DOC The Secret King: The Myth and Reality of Nazi Occultism by Michael Moynihan; Stephen E. Flowers in History

Review

23 of 40 people found the following review helpful. Product description is completely inaccurateBy DanThe product description claims the book will detail "the actual esoteric rituals used by Heinrich Himmler's SS". Actually there is not a single esoteric ritual in the book; unless you count the description of a SS baptism.The authors had a problem. They wanted to republish the writings of a minor German mystic who thought--people from the moon had come to save the earth (Kindle location 1785)--he was the secret king of GermanyNot surprisingly; this guy spent time in an insane asylum.Who's going to buy a book like that?So someone came up with a completely inaccurate product description. Less charitably; someone lied.OK; so there's no secret Nazi stuff here. Besides that; was the book any good? The first third is an introduction to Wiligut. Then there are his writings; which I couldn't make any sense of. Finally; interviews with people who knew him conclude the book.The only reason I rated this a "1" was because doesn't permit a lower rating.21 of 21 people found the following review helpful. Well put together work; solid insightBy Christopher R. TraversI found this book to be quite interesting. Contrary to the previous (1-star) reviewer who evidently had not read the book; the authors do not downplay the Christian character of the Third Reich; and discuss this in a fair bit of detail in the section on the development of the propaganda regarding the Third Reich as an attempt to return to pre-Christian Germanic roots.This book is not a book about how Hitler was an occultist/pagan/etc. as this is fairly well rebutted by the historical record. Rather it is a book about one occultist with Germanic pagan leanings and how he had some modest influence on the Third Reich.For those who are interested in studying the development of Germanic nationalism; the Volkische and Pan-Germanic movements; and their development up through the second world war; this is an important addition. I would highly recommend this work.43 of 45 people found the following review helpful. Some unique insights into Himmler and the SSBy Future Watch WriterThis is an expanded and updated version of the earlier edition of this work. A major change is the addition of an essay called "Myth of Nazi Occultism". This makes up the first part of the book. This is well worth reading and a healthy correction to some of the more ridiculous fantasies about Hitler and the occult.Both authors are well-informed about these subjects. However; a weakness of their analysis is the failure to place the real aspects of the connection between the SS and the world of pre-Christian Germany in the context of over 100 years of study and fascination with the subject inside Germany. This is discussed in the beginning of The Jung Cult : Origins of a Charismatic Movement. For example; it is very hard to conceive of Adolf Hitler without Richard Wagner and his spectacular operas devoted to Germany's ancient pagan past. See Wagner's Hitler: The Prophet and His Disciple. In our time there is a growing interest in the pre-Christian world not only in the west but throughout Latin America. It is important to note however that those who don't like Christianity don't always agree on an alternative. An interesting question is whether these various movements might come together in a common cause such as the protection of the environment.A mystery in the study of Nazi Germany which remains unresolved is the level of interest in German paganism of Hitler; himself. Hitler's views on this are ambiguous. There are quotes where he ridiculed some of Himmler's views here. However; this must be taken with caution. Himmler's views were very controversial in Germany. If Hitler really did not share Himmler's views; why did he allow them to become such an integral part of the SS?The authors have a lot of experience in studying the subject as well as modern popular culture. Michael Moynihan has not only written on paganism and political philosophy but has also written the most popular book on the world of black metal music; Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground. Dr. Flowers runs an institute on ancient Germanic studies called the Woodharrow Institute. You can find it by searching on Google. He has also written a book about Guido von List called The Secret of the Runes. For further reading on this subject you might want to read my Listmania lists on the SS and mythology on my profile.