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The Strange Case of Dr. Schacht And Mr. Hitler Freemasonry and the Nazi Swastika in the Third Reich
The Strange Case of Dr. Schacht And Mr. Hitler Freemasonry and the Nazi Swastika in the Third Reich
The Strange Case of Dr. Schacht And Mr. Hitler Freemasonry and the Nazi Swastika in the Third Reich
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The Strange Case of Dr. Schacht And Mr. Hitler Freemasonry and the Nazi Swastika in the Third Reich

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In the darkest years of the 20th century, Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime cast a long and terrifying shadow over the world. The swastika, the symbol of Nazi power and oppression, became synonymous with hatred and brutality. However, a curious and enigmatic figure was hidden within this sinister regime, occupying a paradoxical position. Dr. Hjalmar Schacht, a prominent economist, and financial wizard, emerged as an intriguing character at the heart of the Third Reich, navigating the treacherous terrain of Hitler's inner circle while harboring a mysterious secret of his own.

"The Strange Case of Dr. Schacht and Mr. Hitler: Freemasonry and the Nazi Swastika in the Third Reich" explores the perplexing relationship between Schacht, Hitler, and the clandestine world of Freemasonry that operated within Nazi Germany. Authored by esteemed historians and researchers, this groundbreaking book delves into the depths of historical archives and uncovers a compelling narrative that sheds light on the intricate connections between Freemasonry and the rise of the Nazi regime.

"The Strange Case of Dr. Schacht and Mr. Hitler" unveils the clandestine connections between Freemasonry and the Nazi Swastika, challenging conventional understandings of Nazi ideology. It delves into the secretive world of Masonic lodges. It explores the paradoxical coexistence of the Freemasons within the Third Reich, whose beliefs and principles appeared opposed to Hitler's fascist regime.

Through a captivating narrative, this book traces the origins and evolution of Freemasonry in Germany and unravels the intricate web of influence that the fraternity wielded. From its members who occupied influential positions within the Nazi Party to the covert networks that operated under darkness, this investigation sheds light on the enigmatic relationship between Freemasonry and the Third Reich.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 12, 2023
ISBN9798223487272
The Strange Case of Dr. Schacht And Mr. Hitler Freemasonry and the Nazi Swastika in the Third Reich

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    The Strange Case of Dr. Schacht And Mr. Hitler Freemasonry and the Nazi Swastika in the Third Reich - Davis Truman

    Chapter One

    INtroduction

    Hitler based his hatred of Freemasonry on the belief that through it, Jews sidestepped the racial and legal barriers that marginalized them in European society. Consequently, one of Hitler's first acts after seizing power was to shut the lodges down, a task completed in just two years. When war broke out four years later, Hitler's anti-Masonic sentiment spread along with his invading army, and there was only one set of men whom the Nazis and Fascists despised more than the Jews. They are Freemasons. Though an intriguing declaration, to be sure, Lunden was wrong; the Nazis did not hate Freemasons more than Jews. In fact, Nazis didn't hate Freemasons; the Nazis hated Freemasonry, but not necessarily Freemasons. The ideology was what the Nazis hated, not the men.

    On the contrary, the men who made up the bulk of the German Masonic lodges were people who had increasingly gravitated toward the regime during the Weimar Republic and supported it after the seizure of power. They were established, educated, middle-class, and professional men of good German stock. The only thing keeping the Nazis from welcoming these men was their past or present membership in a fraternity that worked to loosen state, national, and social bonds. The most crucial difference between victims of persecution and victims of genocide or the holocaust was that their status as a target was not dependent on race, biology, or blood. For communists, the problem was political; for Jehovah's Witnesses, it was religious; for Freemasons, it was ideological, all three of which are voluntary and controllable by the victim. Victims of genocide and the holocaust included Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, homosexuals, and the mentally disabled: groups whose threat lay in their blood and could, therefore, taint the blood of good Aryan Germans through marriage and children. Classification lay with the persecutor. What separated genocide from the holocaust is that victims of genocide were pursued until their racial/ethnic community was destroyed, which, though necessitating mass murder, did not require the murder of all members. That fate is what remained solely for the Jews; complete, total, and utter extinction, not only in Germany but worldwide. Freemasons are thus unique in that they were among the Nazis' ideological enemies, but what set Freemasons apart from other non-racial groups? Like Freemasons, communists could, and did, leave the Communist Party to avoid persecution; some even joined the Nazi Party. In fact, when former Freemasons were denied membership in the Party, they pointed out that former communists were being allowed to join, so why not them? What separated Freemasons from communists was education and class. Communism appeals primarily to the uneducated workingman, whereas Freemasonry appeals to the educated social elite. Former Freemasons thus had skills to offer, not just party dues. As doctors, lawyers, and professors, Freemasons could serve as legitimizers and perpetrators of Nazi ideology. Furthermore, as the bourgeoisie, former Freemasons shared the Nazis' detest of communism.

    Freemasons differed from Witnesses in several ways; first, religious affiliation, and the changing thereof, had to be registered with the government. Freemasonry was a social organization and, thus, not a part of one's official identity. Freemasons could join or leave the lodges without government paperwork, which meant that when the Nazis took power, they had complete lists of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany, but not of Freemasons. This is one reason why the Gestapo tried so hard to acquire membership lists from lodge administrators; without them, there was little proof of a man’s membership. This ability to change one’s spots has another facet; religion plays a much more significant role in a person’s identity than do their club memberships. As for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, they, too, could denounce the church and escape persecution, which a few did, but to attack one’s religion under persecution is to jeopardize one’s salvation. For most Witnesses, persecution for their belief was preferable to escape by denying the faith. It was choosing the higher calling. In Freemasonry, the bonds of ideology and trust are nowhere near as strong as bonds of faith, and that assumes that the individual joined the lodge for the ideology in the first place, which most didn’t. Whereas the minority of Witnesses forsook ideology, it was the minority of Freemasons who stuck to it and risked continued persecution. Severing the mental connections to a lodge was almost as easy as severing the physical ones. A third area that significantly separates Freemasons from Witnesses is nationalism. A Witness is forbidden to salute the flag, serve in the army, or do anything that might be construed as violating the Second Commandment. This was one of the reasons the Nazis hounded the Witnesses in the first place. On the other hand, Freemasons were intensely national and patriotic, and many of them had already served in the military, as officers no less.

    One other group warrants comparison, shows the lodges' uniqueness and helps explain the difficult path the Freemasons had to follow to achieve compromise; the university student Korps (fraternities). These college fraternities shared much in common with the lodges; they were equally old and exclusive, and both declared themselves politically and religiously neutral. As professionals, many Freemasons belonged to the Korps during their days at the university, introducing them to the world of voluntary associations and social exclusivity. Members in both the Korps and the lodges held their membership dear (some even held concurrent membership in both), but belonging to a Korps or lodge was not as defining as political or religious affiliation, leaving a willingness to abandon the association if necessary. After the seizure of power, the Korps responded like the lodges; some sought coordination while others resisted it as long as possible, eventually choosing to close down rather than align. Where they did differ, however, was that Nazis accepted the coordination of the Korps but not of the lodges. The difference was institutional; as an organization, the

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