mallarmé. He began to publish poetry in the 1890s,...
's belief in a "Secret Germany" (Geheimes Deutschland), a mystical and ethnic essentialist argument for a spiritual and cultural potential held by the German people and a German nation which existed in potentia but which had been prevented from realization in the history of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
.
Hielscher published his vision of an ethnic German Reich in a monograph in 1931. Here he argues against a racial or biologist definition of the German nation, emphasizing the cultural and spiritual character of his vision in contrast to the Blut und Boden ideology in völkisch nationalism.
Theology
Hielscher was a member of the Evangelical Church in GermanyEvangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
until 1924.
In 1933, he founded the Unabhängige Freikirche ("Independent Free Church", UFK), a non-Christian religious institution designed to put into practice his theological ideas. The UFK combined panentheism
Panentheism
Panentheism is a belief system which posits that God exists, interpenetrates every part of nature and timelessly extends beyond it...
with paganism
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
and nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
.
In Hielscher's theology, God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
is external to the universe, or the universe contained within God. Within the universe are the "Twelve Divine Messengers" (zwölf göttliche Boten), six male and six female, identified with the pagan deities, specifically with the gods of Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period...
. Hielscher elaborates the personality of three out of these twelve deities in particular, describing them as "divine couple", also "king and queen", named Wode
Woden
Woden or Wodan is a major deity of Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic polytheism. Together with his Norse counterpart Odin, Woden represents a development of the Proto-Germanic god *Wōdanaz....
and Frigga
Frigga
Frigga may refer to:* An anglicized form of the Old Norse goddess name Frigg* Frigga , a fictional Marvel Comics character based on the Norse goddess* Frigga , a genus of jumping spiders* 77 Frigga, an asteroid...
, and the "god of Easter" (Ostergott), named Fro
Fraujaz
*Fraujaz or *Frauwaz , feminine *Frawjō *Fraujaz or *Frauwaz (Old High German frô for earlier frôjo, frouwo, Old Saxon frao, frōio, Gothic frauja, Old English frēa, Old Norse freyr), feminine *Frawjō *Fraujaz or *Frauwaz (Old High German frô for earlier frôjo, frouwo, Old Saxon frao, frōio, Gothic...
. The remaining nine Messengers are treated much more briefly, or not at all; they include Freya
Freya
In Norse mythology, Freyja is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr, war, and death. Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chariot driven by two cats, owns the boar Hildisvíni, possesses a cloak of falcon feathers, and, by her husband Óðr, is the mother...
, Loki
Loki
In Norse mythology, Loki or Loke is a god or jötunn . Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Nari or Narfi...
and Sigyn
Sigyn
Sigyn is a goddess and wife of Loki in Norse mythology. Sigyn is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson...
.
The principles of his religious system are elaborated in twelve pamphlets (Leitbriefe) written in 1956/1957 and distributed to his adherents. This "pagan catechism" of Hielscher's were edited by Bahn (2009). The religious doctrine of Hielscher's UFK consists of a syncretism
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
of monotheistic Christianity, panentheism
Panentheism
Panentheism is a belief system which posits that God exists, interpenetrates every part of nature and timelessly extends beyond it...
as advocated by Goethe, and polytheistic reconstruction related to other currents of Germanic mysticism
Germanic mysticism
Germanic mysticism or Germanic occultism may refer to* Ariosophy* more generally, various schools of Esotericism in Germany and Austria* various modern systems of runic magic...
at the time (such as the groups led by Jakob Wilhelm Hauer
Jakob Wilhelm Hauer
Jakob Wilhelm Hauer was a German Indologist and religious studies writer. He was the founder of the German Faith Movement.-Biography:...
and Ludwig Fahrenkrog
Ludwig Fahrenkrog
Ludwig Fahrenkrog was a German writer, playwright and artist. He was born in Rendsburg, Prussia, in 1867. He started his career as an artist in his youth, and attended the Berlin Royal Art Academy before being appointed a professor in 1913. He taught at the School of Arts and Crafts in Bremen from...
).
Resistance movement
Like other conservative thinkers of 1920s Germany, Hielscher was opposed to Nazism its biologistic racial theories. While his early writings were openly nationalist, he moved away from German nationalism after 1933 and participated in the underground German resistanceGerman Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
.
Under the Nazi regime
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
of 1933 to 1945, he advocated a clandestine approach to resistance, attempting to place his adherents in key positions where they could contribute to the ultimate downfall of the regime. Hielscher's UFK was not itself a cell of the German resistance, but several of its members were at the same time active in such. Via Franz Maria Liedig
Franz Maria Liedig
Franz Maria Liedig was a German Navy Officer and member of the military resistance against Adolf Hitler.-Biography:Liedig volunteered the German Imperial Navy in October 1916, was educated at the Naval Academy Mürwik and served as an Artillery Officer on a Torpedo boat...
and August Winnig, the UFK was well-connected with the wider resistance movement. Hielscher convinced several of his followers to seek positions within the regime, including intelligence (Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
), military command, Ahnenerbe
Ahnenerbe
The Ahnenerbe was a Nazi German think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History." Founded on July 1, 1935, by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré, the Ahnenerbe's goal was to research the anthropological and cultural history of the Aryan...
and police (SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt), from which positions they managed to protect some of those persecuted by the Nazi regime.
Hielscher was arrested in 1944 in connection with the failed 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler.
He was released after Ahnenerbe
Ahnenerbe
The Ahnenerbe was a Nazi German think tank that promoted itself as a "study society for Intellectual Ancient History." Founded on July 1, 1935, by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré, the Ahnenerbe's goal was to research the anthropological and cultural history of the Aryan...
director Wolfram Sievers
Wolfram Sievers
Wolfram Sievers was Reichsgeschäftsführer, or managing director, of the Ahnenerbe from 1935 to 1945.-Early life:...
interceded on his behalf.
When Sievers was accused of war crimes at the Doctors' Trial
Doctors' Trial
The Doctors' Trial was the first of 12 trials for war crimes that the United States authorities held in their occupation zone in Nuremberg, Germany after the end of World War II. These trials were held before U.S...
at Nuremberg, Hielscher in turn interceded for him, stating that Sievers was part of his clandestine resistance. Sievers was nevertheless condemned to death and executed in 1948.
Hielscher was criticized by his own followers for his leadership, the failure of his concept of clandestine resistance, and his attempts to defend Sievers. Disillusioned, and disappointed with his failure to save Sievers from execution, Hielscher publicly announced his retirement from all political activities, resolving to restrict his efforts to the purely religious.
Life after 1945
After the war, Hielscher retired from all public office. He lived with his wife Gertrud in MarburgMarburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
and Münnerstadt
Münnerstadt
Münnerstadt is a town in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, Germany. It borders with the towns of Burglauer, Bad Bocklet, Nüdlingen, Maßbach, Großbardorf, and Strahlungen. As of 2000 it has a population of 8,300, and covers an area of 95 km²....
and from 1964 at the secluded Rimprechtshof near Schönwald
Schönwald
Schönwald may refer to:* Schönwald im Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* Schönwald, Bavaria, Germany* Schönwald, Brandenburg , Germany* German name of Krásný Les , Czech Republic...
in the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
.
He was the editor of the Deutsche Corpszeitung during the 1960s, where he published a number of essays on academic fencing
Academic fencing
Academic fencing or Mensur is the traditional kind of fencing practiced by some student corporations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and to a minor extent in Kosovo, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Flanders.- Technique :Modern academic fencing, the "mensur," is neither a duel nor a sport...
.
Hielscher continued to lead the UFK until his death in 1990.
See also
- Esotericism in Germany and AustriaEsotericism in Germany and AustriaThis article gives an overview of esoteric movements in Germany and Austria between 1880 and 1945, presenting Theosophy, Anthroposophy and Ariosophy, among others, against the influences of earlier European esotericism.-Knights Templar and occultism:...