History of Freemasonry

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Freemasonry has in Europe, especially in England, has a long tradition. The beginnings of history as well as the customs, ritual and the symbols used in Freemasonry go back to the stonemasonry brotherhood and their construction huts .

Meissen porcelain from 1832
Masonic master and journeyman

term

The name Freemason is probably derived from the name of the stone sculptors or construction planners of the construction huts, the freestone masons . In contrast to them, the roughstone masons were more responsible for the rougher work.

The term Freemason (German Freemason ) is found for the first time in documents from Exeter Cathedral from 1396. In 1495 it is found in King Henry VII's statutes. In 1537 the guild in London calls its members Freemasons .

The term lodge is mentioned as early as 1278 in a document about the construction of the Vale Royal Abbey .

Emergence

Builder
with square measure, compass and plumb line
woodcut by Jost Amman (1536)

As the oldest Masonic Lodge in the world, the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 in Scotland , which dates back to 1599. Some theses assume that the Societas Jesu ( Jesuits ) brought freemasonry into being at the end of the 17th century.

On June 24, 1717, four lodges in England that had existed for years merged to form the first Masonic Grand Lodge , the first Grand Lodge in England . This day is considered to be the official founding date of "modern" Freemasonry . Since then, all Freemasons worldwide have celebrated June 24th ( St. John's Day , compare St. John's Day) as the highest holiday.

Organized Freemasonry emerged from the stonemasonry fraternity and their builders' huts . Initially, the organized craftsmen were closely associated with the monasteries, namely those of the Benedictines (around the 9th century), but later became independent and joined the Association of German Stonemasons under the direction of four main huts, of which the Strasbourg hut is an outstanding one Took a stand. In the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries the stonemasonry brotherhoods prospered across Europe. Since reading and writing were a good of the few here, too, their knowledge, customs and laws were passed down orally. The tradition of passwords, identification marks ( handshows ) and many symbols dates from this time and is still alive today in Freemasonry. The existing stonemason ordinances in German-speaking countries - the oldest dates from 1459 - already indicate a federation that has branched out across Germany and Switzerland. The brotherhood was held together by a joint legislation sanctioned by Maximilian I in 1498 .

At the head of the stonemasonry brotherhood was an elected chief, the chair master , who was re-elected every year and settled all disputes. The other brothers had equal rights. The journeyman was obliged to teach the apprentice his art. Every month there was a meeting at which all matters were discussed and judgments were held.

Many older traditions worked into Freemasonry, with different theories about its historical roots. The focus is on building cooperatives and medieval construction huts . Influences from the history of ideas from the Egyptian and Greek mysteries , the Knights Templar , the Rosicrucians , the Kabbalah and Gnosticism are noticeable. Many symbols of the Freemasons are borrowed from these traditions . Thus the roots of Freemasonry lie in the building hut tradition with traces of mystical traditions from the West and the Orient . With regard to the latter, certain similarities to the Islamic dervish brotherhoods can be recognized, the first foundations of which date back to the 12th century ( see also: Sufism ).

Origin of speculative Freemasonry

In addition to the guilds, there were construction huts with their own hut regulations, which were recorded in writing in the main huts.

The construction huts were responsible for the implementation of planned structures and trained the stonemasons working in them as builders and sculptors in geometric laws. This knowledge was secret, which is why little has been passed on, as evidenced by master craftsmen 's books such as the booklet of the Fiale Gerechtigkeit from 1486 or the sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt (around 1230).

The supranationally organized builders' huts suffered from the decline in construction activity on the Gothic cathedrals in the 16th century and were increasingly displaced by the guilds. Accepted masons of the stonemasons' brotherhood (English: "accepted masons") secured their existence as supporting members with monetary donations. The decisive factors for the admission were not birth and status, but individual suitability. The nobility and the bourgeoisie met on the same level, thus helping to reduce the differences.

Such a recording of an "assumed mason" can be found in the minutes of the Lodge Mary's Chapel in Edinburgh in January 1600. John Boswell of Auchinleck is mentioned here as a non-operative mason . Robert Moray , who was initiated on May 20, 1641 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Freemasons from a Scottish lodge in Edinburgh, always used the five-pointed star as a Masonic symbol in his correspondence . And Elias Ashmole wrote in his diaries that Colonel Mainwaring in Warrington ( Lancashire and was even adopted on 16 October 1646 in a box as a Freemason).

The York Manuscript No. 4 of 1693, owned by the Grand Lodge of York , shows that admission was not restricted to men:

"The elders taking the Booke, he or shee (sic!) That is to be made Mason shall lay their hands thereon, and the charge shall be given."

"If the elders take the book, may he or she who is to be made a Freemason lay hands on it and the duty shall be imposed."

- York Manuscript No. 4 by 1693

In 1712 Elizabeth St. Leger (later Elizabeth Aldworth) became a Freemason at Lodge No. 95 initiated. This lodge still exists in the city of Cork today - and is still recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England .

Origin of the grand lodges

“Goose and Gridiron”,
the place where the  First
Grand Lodge was founded in  1717

These new influences acted as a reshaping of the old brotherhood, especially at the time when St. Paul's Church in London was being built. After its completion, the number of lodges in southern England dwindled to a few.

The remaining members, for the most part accepted, felt compelled to keep the connection, as they recognized the spiritual content of the lodge work. The philosophy of the Enlightenment had given rise to ideas that matched and influenced the humanitarian ethics of the huts. At this point, factory masonry began to transform into speculative masonry.

For this reason, four old factory mason's lodges in London and Westminster merged in 1717 to form the First Grand Lodge of England . They met to elect a grand master (sayer) and to reorganize the ritual and constitution under the direction of the preacher James Anderson , the naturalist John Theophilus Desaguliers and the archaeologist George Payne . The name "Freemason" was retained, as was the coat of arms of the old Masons and the secret symbols, words and handles.

Anderson wrote the first Masonic Constitution with the Old Duties in 1723. The final version was advertised publicly on February 28, 1723 in the "Postboy". The old duties regulate the relationship between the lodge members and their non-Masonic environment, as well as the relationship to religion and politics. He added that women - in England - should not be allowed into Freemasonry. (See: Origin of Speculative Freemasonry ) The creation of this constitution and the simultaneous claim to recognize lodges as Masonic lodges only if they obey the rules of this constitution caused general protests by old lodges, especially those in York and Scotland.

Very early on, there were complaints about the exclusion of women from Freemasonry:

“(…) The secret is revealed to the members of society (Freemasonry) when they are admitted, but they must be united by means of a sharp oath not to discover anyone. In such a way that, when a certain noble princess, who wanted to know this secret, persuaded a gentleman, who was also noble, that he would go to this foreign country and then asked him to open such a secret, she nevertheless refused her such. "

- Report of the Vossische Zeitung from Great Britain in January 1733

Anderson found himself exposed to polemics that caused him to stop visiting the lodge until he was only active as a Freemason again in 1735.

The mason ritual was expanded several times after the grand lodge was founded; the act of admission was split into three parts, from which the current three degrees of apprentice, journeyman and master emerged around 1720–1730. In this new, spiritual form, Freemasonry found the most widespread use in a relatively short time. First followed (1730) Ireland with the establishment of a grand lodge; In 1736, on St. Andrea's Day , the old lodges of Scotland followed in Edinburgh, the protocols of which go back to the 15th century.

Several lodges, which distanced themselves from the grand lodge, described themselves as "Ancients" and the members of this new alliance somewhat pejoratively called "Moderns". Some “Moderns” urged adherence to the old customs and did not agree with the innovations of Anderson and Desaguliers . Ultimately, however, they remained in the minority and switched to the "Ancients". These consisted mainly of members of the petty bourgeoisie and did not agree with the aristocracy taking over. The number of these lodges was about six before 1751 and grew to 359 by 1813. This year the “Ancients” ultimately merged with the Moderns. The "Ancients" had their own constitution, the so-called Ahiman Rezon .

In France, on May 24th, 1773, with the help of the Duke of Montmorency-Luxembourg, the “Grande Lodge Nationale”, today's “Grand Orient de France (GOdF)” was created and created for it a constitution, the principles of which are based on the achievements of the French Revolution found again. In a circular of the GOdF in 1775 one found the words "The law is the expression of the will of the general public!", Which were later written down in the declaration of human and civil rights . People proudly spoke of the “citizens of the Freemason democracy”.

In 1776 the headquarters of the First Grand Lodge (today's United Grand Lodge of England), Freemason's Hall, were inaugurated in London , including 160 women.

In 1785 " Der Teutsche Merkur " wrote "that the Freemasons' hearts are open to women, but the lodge is closed."

At the foundation and amalia festival of the Weimar lodge “Amalia” on October 24, 1820, to which women were also invited, Goethe's son August was to express her gratitude. Goethe had him ask the following question in verse:

“Our thanks, and albeit
defiantly , greeting all dear guests,
do not make any happy person puzzled ;
Because we celebrate your festivals.

But should we, women,
thankfully praise such brothers,
Who, to look within,
Always turn us aside?

But Amalien, the noble, who
also appears transfigured to you,
speaking, singing in honor of
you, We are united with you.

And by
not disturbing your thoughts in your songs
, the brothers all ask
what they would be without sisters. "

Maria Deraismes , a French writer, democratic humanist and women's rights activist , was invited by the Grand Orient de France to give a lecture on equality for women . Nevertheless, they continued to refuse to accept women in the boxes. In Paris, the Senator and “Conseiller Général” George Martin was also convinced that women should play a bigger role in society. Therefore he fought with her for more than 10 years but in vain for her access to regular Freemasonry.

In Le Pecq, the men's lodge Les Libres Penseurs became independent from the Grande Loge Symbolique Ecossaise de France and made the extraordinary decision to accept women as members in the future. On January 14, 1882, they dedicated Maria Deraismes. After violent protests, however, this led to the closure of the lodge. So George Martin and Maria Deraismes decided to found the first lodge in the world to accept both men and women as members. On March 14, 1893, 16 women were initiated. Mixed-sex Freemasonry and the Obedience of the International Order of Co-Freemasonry for Men and Women (Ordre Maçonique Mixte International " Le Droit Humain ") was finally founded on April 4, 1893.

In Great Britain her work brought her great prestige and gave her influence on the American activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton , whom she met in the same year after this breakthrough in Freemasonry.

Annie Besant heard about Droit Humain from Francesca Arundale in London in 1902 . In Paris she was accepted into the first three degrees and was primarily responsible for the first box in Great Britain of the Droit Humain in London. This grand lodge established lodges all over the world in the following years.

Development in the individual states

Germany

The beginning

Even before lodges existed in Germany, Germans were accepted as Freemasons in England. One of the earliest known personalities was Count Albrecht Wolfgang von Schaumburg-Lippe .

On December 6, 1737, the first German lodge was founded in Hamburg by the Deputy Grand Master of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Electorate of Brandenburg. At first it had no name and it did not belong to any grand lodge. Her second master of the chair had her entered in the grand lodge register in London with the matriculation number 108 in 1740. In 1743 the lodge was given its proper name Absalom .

A total of 19 lodges had been founded in Germany by 1754. Gradually, the corresponding provincial, grand and mother lodges established themselves, such as the provincial grand lodge of Hamburg in 1740, the mother lodge l'Union of Frankfurt in 1741, the grand lodge of Upper Saxony in 1741 and the grand royal mother lodge "To the three world balls" from 1744.

Origin of the higher grades in Germany

In the middle of the 18th century, strict observance (unconditional obedience), a high-level Masonic system , emerged in Germany . The organization became popular through the order's founder Karl Gotthelf von Hund and Altengrotkau .

When von Hund died in 1776, the later King of the Swedes, Karl XIII. elected as his successor.

At this time, numerous Masonic lodges, including the mother lodge To the Three Worlds, were infiltrated by the Gold and Rosicrucians and the mother lodge became the headquarters of the Rosicrucians in Germany. At a convention, the Rosicrucian Old Scottish Lodge Frederick the Golden Lion from Berlin urged Ferdinand von Braunschweig and all the other Freemasons present to submit to the Rosicrucians, but this attempt failed.

Most of the Masonic lodges and grand lodges broke away from the strict observance. That sealed her end.

German grand lodges founded

After the age of Masonic aberrations and Strict Observance, several long-lived grand lodges with large numbers of members emerged in Germany . The Great National Mother Lodge “To the Three Worlds” and the Great Mother Lodge “To the Sun” were founded in 1744. This was followed by the Great State Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany in 1770, the Great Mother Lodge of the Eclectic Freemasons Union in 1783, the Great Lodge of Prussia called Royal York for Friendship in 1798, the Great Lodge of Hamburg in 1811, the Great State Lodge of Saxony in 1811, the Great Masonic Lodge "Zur Eintracht “ 1846.

These lodges founded the German Grand Lodge Association in 1872 . In addition to the German Grand Lodge Association, there were other attempts to unite the German grand lodges or at least bring them under one umbrella organization.

The German Grand Lodge Association did not make groundbreaking decisions. The internal structure did not allow the member grand lodges to grow together. There were only a few joint declarations made by the German Grand Lodge Association. For example, in 1874, it was stated that race and skin color were not criteria for refusing membership. In 1903, the Grand Loge de France was recognized as a regular grand lodge by France.

After the First World War , the German Grand Lodge organized humanitarian aid for women and children in need through the grand lodges of England, the USA and the states that remained neutral during the World War.

On the 50th anniversary in 1922, the three Berlin grand lodges resigned from the German Grand Lodge Association, as the formation of parties between the three Christian Berlin grand lodges and the humanitarian grand lodges became more and more apparent.

In places with several lodges from different grand lodges, so-called chairmen's associations were often formed, which at the local level bring about closer cooperation between the various lodges in Germany.

Germany after the First World War

In the Weimar Republic , the Freemasons were also the preferred objects of right-wing extremist agitation . Alfred Rosenberg published such writings as The Crime of Freemasonry. Judaism, Jesuitism, German Christianity . The then chief of the Supreme Army Command, General Erich Ludendorff , also distinguished himself as a critic of the Freemasons. Ludendorff described in numerous writings the "supranational powers" that consisted of "Jews, Jesuits and Freemasons".

Some of the German Freemasons did not agree with the nationalistic and conservative stance, especially of the three old Prussian grand lodges, the Great Lodge of Prussia called Royal York for Friendship , the Great State Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany and the Great National Mother Lodge "To the Three Worlds" . Those Freemasons founded the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Germany in 1930 . This grand lodge ceased its work in 1933 and moved its documents to Jerusalem.

On the occasion of an Esperanto congress in Frankfurt am Main, the first Le Droit Humain lodge in Germany with the name "Goethe" was founded in 1921 .

On February 16, 1924, the joint declaration of the three old Prussian grand lodges was published. It stated that only Christians can be admitted to a Masonic lodge and that the lodges had no relations with lodges of the victorious powers of the First World War . On April 7, 1933, at a meeting between the Grand Master of the Great State Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany and Hermann Göring , the Reich Commissioner for the Prussian Ministry of the Interior, the renaming of the Great State Lodge to the German-Christian Order of the Templars was agreed. Thereupon the renaming took place in further grand lodges ( see also German-Christian order ).

1933–1945 harassment and final ban

forget Me Not

In order to escape a ban after the NSDAP came to power in 1933, the Freemasons of the time conformed to the regulations of the state leadership.

In 1934 further regulations for Freemasonry were issued: It had to ensure that the "orders" were kept Aryan and that party officials had access to all work and ritual-symbolic temple work .

In an incendiary speech , Joseph Goebbels identified the global conspiracy of Judaism , international Freemasonry and international Marxism as the background to the threat to Germany.

In the run-up to the final ban on Freemasonry, the National Socialists always tried to maintain a halfway legal appearance and ensured a formal dissolution of the associations. On August 17, 1935, Interior Minister Frick ordered Freemasonry to be banned in Germany.

The small blue forget-me-not was used for the first time in 1926 by the Grand Lodge Zur Sonne as a Masonic emblem in Bremen for the annual meeting. Since 1938, Freemasons have used the forget-me-not as a secret symbol.

Many lodge houses were converted into " lodge museums" or "Freemason museums" , in which National Socialist ideologues portrayed Freemasonry as the basic evil and decomposer of the German people.

According to unconfirmed figures, sixty-two of the approximately 80,000 German Freemasons are said to have been murdered. Due to resignations and losses in the war, only about 8,000 remained by 1945.

From 1945

Even after World War II, the forget-me-not was used by the United Grand Lodges of Germany as a Masonic emblem at the first annual meeting. The emblem is still worn today by Freemasons as a sign of identification and in memory of the Nazi era.

In 1949 the Frauenloge Zur Humanität was founded in Berlin , which formed the basis for the founding of the later Grand Lodge Zur Humanität (today: Frauen-Großloge von Deutschland ).

In the grand lodges recognized as regular by the VGLvE , which in turn are amalgamated in the United Grand Lodges of Germany, around 14,000 brothers were organized in 470 active lodges in 2012.

Great Britain

When Freemasonry began in the British Isles is still debatable. The transition from a craftsmen's association to a brotherhood took place differently in the individual construction huts and cannot always be clearly identified. The Halliwell Manuscript from 1390 and the Cooke Manuscript from 1430-1440 are considered to be the earliest signs of Freemasonry . According to the current state of research, the oldest Masonic Lodge in the world is the Lodge Mother Kilwinning No. 0 , the first written mention of which appears in the Shaw manuscript of 1598. Since the 17th century, members who have nothing to do with the craft have been found in the building huts. For example in the 1620 Virginia Company of London's account books , which enumerated several Accepted Masons as members. There are verifiable early recordings of non-craftsmen in construction works, for example, in Edinburgh in 1600 (Boswell of Auchinleck), in Newcastle in 1641 (Quartermaster General Robert Moray) and in Warrington (Elias Ashmole) in 1646. As early as 1670, of the 59 members of the Lodge in Aberdeen, only 7 were stonemasons.

Although there were large and influential builders 'huts on the European continent as well, British builders' huts were the first to find their way to speculative masonry. Due to the lack of clear documentation, in most cases the founding of the grand lodge in London on June 24, 1717 is regarded as the beginning of modern Freemasonry. The founding of the grand lodge in London was apparently preceded by a period of decline, which was to be counteracted by a central governing body.

John Montagu (1690–1749), painting by Godfrey Kneller , 1709

The Grand Lodge was first called the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster . The first grandmaster was Anthony Sayer. He was followed by George Payne in 1718, John Theophilus Desaguliers in 1719 , Payne again in 1720 and John Duke of Montagu in 1721 as the first noble grand master and at the time the richest man in England. The minutes of the meetings were only available from 1722, the first printed constitution of the Grand Lodge appeared in 1732.

In 1751 the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster received competition from the Atholl Grand Lodge , also known as the Grand Lodge of the Antients . It was founded by lodges that did not join the founding of 1717. Her first grandmaster was Laurence Dermott. They accused the grand lodge of 1717 of failing to fulfill the true tradition of the Freemasons and called them moderns to distinguish them from themselves .

This separation of English Freemasonry lasted until December 27, 1813, when the Antients and Moderns merged to form the United Grand Lodge of England . In 1818 there were 115 lodges in London, 431 in the rest of England, 46 in the regiments and the navy, and 56 abroad. The number has increased steadily since then. In 1967, when Edward, 2nd Duke of Kent , became Grand Master, there were a total of 7,300 lodges, in 1981 there were already 8,115 lodges.

Scotland

In the autumn of 1735 the four Scottish lodges Mary's Chapel , Canongate Kilwinning , Kilwinning Scots Arms and Leith Kilwinning met to elect a grandmaster and to work out a constitution for their own grand lodge. On September 30, 1736, the representatives of 33 lodges met in Mary's Chapel for the solemn founding act. William Clair, Laird of Roslin, the last of the family, became the first grandmaster. The Grand Lodge then chose the green of the Scottish Thistle Order as the color .

From 1747 on, military lodges were established for the Scottish regiments , first in the regiment of the Duke of Norfolk . They did a great deal to spread the masonry of their grand lodge around the world. From the very beginning, soldiers were also accepted into these regimental boxes, while the purpose for the English army liar was only created during the First World War .

King George VI among Scottish Freemasons

Scottish Freemasonry was represented throughout the British Empire . Provincial grandmasters were installed in Asia, Africa, Australia and the West Indies, and a "Grand Master of Scottish Freemasonry" in India.

In 1805 Prince George of Wales, who later became King George IV , received the title of Grand Master, followed by William IV as patron, and then Prince Edward of Wales (later King Edward VII ). The Grand Lodge of Scotland made great contributions to the incorporation of natives from various British colonies into its union.

United States of America

Back of the dollar bill

Political developments in the United States during and after the successful War of Independence were largely shaped by Freemasons like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin and Masonic-friendly politicians like Thomas Jefferson . The moderate Masonic element (without anti-religious thrust) is part of the central legacy of the American Revolution and was able to develop on a broad basis as a result, regardless of the political and religious reservations of other groups. The first attempts to form a common grand lodge for all states were made as early as 1780. Symbols and rituals of the Freemasons were used in public. The pyramid and the eye in the triangle can be found on the back of the US dollar bill. The foundation stone of the Capitol was laid on September 18, 1793 according to the Masonic rite. A specially made Masonic apron of the Grand Lodge of Maryland was presented to President Washington by the Marquis de La Fayette . The design and construction of the Statue of Liberty goes back to the Freemasons Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and Gustave Eiffel ; The foundation stone of the base building was laid in a Masonic ceremony on August 5, 1885 by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York, William A. Brodie.

Political opposition to Freemason Andrew Jackson led to the formation of a short-lived anti-Freemason party that unsuccessfully ran candidates in the 1828 and 1832 presidential elections. Freemasonry took off in the USA in the decades between 1870 and 1930, as can be seen from many landmark buildings. American Presidents who were Freemasons include Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. At the height of the Confederation's expansion in 1929, 8.6% of the American male population belonged to Freemasonry. In 1960 it was 7.6% with over 4 million members. The wave of admission after 1945 was followed by a clearly noticeable melting process in the last few decades, which also poses problems for the charitable activities of the lodges. Nevertheless, in the USA, as in Great Britain, membership in Masonic organizations is to be regarded as a medium-sized mass phenomenon. This also corresponds, among other things, to a self-confident architectural presentation .

France

As early as the first third of the 18th century there was a Masonic movement in France, apparently to a large extent supported by English-speaking Jacobite exiles. In 1773 the Grand Orient de France was founded , which grew out of a controversial reform of the first Grande Loge de France, founded in 1738 . The reform, represented by the Duc de Luxembourg, was strongly centralized and began as Grand Master Louis Philippe d'Orléans (1747-1793) . A rival institution, the Grande Loge de Clermont, existed until 1799.

During the French Revolution , Freemasons were active on several sides. The Duke of Luxembourg, for example, emigrated as early as July 1789, and aristocratic lodges like La Concorde were negative about the revolution. The freer discussion atmosphere in the lodges may, however, have contributed to the blossoming of revolutionary ideas before 1789. Among the most famous Freemasons of the French Enlightenment include Voltaire , Montesquieu and Claude Adrien Helvetius , among the revolutionaries as Jean-Paul Marat .

On January 5, 1792, the Grand Orient de France publicly welcomed the ongoing revolution, but from 1793–1796 there were hardly any Masonic activities. After Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état on 18 Brumaire, 1799, however, there was an extraordinary development, although the Masonic movement was also obligated. The number of lodges increases from 300 to 1220 (1814) within 10 years. The fall of Napoleon, however, also led to a deep crisis for French Freemasonry. Also Napoléon III. controlled Freemasonry through people he trusted.

In the Third Republic , numerous important personalities were Freemasons, the republican bourgeoisie gathered in the Grand Orient de France , a republican, liberal and anti-clerical basic attitude and the belief in progress and reason connected them with Freemasonry. Freemasons played an important role in founding the Parti radical . At the same time, monarchist, Catholic and nationalist forces fought the republic and Freemasonry. With the Taxil hoax and the Dreyfus affair , Jews and Freemasons became the common enemy of the anti-republican right and the catchphrase was coined by the République judéo-maçonique .

In 1877 the sentence was deleted from the constitution of the Grand Orient de Franc e which made the belief in the existence of a (personal) creator god and the immortality of the soul a prerequisite for membership. The associated admission of atheists became the reason for a schism in the Masonic movement, since most Anglo-Saxon grand lodges under the leadership of the English were not prepared to recognize this absolute freedom of conscience. This divergence between the Grand Orient de France and the lodges that followed it, mostly located in Catholic countries, has not yet been resolved. As a result (1894, 1913) there were again traditionalist divisions from the Grand Orient de France.

Under the Vichy regime , the number of French lodge members fell from around 30,000 (1939) to less than 7,000, as the regime, in the tradition of the anti-republican right, rejected, discriminated against and persecuted Freemasons.

In recent years membership has grown considerably, from 30,000 (1990) to around 45,000 (2005) in 1080 lodges.

The religion- neutral ( laïcité ) - therefore often anti-clerical, anti-church and religiously critical - and relatively political orientation of French Freemasonry has spread mainly in Catholic states in Europe and Latin America. The most prominent representatives of the Latin American independence movements at the beginning of the 19th century were Freemasons of this tradition, including Simón Bolívar , Bernardo O'Higgins , José de San Martín , Manuel Belgrano , as well as the leaders of the Italian national movement such as Giuseppe Garibaldi , Giuseppe Mazzini or Francesco Crispi .

Spain

The development of Freemasonry in Spain is particularly linked to that in France, on the one hand by the time of the Napoleonic occupation at the beginning of the 19th century, on the other hand by the lodges formed in French exile after the ban on Freemasonry by the dictator Francisco Franco .

Already in 1728 the first lodge was founded in Madrid, but by an Englishman, the Duke of Wharton and with English members: it was called “Las Tres Flores de Lys” (to the three lilies) and only existed for a short time. Ten years later, due to the papal bull In eminenti, there was an effective ban on Freemasonry in Spain and the phenomenon of exillosion arose, such as “La Reunión Española” founded by Spanish naval officers in Brest.

It was only with King José I's accession to the throne in 1808, i.e. by Joseph Bonaparte , that Freemasonry found the opportunity to develop freely and even to be promoted by the political authorities. Bonaparte had been the Grand Master of the Grand Orient de France. In 1809 the Gran Logia Nacional para todas las Españas was founded, which within a short time united 34 lodges under the sovereignty of the Grand Orient de France. After this brief flowering, however, there were again massive persecutions under the re-established absolutism of King Ferdinand VII (Spain) . However, the Spanish military, especially the officer corps, remained very strongly Masonic in this transition period up to the Carlist Wars .

It was not until 1834 that an amnesty came about, although the ban on membership continued to apply. In 1838 a Grande Oriente Nacional de España was founded in Lisbon , to which at least three lodges, in Granada, Barcelona and Bilbao, belonged, the lodge “La Sagesse” founded in Barcelona in 1848 and the lodge “Los Amigos de la Naturaleza y la Humanidad” founded in 1850 ”From Gijón joined the French Grand Orient.

The revolution of September 1868 brought freedom of thought and assembly and marked a new period in Spanish Freemasonry. Numerous lodges were founded and Freemasons were actively involved in modernizing the country. The role of the Freemasons at the time of the Second Republic was given particular attention, with the Freemasons emphasizing that the role of relevant active ministers and officials was often overestimated. In the face of General Franco's right-wing uprising, Spanish Freemasons formally affirmed their allegiance to the republic. At the end of the Spanish Civil War , on March 1st, 1939, the two main branches of Spanish Freemasonry appealed to all Brethren Masons in the world with a request for help and the announcement of exile.

Exactly one year later, on March 1, 1940, General Franco had a “law against Freemasonry and Communism” published, which prohibited all masonry activity in Spain for almost 40 years. Under the Franco dictatorship , Freemasonry could be imprisoned for up to twelve years . In the wake of the return to democracy, this was taken up again by a lodge association of the orientation recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England ( United Grand Lodge of England , UGLoE ). The tradition of liberal Freemasonry was only revived in Spain in the 1990s.

Italy

The first lodge was founded by the English in Florence in 1731 . Local nobles and intellectuals subsequently gathered around this core. The papal bull In eminenti of April 28, 1738 already concerned this lodge. Nevertheless, further lodges subsequently developed in Tuscany , which were also recognized from England.

A lodge founded in Rome in 1735 had to give up its work as early as 1737 due to papal pressure, but new foundations followed in 1776 and 1787 according to the Scottish rite.

In 1746 a lodge was founded in Venice . It included Giacomo Casanova , Carlo Goldoni and Francesco Griselini . In 1755 she, too, had to stop working under pressure from the authorities. It was not re-established until 1772.

A lodge founded in 1756 in Milan was closed again in 1757 by order of the Austrian governor, but remained de facto in activity and joined the Vienna Grand Lodge in 1783.

After a period of prosperity in the age of Napoleon, reprisals against Italian Freemasonry began again in 1814. Only the second half of the 19th century and the Risorgimento led to an expansion again.

The grandmasters of that time included Giuseppe Garibaldi (from 1864) and Giuseppe Mazzini . The papal encyclical Humanum Genus from 1884 by Pope Leo XIII. but brought another sharp confrontation with the Catholic Church. In this climate, on June 6, 1889, on the Campo de 'Fiori in Rome, the monument to Giordano Bruno was inaugurated, the work of the prominent Freemason Ettore Ferrari.

In the 20th century there was again severe repression under Mussolini's fascism . At that time there were two grand lodges in Italy .

On February 13, 1923, the Great Fascist Council forbade its members to belong to masonry:

“The Grand Fascist Council has decided: Whereas recent political events, attitudes and certain decisions of Freemasonry give reasonable grounds to believe that Freemasonry pursues programs and uses methods contrary to those who support the whole Inspiring activities of fascism, the Council calls on the fascists, who are Freemasons, to choose between belonging to the national fascist party or to Freemasonry. Because for the fascists there is only one discipline, that of fascism [...] the absolute, submissive and constant obedience to the Duce and the other leaders of fascism. "

- Resolution of the Grand Fascist Council of February 13, 1923

This was one of the few Fascist Council resolutions that was not passed unanimously. Roberto Farinacci , a Freemason since 1915, spoke out against it. A not inconsiderable number of Freemasons also took part in the March on Rome . Thereupon the Grand Lodge published a letter in which it was expressed understanding for every brother to leave Freemasonry under these circumstances. The majority turned their backs on fascism and remained loyal to the respective lodges. Subsequently, the so-called "gray book" was published, in which it is said that Freemasons had supported the march in the hope of averting the evil of anarchy , but now by no means wanted fascism to establish a dictatorship. In the further course there were attacks by the black shirts on lodges, and the fascists forbade their partisans to belong to Freemasonry. After repeated protests against Mussolini's regime of violence, the grand lodge declared, "Fascism means a spiritual and moral step backwards." On the night of October 3rd to 4th, 1925 there were serious bloody acts in Florence, including murder and arson . Many Italian Freemasons were killed on this bloody night in Florence . Many lodge houses were destroyed in the process. After that, Mussolini finally banned Freemasonry.

Anti-masonism

The Catholic Church

The rapid spread of Freemasonry soon provoked criticism and numerous bans from the Catholic Church and the state. Masonry was in Naples in 1731, in Poland in 1734, in Holland in 1735, in France in 1737, in Geneva, in Hamburg, in Sweden and by Emperor Charles VI. prohibited in the Austrian Netherlands in 1738 and in Florence in 1739. The Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions took action most consistently against the Freemasons.

The papal curse against Freemasonry in 1738 In eminenti apostolatus specula ( papal bull ) Clemens XII. urged the state powers to ban Freemasonry. As a result, Cardinal Firrao had Masonic books burned publicly by the executioner in 1739, and in the same year the poet Tommaso Grudelli was denounced as a heretic in Florence by the Inquisition and tortured in prison. He was later released at the instigation of the Grand Duke, but at the age of 43 he succumbed to the consequences of imprisonment.

On May 18, 1751, Pope Benedict XIV confirmed the bull of his predecessor with the Bull Providas romanorum and underlined the condemnation of Freemasonry by forbidding all Catholics, under threat of excommunication, all contact, which takes place without explanation and remains valid until death, whereupon Charles III. (Spain) banned Freemasonry in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies . Giacomo Casanova , who was admitted to the Freemasonry Association in 1750, was arrested in Venice on July 27, 1755 for Freemasonry and sentenced to five years in prison without being informed of the sentence. But on November 1, 1756, he managed to escape from the lead chambers . In 1783 the Marchese Vivaldi was arrested in Venice for Freemasonry, strangled in prison and his body was publicly exhibited with the inscription: "This is how the Republic treats Freemasons".

Also Pius IX. renewed the condemnation of Freemasonry with Ecclesiam a Jesu Christo as well as Leo XIII. in various encyclicals. ( see also: List of papal legal acts and pronouncements against Freemasonry and secret societies )

Prohibition in communist states

Communist states, first and foremost the Soviet Union , banned Freemasonry. The basis for this was the resolution of the fourth congress of the Communist International :

“It is imperative that the leading organs of the party break off all bridges that lead to the bourgeoisie and therefore also carry out a radical break with Freemasonry. The abyss that separates the proletariat from the bourgeoisie must be made fully aware of the communist party. A fraction of the leading elements of the party wanted to try to build masked bridges over this abyss and to make use of the Masonic lodges. "

Often, opponents of Freemasonry construct a connection between communism / Marxism and Freemasonry, which, as mentioned, never existed. None of the People's Commissars of the Soviet Union was ever a Freemason, only Leon Trotsky studied the history and philosophy of Freemasonry during his incarceration. Because of this, it was said that Trotsky, and with him communism, had maintained contacts with lodges. This view contradicts Trotsky's publication Isvetia , where he wrote:

“She is the capitalist enemy of communism; it is as backward as the Church, Catholicism . It dulls the sharpness of the class struggle with mysticism, sentimentality and moral formula stuff ... With red-hot irons it would have to be exterminated with its followers, because it weakens the teachings of communism [...]. "

The only exception of the communist states is Cuba , where the regular and recognized Grand Lodge of Cuba has been operating since 1859 with 314 lodges and around 23,000 members in 1996. Fidel Castro did not forbid Freemasonry, apparently because the Cuban freedom hero José Martí was a Freemason. In 1977, however, his government demanded a fine totaling 100,000 dollars on individual lodges and the grand lodge for supporting widows and orphans of the government of hostile, imprisoned or executed brothers.

Antimasonism and conspiracy theories

Freemasonry is international. Freemasons are obliged to the laws of their own state, as well as their conscience, if the moral foundations and human rights are attacked, for which they stand up with all their might.

According to the political scientist Armin Pfahl-Traughber , the first anti-Masonic conspiracy myth arose in Germany. In 1786, shortly after the persecution and bans of the Order of Illuminati in Bavaria, an anonymous author published the book Revelations of the System of World Citizenship Politics . This was the government employee of Weimar Ernst August von Göchhausen (1740-1824), who described a horror vision of worldwide revolutions, the sole cause of which was a worldwide conspiracy by Freemasons, Illuminati and Jesuits. Three years later, the political myth seemed to be confirmed with the outbreak of the French Revolution and the Freemasons were initially blamed for it by the royalist side. The battle cry of this revolution seems (from today's perspective) - " freedom, equality, fraternity " - to go back to the French forms of Masonic slogans, which were often used in other variants such as "brotherly love, care , truth" .

Public figures, leaders in politics and business, but also artists, were often Freemasons. This explains the suspicion that Freemasonry is a refuge of clubbing and corruption that serves the careers of its members much more than the common good of humanity. Freemasons were suspected of being the driving force behind the destruction of the social order.

Supporters of conspiracy theories accuse Freemasonry of manipulating society in an unfair way, whereby the humanitarian work practiced in the lower grades only serves as a cover for the activities of the higher grades. The high degree of freemasonry is an instrument for infiltration of the peoples with the aim of establishing a inhuman dictatorship in a world state with a unified world religion. The amalgamation of high finance - especially from the Rothschild and Rockefeller dynasties - and high degree freemasonry is pointed out again and again .

Freemasonry is forbidden in most totalitarian forms of government. This fact applied to the Nazi regime, the GDR , the Soviet Union and applies to most of the Islamic-ruled states. The radical Islamic organization Hamas in particular has committed to persecuting Freemasons. Only in the Republic of Cuba is Freemasonry tolerated, despite the socialist government .

  • Conservative Christian camp: To this day, membership in a Masonic lodge is officially considered incompatible with the Catholic faith. Freemasons have been accused of being the driving force behind the separation of church and state. The cause was the spread of liberalism and socialism, the Enlightenment and religious tolerance. In papal bulls, Freemasonry was referred to as the "Church of Satan " and is still seen in some cases as the world-historical antagonist to the Christian Church. It is stated that high-grade freemasonry has occult traits. An important representative of this camp is the former religious priest Manfred Adler .
  • Conservative national camp: Freemasons are seen as the enemies of the sovereign nation- states. The most prominent representative of this camp is the German general of the First World War Erich Ludendorff .
  • Esoteric camp: In the course of the general popularization of esotericism in the second half of the 20th century , conspiracy theories about the Freemasons repeatedly appeared . In Germany the best known representative of this camp is Jan van Helsing . His first two books on the subject were banned for sedition.

See also

literature

General history of freemasonry

  • Bianca Bartels, Winfried Brinkmann, Wolfgang Dittrich: Freemasons - Secret Society or Ethics School? History and current work of the Freemasons in Hanover. Accompanying volume to an exhibition in the Historisches Museum Hannover from September 5, 2012 to January 6, 2013, ed. by Siegfried Schildmacher, Hanover 2012: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Library, ISBN 978-3-943922-01-1 .
  • Joachim Berger: European Freemasonry (1850-1935) , in: European History Online , ed. from the Institute for European History (Mainz) , 2010; Retrieved on June 14, 2012.
  • Tobias Churton: Freemasonry. The reality . Lewis Masonic, Hersham, Surrey 2007, ISBN 978-0-85318-275-7 .
  • Robert L. Cooper: Cracking the Freemason's Code. The Truth About Solomon's Key and the Brotherhood . Random House, London 2006, ISBN 1-84604-049-3 .
  • Alexander Giese : The Freemasons. An introduction . Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-205-77353-5 .
  • Tom Goeller: Freemason. Eliminating a myth . Be.bra Verlag, ISBN 978-3-89809-071-1 .
  • Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann : The politics of sociability. Masonic lodges in German civil society 1840–1918 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2000, ISBN 3-525-35911-X (also dissertation, Bielefeld University 1999).
  • Jürgen Holtorf: The secret brotherhood. Masonic lodges, legend and reality. 5th edition. Heyne, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-453-01811-7 .
  • Eugen Lennhoff: The Freemasons . Gondrom Verlag, Bindlach 1981, ISBN 3-8112-0585-4 (reprint of the Vienna 1932 edition).
  • Eugen Lennhoff, Oskar Posner, Dieter A. Binder: International Freemasons Lexicon . Revised and expanded new edition of the 1932 edition. Herbig, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-7766-2161-3 .
  • Alec Mellor: Lodge rituals high degrees (“La Franc-Maconnerie à l'heure du choix”). Special edition Bücher-Büchner, Hanover 1985 (reprint of the Graz edition 1967).
  • Ralf Melzer: Conflict and Adaptation. Freemasonry in the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich . Braumüller, Vienna 1999, ISBN 3-7003-1245-8 (also dissertation, FUB Berlin 1998).
  • Marcus Meyer, Heinz-Gerd Hofschen: Light into the Dark. The Freemasons and Bremen. 2nd Edition. Edition Temmen, Bremen 2006, ISBN 3-86108-582-8 .
  • Paul Naudon: History of Freemasonry ("Histoire générale de la franc-maconnerie"). Propylaen-Verlag, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-549-06650-3 .
  • John J. Robinson: Born in Blood. The lost secrets of Freemasonry . Century Books, London 1990, ISBN 0-7126-3948-9 (reprint of New York 1989 edition).
  • Ferdinand Runkel: History of Freemasonry . Edition Lempertz, Cologne 2006, ISBN 3-933070-96-1 (3 vols., Reprint of the Berlin 1932 edition).
  • Armin Pfahl-Traughber : The anti-Semitic-anti-Masonic conspiracy myth in the Weimar Republic and in the Nazi state , Braumüller, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-7003-1017-X .
  • Armin Pfahl-Traughber: Freemasons and Jews, capitalists and communists as enemy images of right-wing extremist conspiracy ideologies from the German Empire to the present. In: Uwe Backes (Ed.): Right-wing extremist ideologies in past and present, Böhlau, Cologne 2003, pp. 193–234.

Conspiracy Theories and Persecution (Primary and Secondary Literature )

  • Manfred Adler : The Antichristian Revolution of Freemasonry. 3. Edition. Miriam-Verlag, Jestetten 1975, ISBN 3-87449-074-2 .
  • Manfred Adler: The Freemasons and the Vatican . Verlag Anton Schmid, Durach 1992, ISBN 3-929170-24-8 (Pro Fide Catholica).
  • Manfred Adler: Church and Lodge . Miriam-Verlag, Jestetten 1981, ISBN 3-87449-125-0 (Pro fide Catholica).
  • Augustin Barruel : Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire du Jacobinisme . Édition Chiré, Chiré-en-Montreuil 2005, ISBN 2-85190-144-3 (reprint of the Paris edition 1797/1798).
  • Wolfgang Bittner: Satan's sworn brothers. Attacks and antitheses against German Freemasonry 1970–2000 . Bodem-Verlag, Frechen 2001, ISBN 3-934215-01-7 .
  • ER Carmin: The black realm. Secret Societies and Politics in the 20th Century; Knights Templar, Thule Society, Third Reich, CIA . Detailed res. Ullstein, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-548-36916-2 .
  • Nicolas Deschamps: Les Sociétés secrètes et la société ou Philosophy de l'histoire contemporaine. 6th edition. Édition Oudin, Paris 1863 (with an introduction by Claudio Jannet).
  • Henri Delassus : L'Américanisme et la conjuration antichretiénne . Desclée de Brouwer, Paris 1899 (Imprimatur Cambrai 1989).
  • Henri Delassus: Le conjuration antichrétienne. Le temple maçonnique voulant s'élever sur les ruines de l'église catholique . Desclée de Brouwer, Lille 1910.
  • Henri Delassus: The problem of the present. Antagonisme de deux civilizations. 2nd Edition. Desclée de Brouwer, Lille 1905 (2 vols.).
  • Manfred Jacobs: The Influence of Freemasonry on the Catholic Church . Verlag Anton Schmid, Durach 2003, ISBN 3-932352-76-9 (Pro fide Catholica).
  • Erich Ludendorff : The supranational powers in the last year of the world war . Publishing house for holistic research and culture, Viöl / Nordfriesland 2006, ISBN 3-932878-04-3 (reprint of the Leipzig edition 1927).
  • Erich Ludendorff: Destruction of Freemasonry by revealing its secrets . Publishing house for holistic research, Viöl / Nordfriesland 2006, ISBN 3-932878-02-7 (reprint of the Munich edition 1931).
  • Wolfram Meyer zu Uptrup: Fight against the "Jewish World Conspiracy". Propaganda and anti-Semitism of the National Socialists 1919–1945 . Metropol Verlag, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-932482-83-2 (also dissertation, TU Berlin 1998).
  • Helmut Neuberger: Freemasonry and National Socialism. The persecution of German Freemasonry by the Volkish Movement and National Socialism 1918–1945 . Bauhütten Verlag, Hamburg 1980, ISBN 3-87050-152-9 .
  1. The völkisch propaganda fight and the German Freemasons until 1933 .
  2. The end of the German Freemasons .
  • Armin Pfahl-Traughber: The anti-Semitic-anti-Masonic conspiracy myth in the Weimar Republic and in the Nazi state . Braumüller, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-7003-1017-X (Comparative social history and the history of political ideas of the modern age; 9).
  • Johannes Rogalla von Bieberstein : The thesis of the conspiracy 1776-1945. Philosophers, Freemasons, Jews, liberals and socialists as conspirators against the social order (European university publications: series 3, history and auxiliary sciences; 63). 2nd Edition. Lang Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1978, ISBN 3-261-01906-9 (plus dissertation, University of Bochum 1972).
  • Rudolf von Sebottendorf : The secret exercises of the Turkish Freemasons. The key to understanding alchemy; a representation of the ritual, the teaching and the distinctive marks of oriental Freemasons . Edition Secret Knowledge, Graz 2007, ISBN 978-3-902640-90-1 (reprint of the Leipzig 1924 edition; former title: Practice of the old Turkish Freemasons ).
  • Robert Anton Wilson (author), Miriam J. Hill (author), Mathias Bröckers (ed.): The Lexicon of Conspiracy Theories. Conspiracies, intrigues, secret societies ("Everything is under control"). Piper-Verlag, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-492-23389-9 (translated by Gerhard Seyfried).
  • anonymous (Christ the King friends ): The eclipse of the church ("L'Eglise Eclipsée? Réalisation du complot maconnique contre l'Eglise"). Verlag Anton Schmid, Durach 2004, ISBN 3-929170-42-6 (Pro Fide Catholica).

Fiction

Web links

Commons : Freemasonry  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David Stevenson: The Origins of Freemasonry. Cambridge University Press, 1988, ISBN 0-521-39654-9 , pp. 38-44.
  2. ^ Arthur Edward Waite: New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. Volume 2, William Rider and Son, London 1921. (Facsimile: Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 0-7661-2973-X , p. 43)
  3. ↑ Lennhoff, Eugen; Poser, Oskar; Binder, Dieter A .: International Freemason Lexicon . ISBN 978-3-7766-5036-5 , pp. 433 .
  4. ↑ Matthäus Roriczer, ed. v. Ferdinand Geldner: The little book of the pinnacle justice / Die Geometria Deutsch Pressler Verlag, 1999, ISBN 3-87646-086-7 .
  5. ↑ a b W. Jüttner: A contribution to the history of the Bauhütte and the building industry in the Middle Ages. Dissertation . Cologne 1935.
  6. ↑ a b P. Booz: The builder of the Gothic . Berlin 1956.
  7. ↑ fraternalsecrets.org ( Memento of May 13, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Wissen-im-netz.info ( Memento of the original from May 19, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wissen-im-netz.info
  9. ^ Alfred Rosenberg: The crime of freemasonry. Judaism, Jesuitism, German Christianity ,. JF Lehmann, Munich 1921.
  10. ↑ Deutschlandradio : Conversation with contemporary witnesses: Horst Ehmke 'Freemasonry against National Socialism'. Retrieved February 26, 2012 .
  11. ↑ Eugen Lennhoff, Oskar Posner, Dieter A. Binder: Internationales Freemaurerlexikon. Special production 1st edition. Herbig Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-7766-5036-2 , p. 824.
  12. ^ Royal York: "Am rauhen Stein" Maurische Zeitschrift für die Grosse Landesloge, Berlin Jhrg. 1924, Issue 3, pp. 33/34.
  13. ^ Ralf Melzer: In the eye of a hurricane. German freemasonry in the Weimar Republik and the Third Reich. In: Arturo de Hoyos, S. Brent Morris (ed.): Freemasonry in context. History, ritual, controversy. Lexington Books, Lanham 2004, ISBN 0-7391-0781-X , pp. 89-104 (English)
  14. ↑ The Forget-Me-Not Badge and Freemasonry. The true story. on: internetloge.de
  15. ↑ "THE BLUE FORGET-ME-NOT" - ANOTHER SIDE OF THE STORY
  16. ^ Karl Heinz Francke, Ernst-Günther Geppert: The Freemason lodges in Germany and their grand lodges 1737–1972. Quatuor Coronati Bayreuth, Hamburg 1974. ( The Freemason lodges in Germany and their grand lodges 1737–1985. 2nd, revised edition. Hamburg 1988)
  17. ↑ The hand to the covenant. In: Der Spiegel. 25/1950, June 22, 1950.
  18. ↑ Flower Badge as told by Galen Lodge No 2394 (UGLE) ( Memento from June 13, 2006 in the Internet Archive ). March 4, 2006.
  19. ↑ freemaurer.org
  20. ^ Lennhoff / Posner
  21. ↑ Giese p. 50 ff.
  22. ^ William R. Denslow, Harry S. Truman: 10,000 Famous Freemasons from K to Z, ISBN 1-4179-7579-2 .
  23. ^ William R. Denslow, Harry S. Truman: 10,000 Famous Freemasons from A to J. ISBN 1-4179-7578-4 .
  24. ^ Numbers according to John L. Belton in: Arturo de Hoyos, S. Brent Morris: Freemasonry in Context Lanham, Maryland 2004, p. 314.
  25. ↑ Persecution of foreigners, Jews and Freemasons ( Memento of February 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Homepage: Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt Foundation http://www.willy-brandt.org/ (accessed on April 26, 2012)
  26. ↑ Cf. ¿Quiénes fueron Francmasones? ( Memento of May 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  27. ↑ FRANCO patterns of sound mind. In: Der Spiegel. 42/1952, October 15, 1952, accessed June 3, 2013 .
  28. ↑ Jacques Casanova de Seingalt: Histoire de ma fuite des prisons de la République de Venise qu'on appelle les Plombs. Ecrite a Dux en Boheme l'année 1787 . Leipzig 1788.
  29. ↑ Pfahl-Traughber: The anti-Semitic-anti-Masonic conspiracy myth
  30. ↑ Johannes Rogalla von Biberstein, historian of the library of the University of Bielefeld: The thesis of the conspiracy 1776-1945. Philosophers, Freemasons, Jews, Liberals and Socialists against the social order. Flensburg 1992.
  31. ↑ ANTISEMITISM - Gigantic network. In: Der Spiegel. 16/1978, April 17, 1978. Retrieved May 27, 2013 .