Lanz von Liebenfels
Encyclopedia
Adolf Josef Lanz aka Jörg Lanz, who called himself Lanz von Liebenfels (July 19, 1874 – April 22, 1954) was an Austria
n publicist and journalist. He was a former monk and the founder of the magazine
Ostara
, in which he published anti-semitic
and völkisch
theories.
district of Vienna
in what was then Austria-Hungary
, as the son of schoolmaster Johann Lanz and his wife Katharina, née Hoffenreich. His parents were middle class
, and his father's ancestors had been burgher
s in Vienna since the early 18th century.
Lanz became a monk
in the Cistercian order in 1893, assuming the name Georg and living in the Heiligenkreuz monastery
. In 1894, he claimed to have been "enlightened
" after finding the tombstone of a Knight Templar
, and began developing his theories of "blue-blond aryan
ism" and "lower races". He left the monastery in 1899; although Lanz claimed that this was due to "growing nervousness", the official documents recorded "carnal love" as the reason.
chandals", and glorified the "Aryan race" as "Gottmenschen" ("god-men"). Theozoology could also be classified as a work encompassing what has now come to be called cryptozoology
. Lanz justified his neognostic racial ideology by attempting to give it a Biblical
foundation; according to him, Eve
, whom he described as initially being divine, involved herself with a demon
and gave birth to the "lower races" in the process. Furthermore, he claimed that this led to blonde women being attracted primarily to "dark men", something that only could be stopped by "racial demixing" so that the "Aryan
-Christian
master humans" could "once again rule the dark-skinned beastmen" and ultimately achieve "divinity
". A copy of this book was sent to Swedish
poet August Strindberg
, from whom Lanz received an enthusiastic reply in which he was described as a "prophet
ic voice".
One year later, in 1905, he founded the magazine Ostara, Briefbücherei der Blonden und Mannesrechtler, of which he became the sole author and editor in 1908. Lanz himself claimed to have up to 100,000 subscribers, but it is generally agreed that this figure is grossly exaggerated. Readers of this publication included Adolf Hitler
and Dietrich Eckart
, among others. Lanz claimed he was once visited by the young Hitler, whom he supplied with two missing issues of the magazine.
As a student of Guido von List
, Lanz further expanded his theories; other influences included Otto Weininger
, of whom Lanz was a fervent follower.
and racial research, beauty contest
s and the founding of racist
"future sites" in underdeveloped parts of the Earth
" ("das Rassebewusstsein durch Stammbaum- und Rassekundeforschung, Schönheitswettbewerbe und die Gründung rassistischer Zukunftsstätten in unterentwickelten Teilen der Erde zu fördern"). To further this agenda, he purchased the Werfenstein castle ruins in Austria
. Neither organization really managed to attract a large member base, though; it is estimated that the order had around 300 members, the most prominent of which was the poet Fritz von Herzmanovsky-Orlando. Lanz's claim that the organization was already founded prior to 1900, and that he met with August Strindberg
in 1896 and managed to convince him to join the order, have been shown to be fabricated.
After Hitler's rise to prominence in the 1920s, Lanz tried to be recognized as one of his ideological precursors. In the preface of issue one in the 3. series of Ostara, c. 1927, he wrote:
After Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany
in 1938, Lanz hoped for Hitler's patronage, but Hitler, embarrassed by this early connection, banned him from publishing his writings. Most notably copies of Ostara were removed from circulation. After the war, Lanz accused Hitler of having not only stolen but corrupted his idea, and also of being of "inferior racial stock".
There is no strong scholarly consensus as to whether Hitler was significantly influenced, directly or indirectly, by Liebenfels' work, and no strong evidence that he was interested in the occult
movement as a whole apart from its racial aspects, though the association has been repeatedly made by critics and occultists during and after the Third Reich.
, racism
and esotericism
. The following is a partial list of Lanz's publications:
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n publicist and journalist. He was a former monk and the founder of the magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
Ostara
Ostara (magazine)
Ostara or Ostara, Briefbücherei der Blonden und Mannesrechtler was a German nationalist magazine founded in 1905 by the occultist Lanz von Liebenfels in Vienna, Austria....
, in which he published anti-semitic
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and völkisch
Völkisch movement
The volkisch movement is the German interpretation of the populist movement, with a romantic focus on folklore and the "organic"...
theories.
Early life
He was born on July 19, 1874 in the PenzingPenzing (Vienna)
Penzing is the 14th District of Vienna and consists of the boroughs of Penzing, Breitensee, Baumgarten, Hütteldorf and Hadersdorf-Weidlingau. In the west, it shares a border with Purkersdorf and Mauerbach...
district of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in what was then Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, as the son of schoolmaster Johann Lanz and his wife Katharina, née Hoffenreich. His parents were middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
, and his father's ancestors had been burgher
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
s in Vienna since the early 18th century.
Lanz became a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
in the Cistercian order in 1893, assuming the name Georg and living in the Heiligenkreuz monastery
Heiligenkreuz Abbey
Heiligenkreuz Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in the village of Heiligenkreuz in the southern part of the Vienna woods, c. 13 km north-west of Baden in Lower Austria...
. In 1894, he claimed to have been "enlightened
Enlightenment (spiritual)
Enlightenment in a secular context often means the "full comprehension of a situation", but in spiritual terms the word alludes to a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God, profound spiritual...
" after finding the tombstone of a Knight Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, and began developing his theories of "blue-blond aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
ism" and "lower races". He left the monastery in 1899; although Lanz claimed that this was due to "growing nervousness", the official documents recorded "carnal love" as the reason.
Work with Theozoology
In 1904, he published his book Theozoologie ("Theozoology") in which he advocated sterilization of the sick and the "lower races" as well as forced labour for "castratedCastration
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testicles or a female loses the functions of the ovaries.-Humans:...
chandals", and glorified the "Aryan race" as "Gottmenschen" ("god-men"). Theozoology could also be classified as a work encompassing what has now come to be called cryptozoology
Cryptozoology
Cryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven...
. Lanz justified his neognostic racial ideology by attempting to give it a Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
foundation; according to him, Eve
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
, whom he described as initially being divine, involved herself with a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
and gave birth to the "lower races" in the process. Furthermore, he claimed that this led to blonde women being attracted primarily to "dark men", something that only could be stopped by "racial demixing" so that the "Aryan
Aryan race
The Aryan race is a concept historically influential in Western culture in the period of the late 19th century and early 20th century. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race or...
-Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
master humans" could "once again rule the dark-skinned beastmen" and ultimately achieve "divinity
Transhumanism
Transhumanism, often abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human...
". A copy of this book was sent to Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
poet August Strindberg
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
, from whom Lanz received an enthusiastic reply in which he was described as a "prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
ic voice".
One year later, in 1905, he founded the magazine Ostara, Briefbücherei der Blonden und Mannesrechtler, of which he became the sole author and editor in 1908. Lanz himself claimed to have up to 100,000 subscribers, but it is generally agreed that this figure is grossly exaggerated. Readers of this publication included Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Dietrich Eckart
Dietrich Eckart
Dietrich Eckart was a German journalist and politician, together with Adolf Hitler one of the early key members of the Nazi Party and a participant of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch.-Biography:...
, among others. Lanz claimed he was once visited by the young Hitler, whom he supplied with two missing issues of the magazine.
As a student of Guido von List
Guido von List
Guido Karl Anton List, better known as Guido von List was an Austrian/German poet, journalist, writer, businessman and dealer of leather goods, mountaineer, hiker, dramatist, playwright, and rower, but was most notable as an occultist and völkisch author who is seen as one of the most important...
, Lanz further expanded his theories; other influences included Otto Weininger
Otto Weininger
Otto Weininger was an Austrian philosopher. In 1903, he published the book Geschlecht und Charakter , which gained popularity after his suicide at the age of 23...
, of whom Lanz was a fervent follower.
Interactions with Aryan societies
In 1905 Lanz and some 50 other supporters of List signed a declaration endorsing the proposed Guido-von-List-Gesellschaft (Guido von List Society), which was officially founded in 1908. He also founded his own esoteric organisation, the Ordo Novi Templi (Order of the New Templars) in 1907. These movements were supposed to "further the racial self-confidence by doing pedigreePedigree chart
A pedigree chart is a diagram that shows the occurrence and appearance or phenotypes of a particular gene or organism and its ancestors from one generation to the next, most commonly humans, show dogs, and race horses....
and racial research, beauty contest
Beauty contest
A beauty pageant or beauty contest, is a competition that mainly focuses on the physical beauty of its contestants, although such contests often incorporate personality, talent, and answers to judges' questions as judged criteria...
s and the founding of racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
"future sites" in underdeveloped parts of the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
" ("das Rassebewusstsein durch Stammbaum- und Rassekundeforschung, Schönheitswettbewerbe und die Gründung rassistischer Zukunftsstätten in unterentwickelten Teilen der Erde zu fördern"). To further this agenda, he purchased the Werfenstein castle ruins in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Neither organization really managed to attract a large member base, though; it is estimated that the order had around 300 members, the most prominent of which was the poet Fritz von Herzmanovsky-Orlando. Lanz's claim that the organization was already founded prior to 1900, and that he met with August Strindberg
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
in 1896 and managed to convince him to join the order, have been shown to be fabricated.
After Hitler's rise to prominence in the 1920s, Lanz tried to be recognized as one of his ideological precursors. In the preface of issue one in the 3. series of Ostara, c. 1927, he wrote:
After Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany
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...
in 1938, Lanz hoped for Hitler's patronage, but Hitler, embarrassed by this early connection, banned him from publishing his writings. Most notably copies of Ostara were removed from circulation. After the war, Lanz accused Hitler of having not only stolen but corrupted his idea, and also of being of "inferior racial stock".
There is no strong scholarly consensus as to whether Hitler was significantly influenced, directly or indirectly, by Liebenfels' work, and no strong evidence that he was interested in the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
movement as a whole apart from its racial aspects, though the association has been repeatedly made by critics and occultists during and after the Third Reich.
Publications
In his publications, Lanz mixed völkisch and anti-semitic ideas with AryanismAryan race
The Aryan race is a concept historically influential in Western culture in the period of the late 19th century and early 20th century. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race or...
, racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and esotericism
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",...
. The following is a partial list of Lanz's publications:
- Katholizismus wider Jesuitismus ("Catholicism versus Jesuitism"), FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, 1903 - Anthropozoon biblicum, in Vjschr. für Bibelkunde 1, 1903/1904
- Zur Theologie der gotischen Bibel ("Regarding the Theology of the Gothic Bible") in Vjschr. für Bibelkunde 1, 1903/1904
- Theozoologie oder die Kunde von den Sodoms-Äfflingen und dem Götter-Elektron ("Theozoology, or the Account of the Sodomite Apelings and the Divine Electron"), ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, (1905) - Das Breve "Dominus ac redemptor noster", FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, 1905 - Der Taxilschwindel. Ein welthistorischer Ulk, FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, 1905 - Ostara (magazine), 89 issues, Rodaun and Mödling, 1905-1917 (38 issues were republished in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
between 1926 and 1931) - Kraus und das Rassenproblem ("Kraus and the Race Problem"), in Der Brenner 4, 1913/1914
- Weltende und Weltwende, ("World's End and World's Turn"), Lorch, 1923
- Grundriss der ariosophischen Geheimlehre ("Outline of the Ariosophic Secret Teachings"), Oestrich, 1925
- Der Weltkrieg als Rassenkampf der Dunklen gegen die Blonden ("The World War as a Race Fight Between the Dark and the Blondes"), ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, 1927 - Bibliomystikon oder die Geheimbibel der Eingeweihten ("Bibliomystikon, or the Secret Bible of the Initiated"), 10 volumes, PforzheimPforzheimPforzheim is a town of nearly 119,000 inhabitants in the state of Baden-Württemberg, southwest Germany at the gate to the Black Forest. It is world-famous for its jewelry and watch-making industry. Until 1565 it was the home to the Margraves of Baden. Because of that it gained the nickname...
and elsewhere, 1929–1934 - Praktisch-empirisches Handbuch der ariosophischen Astrologie ("Practical-empirical Handbook of Ariosophic Astrology"), DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, 1926–1934 - Jakob LorberJakob LorberJakob Lorber was a Styrian Christian mystic and visionary who promoted liberal Universalism. He referred to himself as "God's scribe". He wrote that on 15 March 1840 he began hearing an 'inner voice' from the region of his heart and thereafter transcribed what it said...
. Das grösste ariosophische Medium der Neuzeit, DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, 1926, 4 Bänden.
See also
- AriosophyAriosophyArmanism and Ariosophy are the names of ideological systems of an esoteric nature, pioneered by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels respectively, in Austria between 1890 and 1930. The term 'Ariosophy', meaning wisdom concerning the Aryans, was first coined by Lanz von Liebenfels in 1915 and...
- German mysticismGerman mysticismGerman mysticism, sometimes called Dominican mysticism or Rhineland mysticism, was a late medieval Christian mystical movement, that was especially prominent within the Dominican order and in Germany. Although its origins can be traced back to Hildegard of Bingen, it is mostly represented by...
- Theosophy (history of philosophy)Theosophy (history of philosophy)Theosophy , designates several bodies of ideas since Late Antiquity. The Greek term is attested on magical papyri .-Neoplatonism:...
- Nazi occultism
- NazismNazismNazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
- Ostara (magazine)Ostara (magazine)Ostara or Ostara, Briefbücherei der Blonden und Mannesrechtler was a German nationalist magazine founded in 1905 by the occultist Lanz von Liebenfels in Vienna, Austria....
Further reading
- For a relatively unbiased scholarly English account of Lanz see Nicholas Goodrick-ClarkeNicholas Goodrick-ClarkeNicholas Goodrick-Clarke B.A. , D.Phil. is a professor of Western Esotericism at University of Exeter and author of several books on esoteric traditions....
's The Occult Roots of NazismThe Occult Roots of Nazismthumb|right|Cover of the 1992 editionThe Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology: The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany, 1890-1935 is a book by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke. It is the "seminal work" on Nazi occultism and Ariosophy. The book also includes some...
p. 90-122. - Joachim C. Fest, Hitler, p. 169f, 175f
- Ekkehard Hieronimus: Lanz von Liebenfels. Eine Biographie, ToppenstedtToppenstedtToppenstedt is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
, 1991 - Anton MaegerleAnton MaegerleAnton Maegerle is the nom de plume of a left-wing German journalist and author books on far-right politics and the Neue Rechte.-Personal life:...
, Peter Paul Heller: Thule. Vom völkischen Okkultismus bis zur Neuen Rechten, StuttgartStuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, 1995. - Wilfried DaimWilfried DaimWilfried Daim is an Austrian psychologist, psychotherapist, writer and art collector.Between 1940 and 1945 Daim was active in the catholic resistance in Austria...
: Der Mann, der Hitler die Ideen gab, 1. Edition 1957, 2. rev. ed. 1985, 3.rev.ed.1994
External links
- Complete text of Lanz von Liebenfels' Theozoology or the science of the Sodomite Apelings and the Divine Electron in English at archive.org
- Complete text of Lanz von Liebenfels' Theozoology or the science of the Sodomite Apelings and the Divine Electron in German at archive.org
- Das Buch des Psalmen Teutch "The Book of the Teutonic Psalms" by Lanz von Liebenfels at archive.org. In German